Musings on Immigration

Maybe. This would depend on how serious these health problems are, what stage of immigration proceedings you are in right now, and what other negative factors affect your case (for example, an existing criminal record, multiple immigration violations, etc.). No pending proceedings in Immigration Court. If you are not in any immigration proceedings at the moment (meaning, you are not scheduled to attend court hearings or appear in front of an Immigration Judge), you could file an application called Deferred Action (not to be confused with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). This application, if approved, will not give you a green card, but would give you a work permit that you can renew indefinitely. There is no form or formal application process for Deferred Action. This type of relief is based on discretion given by the Department of Homeland Security and a good immigration attorney can help you identify what typ...

If the calls to our office are any indicator, there are thousands of DACA recipients whose work permit applications were filed at least three months prior to expiration, who are still waiting for their renewed work permits.  Without renewed permits, these individuals lose the right to work legally, the right to drive, and may once again accrue unlawful presence. The DHS published a notice in October 2014 advising DACA recipients that they could file their request for extension up to 150 days (5 months) prior to expiration.  As with all things government, very few of the DACA recipients, who tend not to frequent government websites, knew about the memo and many did not file so far before expiration perhaps thinking that extending a work permit was a like extending a drivers license, its is done in a few minutes.  As an experienced immigration lawyer will tell you, the USCIS does nothing quickly, and certainly does not worry that a person may lose their job or their drive...