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1333 H Street N.W., Suite 900 West, Washington D.C. 20005 | Phone: (202) 644 8600 | www.benachragland.com
WARNING: Beware of notaries and agents who ask you for payment to access USCIS forms and/orpromise to expedite your request for deferred action ahead of other individuals, especially if you do notmeet the criteria. Application procedures will be up on BENACH RAGLAND LLP as soon as they arereleased by USCIS.
ABOUT THE NEW OBAMA IMMIGRATION PROGRAM
On June 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a plan stop thedeportation of certain young people and grant work authorization to everyone who meets a setcriteria, so that young people who were brought here as children and grew up in this countrycould live in the United States and continue to contribute to their communities. This policy is aform of administrative
relief known as “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA).
 
WHAT IS DEFERRED ACTION?
Deferred Action is a discretionary authority that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)uses from time to time to allow certain deserving individuals the right to live and work in theUnited States for a set period of time. Individuals do not need to have a final order of deportation to qualify for relief. However, deferred action does not confer anyone with legalstatus or a pathway to citizenship. It also does not prevent DHS from re-initiating removalproceedings against individuals. In fact, someone may meet all the requirements for deferredaction as laid out below, but DHS has the last say on whether to grant deferred action.Individuals who qualify and get deferred action do not accrue unlawful presence, and becomeeligible for work authorization. Individuals with deferred action will also be able to travel abroadfor humanitarian, education, or employment reasons if they apply and receive advance parole..
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
Individuals must meet
all
of criteria laid out below, in order to qualify:
 Agerequirements
•
Must be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
•
Must have arrived in the United States before the age of 16;
•
If not in removal proceedings, must be at least 15 years old in order to apply.ContinuousPresence
•
Must have lived in the United States continuously for five consecutive years as of the date of the memo (June 15, 2012);
•
Must have been present in the United States on June 15, 2012.Good moralcharacter 
•
Must not have been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, or three or more misdemeanor offenses not occurring on the same dateand not arising out of the same act, omission, or scheme of misconduct.
•
Must not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.Educationand Military
•
Must currently be in school or enrolled in a GED program or have graduated fromhigh school or have obtained a general education development certificate, or be anhonorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the UnitedStates.
 
 
1333 H Street N.W., Suite 900 West, Washington D.C. 20005 | Phone: (202) 644 8600 | www.benachragland.com
WARNING: Beware of notaries and agents who ask you for payment to access USCIS forms and/orpromise to expedite your request for deferred action ahead of other individuals, especially if you do notmeet the criteria. Application procedures will be up on BENACH RAGLAND LLP as soon as they arereleased by USCIS.
WHAT IF YOU QUALIFY?
 
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A WORK PERMIT (EAD)?
* If USCIS grants deferred action in your case and you want to travel outside the United States,you must apply for advance parole by filing a Form I-131, Application for Travel Document andpaying the applicable fee ($360). Generally, USCIS will only grant advance parole if you aretraveling for humanitarian purposes, educational purposes, or employment purposes.
 
No threat of deportation
: Effectiveimmediately, ICE, CPB and USCIS agentsshould not place individuals in removalproceedings if they meet the criteria laid outabove. __________________________________ 
For people not in deportation proceedings
:USCIS has been directed to devise a planwithin 60 days that allows people 15 and older to affirmatively apply for both deferred actionand work authorization on August 15, 2012.Individuals may call the USCIS hotline at 1-800-375-5283, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., withquestions on the process.
If you are in deportation proceedings
, DHSwill begin to administratively close theproceedings and allow you to apply for workauthorization. Individuals who are in removalproceedings or who are about to be removedand who believe they can demonstrate thatthey satisfy the eligibility criteria shouldimmediately contact either the Law
Enforcement Support Center’s hotline at 1
-855-448-6903 (staffed 24 hours a day, 7 daysa week) or the ICE Office of the Public
 Advocate through the Office’s hotline at 1
-888-351-4024 (staffed 9am
 –
5pm, Monday
 –
 Friday) or by e-mail atEROPublicAdvocate@ice.dhs.gov, andprovide proof that they qualify for deferredaction for childhood arrivals.
Fill out an I-9 to worklegallyObtain a Social SecurityNumber from the SocialSecurity AdministrationObtain a Driver'sLicense and State ID inmost states from theDepartment of Motor VehiclesTravel inside the UnitedStates after your obtainadvance parole*Get instate tuition,unemployment benefitsand health insurance insome states
 
 
1333 H Street N.W., Suite 900 West, Washington D.C. 20005 | Phone: (202) 644 8600 | www.benachragland.com
WARNING: Beware of notaries and agents who ask you for payment to access USCIS forms and/orpromise to expedite your request for deferred action ahead of other individuals, especially if you do notmeet the criteria. Application procedures will be up on BENACH RAGLAND LLP as soon as they arereleased by USCIS.
BUT WHAT IF I HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD?
Individuals who have ever been in contact with law enforcement should consult with acompetent immigration attorney before applying for any immigration benefit.
WHAT IF I WAS ABSENT FROM THE UNITED STATES IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS?
 A brief, casual, and innocent absence from the United States will not interrupt your continuousresidence. If you were absent from the United States for any period of time, your absence willbe considered brief, casual, and innocent, if it was before August 15, 2012, and:
The absence was short and reasonably calculated to accomplish the purpose for theabsence;
The absence was not because of an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal;
The absence was not because of an order of voluntary departure, or an administrativegrant of voluntary departure before you were placed in exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings; and
The purpose of the absence and/or your actions while outside the United States werenot contrary to law.Felony
•
Individuals convicted ofa felony are ineligible forthe program.
A felony isdefined by DHS in rather 
broad strokes as “a
federal, state or localcriminal offensepunishable byimprisonment for a term
exceeding one year.” If a
state punishes an offensewith more than a year inprison, it would count as afelony under federal law.Significant Misdmeanor 
•
Individuals with asignificant misdemeanorare ineligible for theprogram
. A significant
misdemeanor is “an
offense of domesticviolence; sexual abuse or exploitation; burglary;unlawful possession or use of a firearm; drugdistribution or trafficking;or, driving under theinfluence or an offense for which the individual wassentenced to time incustody of more than 90days. Time served incustody does not includea suspended sentence or time served due to an ICEdetainer.Multiple misdemeanors
•
Individuals who have
been convicted of “three
or more misdemeanoroffenses
 
not occurringon the same date andnot arising out of thesame act, omission, orscheme of misconduct
”
are not eligible to beconsidered for deferredaction under the newprocess. A minor trafficoffense will not beconsidered amisdemeanor for purposes of this process.
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