Information provided in this request is protected from disclosure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings unless the requestor meets the criteria for the issuance of a Notice To Appear or a referral to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the criteria set forth in USCIS’s Notice to Appear guidance (www.uscis.gov/NTA).  Individuals whose cases are deferred pursuant to the consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals process will not be referred to ICE. The information may be shared with national security and law enforcement agencies, including ICE and CBP, for purposes other than removal, including for assistance in the consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals request, to identify or prevent fraudulent claims, for national security purposes, or for the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense. The above information sharing policy covers family members and guardians, in addition to the requestor. 

This policy, which may be modified, superseded, or rescinded at any time without notice, is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter.

This process is open to any individual who can demonstrate he or she meets the guidelines for consideration, including those who have never been in removal proceedings as well as those in removal proceedings, with a final order, or with a voluntary departure order (as long as they are not in immigration detention). If you are not in immigration detention and want to affirmatively request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals, you must submit your request to USCIS – not ICE – pursuant to the procedures outlined below. If you are currently in immigration detention and believe you meet the guidelines you should not request consideration of deferred action from USCIS but should identify yourself to your detention officer or contact the ICE Office of the Public Advocate through the Office’s hotline at 1-888-351-4024 (staffed 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday) or by email at EROPublicAdvocate@ice.dhs.gov.

Yes. Pursuant to existing regulations, if your case is deferred, you may obtain employment authorization from USCIS provided you can demonstrate an economic necessity for employment. 

On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several key guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and would then be eligible for work authorization.

Individuals who can demonstrate through verifiable documentation that they meet these guidelines will be considered for deferred action. Determinations will be made on a case-by-case basis under the guidelines set forth in the Secretary of Homeland Security’s memorandum.

Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. For purposes of future inadmissibility based upon unlawful presence, an individual whose case has been deferred is not considered to be unlawfully present during the period in which deferred action is in effect. An individual who has received deferred action is authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be present in the United States, and is therefore considered by DHS to be lawfully present during the period deferred action is in effect. However, deferred action does not confer lawful status upon an individual, nor does it excuse any previous or subsequent periods of unlawful presence.

Under existing regulations, an individual whose case has been deferred is eligible to receive employment authorization for the period of deferred action, provided he or she can demonstrate “an economic necessity for employment.” DHS can terminate or renew deferred action at any time, at the agency’s discretion.

U.S. and Canadian citizens should not expect to cross the border by orally declaring their identity and citizenship alone.  Effective January 31, 2008, travelers will be asked to present documents from one of the options below when entering the United States at land or sea ports of entry.

One Document Option

One of the following documents should be presented to prove both identity and citizenship:

• U.S. or Canadian Passport
• U.S. Passport Card
• Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)*
• State or Provincial Issued Enhanced Driver’s License (when available – this secure driver’s license will denote identity and citizenship.)
• Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)
• U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Document
• Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card
• Form I-872 American Indian Card
• Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) Card

Two Document Option

All U.S. and Canadian citizens who do NOT have one of the documents from the list above must present BOTH an identification and citizenship document from each of the columns below.

1. Identification Documents
   (All identification documents must have a photo, name and date of birth.)

    

   • Driver’s license or identification card issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory, or municipal authority
   • U.S. or Canadian military identification card
2. Citizenship Documents
   • U.S. or Canadian birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory or municipal authority
   • U.S. Consular report of birth abroad
   • U.S. Certificate of Naturalization
   • U.S. Certificate of Citizenship
   • U.S. Citizen Identification Card
   • Canadian Citizenship Card
   • Canadian certificate of citizenship without photo

U.S. AND CANADIAN CITIZENS CHILDREN

Children of U.S. and Canadian citizens 18 and under will be expected to present a birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county or municipal authority.

U.S. LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS

Permanent Resident Card (I-551) or other valid evidence of lawful permanent residence is required.

MEXICAN CITIZENS

Mexican citizens, including children, must present a valid passport and a B-1/B-2 non-immigrant visa or a Border Crossing Card.

”Recapture” allows an alien to extend H status by subtracting the period of time spent outside the United States from the authorized period of stay in H status. A person in H-1B status is considered to have accrued the 6-year period of authorized admission only during periods when the alien is lawfully admitted and physically present in the United States. This recapture policy was an Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision which was later made into binding policy.

Any part of a day spent in the United States in H1B status is considered a full day in H1B status. Therefore the day that the alien departs and returns cannot be recaptured. Only documented full days outside of the United States can be recaptured.

What is needed to “recapture”?

USCIS will only accept the recapture time if there is supporting documentary evidence. The alien must submit evidence such as: copies of passport stamps, Form I-94s, plane tickets, etc. to show that the alien was not in the United States during parts of their H-1B status. The alien must also have a statement or chart of dates that clearly shows the departures and re-entries into the United States.

How does it help?
The normal maximum period of authorized stay for H-1B non-immigrants may not exceed 6 years. With recapturing, a person in H-1B status may extend their stay in the U.S. beyond the maximum authorized stay.

Stays beyond six years are permitted, providing an application for a labor certification is filed for an alien employee 365 days before the expiration of the 6th year; any time an alien spent outside the United States may be recaptured to seek an extension of H1B status. This allows the alien some “grace” time to make his deadline for a labor certification filing.

If you have previously filed an immigrant petition or labor certification prior to April 30, 2001 then you may benefit by this law which will allow you to become a permanent resident even if you entered the United States illegally, or otherwise filed to maintain status. If you think that you may fit in this category please contact Teplen Law Group, PLLC, so that we may explore your options.

If an individual invests at least one million dollars in a new commercial enterprise and that enterprise will employ at least ten employees within two years then an application for permanent resident status can be submitted. If the investment is made in an area designated by the United States government as an area of high unemployment then an individual can qualify to become a permanent resident with an investment of five hundred thousand dollars. A qualifying investment can also be made into an existing enterprise given the correct circumstances.

 Individuals who apply for permanent resident status based upon marriage, if the underlying marriage is less than two years old at the time of the issuance of residence status, are accorded conditional permanent resident status. Essentially, conditional permanent resident status is no different than permanent resident status; however, those individuals in Conditional Permanent Resident status must make a separate application to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) in the three month period prior to the two year anniversary of the date that conditional permanent resident status was obtained, in order to remove the condition and establish permanent residence. The purpose of this application is to reduce fraud and allow USCIS an extra opportunity to verify that the marriage is real, wherein there is a bona fide intent to establish a life together.

Premium processing is a service that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services offer to expedite certain non-immigrant petitions for a fee. The following visa categories are eligible for premium processing: E-1, E-2, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3, TN, Q-1, and I-140. The cost to expedite is $1,000 and ensures a response within ten days plus e-mail responsiveness.

The two-year home country requirement is an obligation for some people who enter the United States in “J” status to return to their home country for a two-year period before they are eligible to obtain most other non-immigrant visas or become a permanent resident. Typically, those individuals are: individuals performing services on their country’s specific skills list, physicians doing clinical training and those in receipt of government funding.

 Recent regulations allow for an individual to start a new job once United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has received the application for a new visa. There is an automatic 240 employment authorization based upon the presumption of approvability.

H-1B visas are specific to the employer and the specific job for the employer. Should you desire to work at an additional job, you must apply for another visa. You must have a separate visa for each job. It is permissible to have more then one H visa at a time.

In general United States Citizenship is acquired by birth, registration, transmission, or application. All persons who are born in the United States are, by law, United States citizens unless their parents are diplomats. Persons born outside the United States to United States citizen parents are entitled to citizenship, however the birth must be registered with a United States embassy or consulate. If you are born outside of the United States and one of your parents is a United States Citizen, it is possible that citizenship can be transmitted to you through your parent. There are several determining factors involved and an attorney should be consulted to discuss the matter. The last option to acquire United States citizenship is to apply for it. Permanent residents who obtained permanent resident status based upon their marriage to a United States Citizen are eligible to apply for citizenship three years after they obtain status as a permanent resident. If status as a permanent resident is obtained otherwise then the waiting period to apply for citizenship is five years.

Permanent resident status is permanent as long as the individual obeys the immigration laws of the United States. Green cards (physical evidence of Permanent Residence status) used to be valid indefinitely, however in an effort to keep files accurate the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services mandated several years ago that green cards would have to be replaced every ten years. This is similar to renewal of a passport.

Generally, visas are separated into two categories: immigrant and non-immigrant. Immigrant visas are permanent visas, i.e. green cards. Green card holders, also known as permanent residents, are classified as immigrant visa holders. Non-immigrant visas are temporary visas. These visas are only valid for a specific amount of time.

Yes. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) bureau has discretion to waive a filing fee if the applicant can establish that he or she is unable to pay. In order to have the USCIS consider waiving a fee, the applicant must follow specific instructions, including completion of a form for review by the USCIS.

Yes. A married U.S. citizen, or an unmarried citizen who is at least 24 years of age and will be at least 25 when the petition is actually filed, may file a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, to speed up the adoption process.

 If the marriage to the U.S. citizen who filed the petition to permit the fiance(e) into the U.S. does not take place within 90 days of entering the U.S., the fiance(e) will be required to leave the country.