On September 5, Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, announced that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) would be phased out in six (6) months if Congress fails to act on its own to pass immigration legislation. As initially designed, the DACA program provided administrative relief from removal/deportation to eligible immigrant youth (also known as Dreamers) who entered the United States when they were children. As part of the DACA petitioning process, an applicant was required to demonstrate, inter alia, that he/she had entered the U.S. as a child, that he/she met the education requirement (completed school or attending school) and had no arrests or criminal record of any significance. Approved DACA applicants were granted a temporary employment authorization document (EAD), typically valid for a period of two years, which EAD allowed them to work legally in the United States. Such document is also a stepping stone to obtaining a valid driver’s license, a social security number, and, ultimately, seeking college and graduate-level education. Continue reading:
If you have any questions in connection with the foregoing, please contact our firm’s Immigration Law Group at (973) 602-3455.