News Update - August 14, 2012Instructions And Forms Released By U.S.C.I.S. For Consideration Of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals.U.S.C.I.S. released instructions and forms I-821D and I-765WS on August 14, 2012, and prepared to receive applications the next day for its program of deferred action for childhood arrivals. There were no large surprises in either. Dependent on location, the Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, will be sent to lockboxes in Phoenix, Dallas, or Chicago. Residents of Arizona and California will file to Phoenix at: U.S. Postal Service U.S.C.I.S. U.S.P.S. Express Mail/Courier USCIS Residents of Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Saipan, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming will file at: U.S. Postal Service USCIS U.S.P.S. Express Mail/Courier Residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia will file at: U.S. Postal Service USCIS U.S.P.S. Express Mail/Courier USCIS Applications must be accompanied by Form I-765 application for employment authorization along with the Form I-765 worksheet (WS), but supporting documentation proving economic necessity is not required although such will be accepted and reviewed if submitted. Most other information had already been provided by U.S.C.I.S. in earlier communications as to the basic requirements, and the instructions were helpful in explaining further requirements on identity, showing entry before the 16th birthday, and that the applicant was present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012. Identity can be proven by passport, birth certificate accompanied by photo I.D., a national identity document of the country of origin bearing photo and/or fingerprint, U.S. government immigration or other document bearing the name and photograph including employment authorization documents, expired visas, driver's licenses, non-driver cards, etc., any school issued form of ID with photo, military identification documentation with photo, or any other document that the applicant believes is relevant. Documents to show that an applicant came to the U.S. before the 16th birthday in addition to passport with admission stamp or I-94/I-95/I-94W arrival/departure records can be any INS or DHS document stating date of entry, travel records such as transportation tickets showing dates of travel to the U.S., school records, hospital or medical records, official records from a religious entity in the U.S. showing such events as baptism, first communion, wedding, or any other document the applicant believes is relevant. Presence in the U.S. on June 15, 2012 can be proven by many items including rent receipts, utility bills, receipts, letters from companies showing service, employment records, school records, military records, hospital and medical records, official records from a religious entity, money order receipts for money sent in or out of the country, passport entries, birth certificates of children born in the U.S., dated bank transactions, correspondence between the applicant and another person or organization, U.S. Social Security card, automobile license receipt, title, vehicle registration, etc., deeds, mortgages, rental agreements, contracts to which the applicant has been a party, tax receipts, insurance policies, receipts, postmarked letters, or any other relevant document. Although it appears that U.S.C.I.S. will be fairly liberal with its acceptance of documentation, readers should remember its stated specific limitation on the use of affidavits - that they can only be used to prove gaps in the five years residence requirement between 2007-2012 and that trips abroad were brief, casual, and innocent. There was no clarification on the type of schooling which would be accepted for applicants who are presently not in school and planning to re-enroll. The instructions only state that an applicant should submit copies of school records (transcripts, report cards, etc.) from the school that the applicant is currently attending in the U.S., showing the name of the school and the periods of school attendance and the current educational or grade level. One assumes that U.S.C.I.S. will soon put forth more information on this point. The next few months should prove an exciting time as early estimates by the Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank, indicate that approximately 1.76 million persons could qualify for deferred action and the feedback from those eligible has thus far been positive.
† The author is a 30+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City holding an AV preeminent rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, registered in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and on the New York Super Lawyers list. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for Interpreter Releases, Immigration Daily, and the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Bush Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. ‡ This article © 2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
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