Despite the questions surrounding whether President Obama’s decision to offer deferred action for certain parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (“DAP”) will be carried out as planned, we all must remain positive and prepare ourselves for its enactment. If we don’t act now, we risk severely delaying the ability to enjoy its numerous benefits.
You may wonder why you should act now, given that the DAP process is currently on hold. The truth is that preparing yourself for the application process takes time, and so you should IMMEDIATELY take action. You should be working closely with your immigration attorneys so that they can confirm your eligibility for deferred action. After your immigration attorney does a preliminary review of your file, he may advise that it is necessary to obtain your complete immigration record from the National Records Center, which can take from 4 months to 1 year to complete. If applicable, your immigration attorney could advise of the need to get your criminal records from the FBI or the county in which you were arrested, which also takes several months. Finally, your immigration attorney will have suggestions for what documents you need to evidence your eligibility, and this may take some time to obtain, especially if you’ve been employed in different jobs or resided in numerous locations. Often, certified documents from the civil courts are required, and these may take weeks to be produced.
Remember, individuals may be considered for DAP if they (1) have lived in the United States continuously from January 1, 2010 to today; (2) on November 20, 2014 (a) were physically present in the United States, (b) were not in lawful immigration status, and (c) had a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident child, of any age or marital status; and (3)(a) have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors, among other requirements.
If you are granted deferred action under DAP, you can:
- Work legally, and have the opportunity to earn more wages in a better paying job where you are treated as a professional, and where you cannot be threatened or treated unfairly for lack of immigration status;
- Avoid being detained, removed, or otherwise separated from your family, as ICE and Border Patrol will begin focusing on people who have not obtained lawful status;
- Avoid having to take your children out of the United States;
- Allow your family to be at peace knowing that you are not at risk daily of being detained and deported;
- Drive legally, and stop living in fear while driving yourself and your family to work, school, or on outings;
- Get an identification card, so you can apply for various benefits:
- Opening a bank account
- Buying or renting a home or qualifying for a mortgage
- Getting a credit card
- Obtaining insurance
- Attending college or university
- Obtaining professional licenses (real estate, contractor, plumber, electrician, roofer, etc.)
- Get a Social Security Number and begin qualification for Social Security;
- Travel freely around the U.S without the need to avoid checkpoints, road blocks, and airports a take your family on vacations within the country and truly see the beauty of this vast nation!
- Be an example to your children of what it means to take responsibility for your actions, to not be afraid, and to honor each and every day by not hiding; and
- Give back to the country that has become your home, where you are safe, food is available, and freedom is real, as you will be required to pay taxes and take a part in fueling our economy.
You need to take action immediately because thousands of other eligible people have already begun to prepare themselves. They know what DAP will provide them. When DAP becomes available, how far down the line do you want your application to be? Do you really want to wait until the injunction is lifted to get started?
Just think – why did you come to the United States? Did you want opportunities that your home country couldn’t provide you? Was it because you needed to send money back home to your loved ones? Or to provide for your family that was with you? Was it because you wanted to live without fear of being harassed, threatened, robbed, or worse? Academic opportunities? Medical facilities? Whatever was your reason, you are here now. You are in some way attaining those needs that brought you here in the first place. But, there is still more that you need: you need to come out of the shadows and stop living in fear.
We offer preliminary DAP eligibility review services that can be started today. Sign up immediately so that when the government is ready to accept applications, yours is already completed and ready to go. This is a rare opportunity. Don’t jeopardize your ability to qualify by waiting for a legal issue to be resolved. Contact Maney & Gordon and get started today.
