On June 15, US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano issued a “Memorandum” to the directors of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), instructing the agency to exercise broader “prosecutorial discretion” towards certain group of unlawful immigrants during the immigration law enforcement by the agency.
This was a great news to the immigrant communities across the country because this certain group of immigrants who are unlawfully present in this country without legal status or employment authorization under constant fears for deportation can now stand out and apply for a legal document and obtain their own “Employment Authorization Document” (EAD), a/k/a: “work permit,” under this newly publicized memorandum.
This memorandum, however, is not a cross-board amnesty and is only applicable to certain group of immigrants who are unlawfully present in the United States, specifically, those who came to the United States illegally as “children.” According to the “Memorandum,” the following criteria should be satisfied, to benefit from the program:
- came to the United States under the age of sixteen;
- has continuously resided in the United States for a least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and is present in the United States on the date of this memorandum;
- is currently in school, has graduated from high school, has obtained a general education development certificate, or is an honorably discharged veteran ofthe Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
- has not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise poses a threat to national security or public safety;
- is not above the age of thirty; and,
- applies for the benefit AND passes a background check.
One important note to the Memorandum:” merely meeting the above criterion is NOT a guarantee of your eligibility to the benefits under the program as each case is still considered on individual basis, even though the program is not designed “to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language.”
This program is to become effective on Aug. 15, 2012 and we anticipate an overwhelming amount of applications for the benefit. If you have any questions or wish to know more about this special program or your own eligibility for the benefit, you can send in your questions directly here to:
Yu, South & Associates, Where YOU Matter Most.