Immigration Remedies

CCILS assists clients in filing applications for the following:

• Naturalization and Citizenship

• Green Card renewal and replacement

• Special case waivers

• Adjustment of status

• Affidavit of support

• Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Deportations and Detentions

San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network

Naturalization and Citizenship

If you meet certain requirements, you may become a U.S. citizen at birth or after birth.

To become a citizen at birth, you must:

• Have been born in the United States or certain territories or outlying possessions of the United States and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; OR

• had a parent or parents who were citizens at the time of your birth (if you were born abroad) and meet other requirements

To become a citizen after birth, you must:

• Apply for “derived” or “acquired” citizenship through parents

• Apply for naturalization

We can help you with the legal process.

DACA

On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is the use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period. Deferred action does not provide lawful status.

The Risk Post-President Inauguration

Those who receive or apply for DACA will not necessarily be targeted for deportation. Administrative programs like this have never been used for wholesale deportation. It would be extremely expensive for the government to try to deport all 700,000+ DACA recipients.

Initial DACA Applications

For those who have not yet applied for DACA, the processing of those applications is taking long enough. They would likely not be adjudicated until after January 2017, and it is possible the DACA program will not exist by then. Therefore, at this point potential applicants’ efforts to assemble an initial DACA application and pay the filing fees (which go up in December 2016) may result in no benefit and expose them to DHS.

DACA Renewals

It is unknown whether this  Administration will terminate existing DACA grants or instead not allow DACA recipients to renew. Those who have already received DACA are known by the government. Therefore, renewing DACA does not carry a new risk. In fact, renewing DACA may mean a DACA recipient can have a work permit until it expires one to two years into the next Administration. One risk, however, is again that the renewal might not be adjudicated before Trump becomes President, and the effort and money to renew will be for nothing. People who file to renew soon may be successful, as DACA renewals are currently being processed in 8 weeks with USCIS' upgraded system. The cost may be offset by loans and other funding available through Mission Asset Fund, the Mexican Consulate, some DACA collaboratives, and/or other programs.

Advance parole

At this point, advance parole may be a little bit harder to get, because processing time is three months or more. Emergency advance parole requests, however, may still be useful in helping people travel and subsequently adjust status under 245(a).

What Immigrants Can Do Now?

People should go to a legal services provider to be screened for any possible immigration options other than DACA for which they may already eligible.

If Filing to renew DACA, applicants need to be aware that the filing fee has increased to $495 on December 23, 2016.

*Courtesy of Immigrant Legal Resources Center (ILRC).