Visa Lawyer Blog
The Law Offices would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We expect a lot of changes in the US immigration law during the year 2015.
Here are some of the reforms that should be implemented:
- A new removal policy prioritizing people with a criminal background such as convicted felons. Prosecutorial discretion should be expanded;
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) will encompass more people as the upper age limit requiring to be born before June 1981 will not exist anymore;
- Deferred Action to Parents of US Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) will be implemented. DAPA will apply if the parent of a USC or LPR child born as of the time of the executive order, has resided in the US since January 1, 2010, and is not an enforcement priority;
- I-610A waivers will now include the spouses, sons and daughters of a green card holder as well as the sons and daughters of US citizens;
- Business Immigration: talented foreign entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers, founders of startups could be paroled in the US if their entry is of significant pubic economic benefit. The PERM process should also be improved. L-1B guidance will be released, the H-4 EAD regulation will be finalized, and the length of time permitted on OPT for STEM graduates will be expanded. PERM system will also be modernized.
- Parole-in-place will include spouses, parents, and children of US citizens or LPR who seek to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces;
- Visa backlog modernization. Under the initiative, the agencies will make the necessary changes to optimize the use of visa numbers available under law and to recapture unused visas. Those who are caught in visa backlogs with approved employment-based petitions will be eligible to file for adjustment of status.
Follow our blog and website for updates on implementation of each of those initiatives.