On Monday, February 18th, our country will celebrate President’s Day. The day was created to commemorate the birthday of our first U.S. President, George Washington, as well as to honor the office of the Presidency.
NEW WAIVER TO HELP UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS WITH U.S. FAMILY
In early January, the Obama administration announced a new rule that is scheduled to go into effect on March 4th that is expected to affect about 1 million of the 11 million people who are in the United States without documentation. According to this I-601A Provisional Waiver, illegal immigrants who are able to show that time apart from an American parent or spouse will cause “extreme hardship”for the family can apply for a waiver prior to leaving the United States. The goal of this rule is to reduce the time that illegal immigrants have to be separated from their families, while they are trying to obtain legal status. Under the rule, approved applicants would only have to leave the country briefly in order to attend their visa appointment at the U.S Embassy. This could reduce a family’s time apart from a year or longer to only one week, in some cases. Applicants whose hardship waiver applications had been denied in the past are able to re-apply under this rule.
Please contact the office to learn more about the I-601A Provisional Waiver application.
IMMIGRATION REFORM IN PRESIDENT OBAMA’S SECOND TERM
During President Obama’s inaugural address on Monday, January 21st, he stressed the need for Immigration Reform saying, “Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.” In his recent press conference in Nevada, President Obama said, “It’s time to fix a system that’s been broken for way too long… We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants. That’s who we are — in our bones. The promise we see in those who come here from every corner of the globe, that’s always been one of our greatest strengths.” A bi-partisan team of 8 Senators is developing a plan for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, to be presented to the Senators and the Administration. It is our hope that by March we will have many of the details available!
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office!