DHS Begins Limited Implementation of DACA under Final Rule

WASHINGTON— On Monday, October 31, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security’s final rule (PDF)

to preserve and fortify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) went into effect. The final rule’s implementation means that DACA is now based on a formal regulation, thereby preserving and fortifying the program while the program remains the subject of litigation in court. Previously, DACA was based on a policy memorandum that then-DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano issued on August 15, 2012. Since its inception in 2012, DACA has allowed over 800,000 young people to remain with their families in the only country many of them have ever known and continue to contribute to their communities in the United States.

Read more at: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-begins-limited-implementation-of-daca-under-final-rule

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

USCIS Will Only Consider CW-1 Petitions Approved

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is clarifying its Aug. 25, 2020, policy on implementing the requirement that workers leave the United States for at least 30 days after two renewals of their CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) visa classification.

Effective immediately, the only CW-1 petitions we will classify as consecutive petitions for purposes of the temporary departure requirement are approved CW-1 petitions that have a starting validity date on or after June 18, 2020. Any extension of CW-1 status granted on or after June 18, 2020, will be considered a consecutive petition if the extension has a starting validity date on or after that date (and not backdated before that date).

Read more at: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-will-only-consider-cw-1-petitions-approved-and-with-starting-validity-on-or-after-june-18-2020

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.

DHS Designates Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Only individuals who are already residing in the United States as of October 20, 2022 will be eligible for TPS.

“The United States recognizes the ongoing armed conflict and the extraordinary and temporary conditions engulfing Ethiopia, and DHS is committed to providing temporary protection to those in need,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Ethiopian nationals currently residing in the U.S. who cannot safely return due to conflict-related violence and a humanitarian crisis involving severe food shortages, flooding, drought, and displacement, will be able to remain and work in the United States until conditions in their home country improve.”

Read more at: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-designates-ethiopia-for-temporary-protected-status-for-18-months

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney, for more information.