Fri, 10 Apr 2020 22:14:38 -0700WeeblySun, 23 Nov 2014 00:08:38 GMThttp://crutcher-herrejon.com/blog/president-obamas-immigration-announcementOn November 20, 2014 President Obama announced that he would be issuing executive orders that would make many changes for immigrants living in the United States. The biggest changes that will affect those without immigration status are:

1. Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA): Parents of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents will be able to apply for deferred action to remain in the United States without the threat of deportation. Although all of the requirements for the program have not yet been announced. The following is a list of the requirements we are aware of so far and will cover:
   
1. Parents of US citizen or lawful permanent resident children born on or before November 20, 2014;
   
2. who entered the United States before January 1, 2010;
   
3. who were present in the United States on November 20, 2014; and
   
4. who are able to pass required criminal and background history checks.
   
   
2. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): This program is an expansion of the deferred action program that was put into place by President Obama in 2012 to protect “dreamers.” The requirements for this program are:
   
1. That the applicant entered the United States before turning 16 years old;
   
2. has lived in the United States since January 1, 2010;
   
3. was present in the United States on either June 15, 2012 or November 20, 2014;
   
4. has graduated from high school, has completed their GED, or is currently enrolled in a qualifying educational program;
   
5. has not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor or three or more misdemeanors.
   
   
3. Expansion of Provisional Waivers: This program expands who may apply for a provisional waiver. Currently only spouses and minor children of United States citizens may apply for a provisional waiver. With the changes, sons and daughters of United States citizens and spouses, sons, and daughters of United States lawful permanent residents will be able to apply for the provisional waiver. The provisional waiver allows people to apply for and receive an answer from USCIS with regards to their waiver of unlawful presence in the United States before travelling to their home country in order to consular process and receive their immigrant visa.
   
   

We do not have concrete information about when each of these programs will be available. USCIS has estimated that people will be able to request the DACA under the expanded guidelines within approximately 90 days. For the DAPA program, USCIS has estimated that people will be able to begin submitting requests for that relief in approximately 180 days. There is no estimate as to when the expanded provisional waiver program will go into effect. People who may qualify for these programs should NOT travel outside of the United States as it may make them ineligible for the programs.


Deferred Action is not an immigration status; it is only protection from being placed in removal proceedings. A person with deferred action does not have a visa, a green card or any other legal immigration status. There is no path to citizenship or a green card for a person with deferred action. However, a person with deferred action is protected from deportation during the period they have deferred action and they are also eligible for a work permit. In the cases of people who are granted deferred action under DACA or DAPA, USCIS will grant deferred action and employment authorization for periods of three years.


There are many things that people should do to begin preparing for these changes and the opportunity to apply for relief.  The following are documents that could be helpful in the preparation of a case:

1. Identity documents: Birth certificate for the applicant, marriage certificate, passports, national identity documents
   
   
2. Proof of having lived in the United States since June 1, 2010: monthly bank statements, rent receipts or mortgage payment records, tax records, church records, school records, medical records, utility bills, employment records
   
   
3. Proof that you were in the United States on November 20, 2014: bank statements with debits in the United States on that date, receipts written to the person on or around the date, a photograph of the applicant with a current newspaper in front of a landmark, or other documents
   
   
4. Proof of relationship to US citizen or lawful permanent resident children: birth certificate of child, or other evidence
   
   
5. Proof of education: High school diploma or GED certificate, school transcripts, proof of current enrollment in high school or other qualifying educational program
   
   
6. Criminal history records: Copies of all available documents from courts and police for each encounter with law enforcement.
   
   

It is very important that those people who want more information about these programs talk to an experienced lawyer who specializes in immigration law. Immigration law is an extremely complex area of law and it is very easy to be put at risk of removal by immigration authorities if applications for relief are submitted when a person is not actually eligible. Immigrants are an extremely vulnerable population and there are many scammers who prey on the community. Among these scammers are notarios, who claim knowledge of immigration law, but who do not have any legal education or experience. Do not fall prey to these scams and seek out an experienced attorney before submitting any paperwork to immigration.



]]>Thu, 13 Feb 2014 02:34:28 GMThttp://crutcher-herrejon.com/blog/interviews-on-univisionI have been working as a volunteer with the Washington State Bar Association over the past few months trying to locate former clients of a suspended attorney. The hope is to return the original files to the clients. This has been a much more difficult task than I expected and has taken months to accomplish. There are still hundreds of clients of the attorney who I have been unable to contact and so, in an effort to try to locate more of the clients, I have been interviewed on our local Univision station. Here are links to the interviews if you would like to watch:


http://www.kunstv.com/noticias/video/Abogado-abandona-a-sus-clientes-pero-hay-ayuda-227897811.html?tab=video&c=y

http://www.kunstv.com/noticias/video/Esta-usted-entre-los-afectados-245045691.html?tab=video&c=y



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