Obama Immigration Announcement

Nov 20, 2014 President Obama Outlines His Plan

President Obama finally spoke to us today regarding his plan to alleviate the worries of millions of undocumented immigrants.  He outlined his plan in general terms. He told us that if:

1. You have been in the United States for more than 5 years;

2. You have a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident child;

3. You register and pay taxes; and

4. You can pass a criminal background check;

then the United States is not going to deport you.

This is not a path to citizenship, nor did he mention whether you would be granted employment authorization.  While the president didn’t state clearly that those who benefit under this plan would receive employment authorization, it is likely that this plan would grant it.  If the president’s plan expects you to pay taxes, then it seems logical that employment authorization would be included in this deal.

The fourth point that he made was the necessity that applicants pass a criminal background check.  He did not make clear what the criteria would be to pass the background check.  The criteria that was used for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) may be helpful in predicting those requirements.  DACA applicants would not be eligible for benefits unless they had not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors, and did not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.  That may be the criteria here but, at this time, we do not know.

We will all need to wait until USCIS adopts a policy and publishes it.  That should be any day now.

If you have any questions or would like an appointment, feel free to email us at
or give us a call.  English speakers can call me directly at 619 507 2546, Spanish speakers should call 760 533 6849.

The official release is below:

On November 20, 2014, the President announced a series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation.

These initiatives include:

Expanding the population eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to young people who came to this country before turning 16 years old and have been present since January 1, 2010, and extending the period of DACA and work authorization from two years to three years | Details

Allowing parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been in the country since January 1, 2010, to request deferred action and employment authorization for three years, in a new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program, provided they pass required background checks | Details

Expanding the use of provisional waivers of unlawful presence to include the spouses and sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents and the sons and daughters of U.S. citizens | Details

Modernizing, improving and clarifying immigrant and nonimmigrant programs to grow our economy and create jobs | Details

Promoting citizenship education and public awareness for lawful permanent residents and providing an option for naturalization applicants to use credit cards to pay the application fee | Details