On June 15, 2012, the Obama administration announced that it would allow certain undocumented young people the opportunity to apply for a temporary status called DEFERRED ACTION. With this status, applicants would be eligible to receive a work permit valid for two years.

Note that this new policy will not be in effect for approximately 60 days while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services devise a plan for accepting applications.

In order to qualify for the status, the immigrant must have entered the U.S. prior to age 16, and have been under thirty-one years old on June 15, 2012. She must have continuously resided in the U.S. for at least five years prior to June 15, 2012 and have been present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012. The immigrant must currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have a GED, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces. Most criminal offenses will make her ineligible for deferred action.

Those who believe they meet this criteria should not affirmatively apply for deferred action now. They should be very careful of notaries and other non-lawyers in the community who tell them that they can file now! At this point we all are simply waiting for further guidance from USCIS. Please contact the IIIC with any questions or If you would like to place your name on a mailing list, we will be happy to contact you once we have more information.