Public Service Announcement: Scammers are lying about immigration reform. Please do your part and share facts and information with your community.
If you are reading this column, it is probably not written for you. It is written for your friends, relatives or neighbors that may not fully understand what has happened, what has not happened and what may happen this year with immigration reform. For those reasons, I write this with only one request of you: please spread the word to people that do not fully understand what is going on. They could be easy victims for scammers who want to take advantage of this confusing and exciting time.
I have personally received calls the past few weeks about the “new law” or “nueva ley” that is in effect in immigration. Some reports are that people are already charging for services based on a legalization program or “amnesty.” NO SUCH PROGRAM exists at this time. So, below I separate out fact from fiction to help make sure people are not taken advantage of. You should know what has occurred and what has not occurred during the past several months and make sure to share this with others.
What has really happened:
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): This allows some qualified individuals to apply for a work permit based on their physical presence in the United States, age and other factors. IMPORTANT: There is no deadline for filing for DACA, as some have been hearing. Also, there is no official processing time being provided by the Department of Homeland Security. However, many applications are now taking close to six months to process.
- Provisional (Stateside) Waivers: This is not a legalization program but is instead a process that allows some individuals who are immediate relatives (certain spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens) to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver while they are waiting in the United States. Currently the regulation only applies to a narrow group of people and does not go into effect until March 4, 2013. Therefore, if you may think you or a relative qualifies you should do some research now, before going further with any applications.
What has not happened:
- Comprehensive Immigration Reform: This has not happened yet, and it is going to be months before we have any idea of whether it will happen. We don’t know what this law, if passed, will look like and who it will help. No one should pay a deposit for work regarding a law that does not yet and may never exist. Don’t let someone scam your friends, family, or members of your community.
Whenever there is media interest and talk about some sort of immigration reform there tends to be a lot of confusion about it and the process. There are also, unfortunately, individuals who are already trying to take advantage of this confusion like scammers, notarios, and others. So it is very important that you learn more about what is really happening with immigration reform and update your friends, relatives and neighbors who may not fully understand what is going on or have access to a computer.
Make sure to stay updated with any breaking news through websites such as the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and other organizations that provide up-to-date and accurate information.
Written by Maurice Goldman, Member, AILA Media-Advocacy Committee