Deferred Action Application Process Released
Dustin J. O’Quinn
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released Form I-821D today and announced the process for requesting deferred action based on the guidelines described in the Secretary of Homeland Security’s June 15, 2012 memorandum. USCIS will begin accepting these applications tomorrow, August 15, 2012.
The official title of the six-paged form is “I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals”. As described earlier, the childhood arrivals are called “DREAMers,” referencing the similarities between the June 15th memorandum and the proposed DREAM Act. The form must be filed simultaneously with Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization and the accompanying worksheet, Form I-765WS, created specifically for childhood arrivals to establish a need for employment authorization.
After the forms have been completed and filed with all required initial evidence, the USCIS will issue a receipt notice. An e-notification of receipt will be issued by USCIS if requested on Form G-1145. Then and appointment will be scheduled which will take place at an Application Support Center (ASC) where the applicant’s biometric data will be collected. After the ASC appointment, the applicant will be subject to a background check before the review process will commence.
The amount of time the government will take to process these applications may be several months; however, applicants will be able to check their application status online at USCIS.gov.
In a national media call on August 3, 2012 USCIS stated that the guardians and relatives listed in each application will not be turned in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for removal proceedings; however, that information will be shared with national law enforcement agencies for the apprehension of criminals.
Though there is no fee for the I821D, applicants must submit a total of $465, including the $380 employment authorization application fee and an $85 biometrics fee.
There is no deadline for this process and eligible immigrants may file at any time.