DAPA or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents (also called as Deferred Action for Parental Accountability) is an American immigration policy announced in November 2014 and is expected to come into effect from May 2015. Under this program certain category of illegal immigrants (undocumented immigrants- some of whom are facing removal proceedings) who are parents of American citizens or lawful permanent residents and have lived in the United States since 2010 would be granted a “deferred action” status (defer from deportation/temporary relief from removal) regarding their removal proceedings or non-lawful residency and be eligible for permanent residency (Green Card) and “Employment authorization” on a case-by-case basis.

This relief was undertaken by Obama administration to alleviate the miseries of children of illegal immigrants. Another similar program is DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Eligibility Criteria for DAPA:

  • Having lived in the U.S. continuously since January 1, 2010.
  • Have had a son or daughter of any age or marital status who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident as of November 20, 2014.
  • Absence of or lapse of lawful status as on November 20, 2014.
  • Being physically present in the U.S. on November 20, 2014, when the program was officially announced.
  • To be physically present in the U.S. while applying to the program.
  • Absence of any serious criminal offense culpable for removal proceedings for an alien till date or in other words as said in official terming, not being an “enforcement priority”.

Some important features of DAPA which needs attention are:
The criterion of being present physically in United States for the time period from 01/01/2010 and at time of application is highly relevant.
The “deferred action” clause means you are given a temporary relief from removal proceedings and under conditions.

If you have some criminal record then you should first consult an expert immigration lawyer and then only file application for DAPA, because there will be thorough check up of your all round history including criminal records and strict scrutiny can cause starting of removal proceedings against you in case your criminal record has offences culpable for removal punishments.

If you are interested in DAPA you better start preparing documents right away, as the number of people interested in this would be enormous and you better get in the initial list of people.

USCIS has not yet decided on the date of issue of applications for DAPA. They have only given the approximate date, eligibility criteria and list of needed documents.
So we at Gavlin & Associates, P.C., NY invite all our DAPA interested potential clients to contact us and get registered with us for DAPA because we are already DAPA ready and we will start preparing you for DAPA straightaway so that you will be among the first few who will be already ready for application even before the announcement of issue of application.