Mediaboss Marketing

Mabuhay and hafa adai!

Happy New Year! It is officially 2015, and to kick off the New Year, let's take the opportunity to look back at significant immigration events during the past year.

Although Congress was unable to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill during 2014, the immigration system still underwent several changes.

First, 2014 was a year full of immigration changes stemming from executive orders. In the beginning part of 2014, the Obama administration issued an executive order that affected the immediate relatives of individuals who were serving in the United States military or who had served in the United States military. This regulation enabled thousands of out-of-status immediate family members to avoid deportation.

In the end of the year, the Obama administration again issued several executive orders. One regulation expanded the application of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was originally implemented in 2012. The DACA program enables certain individuals, who entered the country at a young age to apply for an employment authorization and to avoid deportation for a certain period.

Another regulation issued at the same time frame, created the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program. The DAPA program allows certain individuals who have a United States permanent resident or United States citizen child to also apply for an employment authorization for a certain period.

Collectively, these two programs are supposed to affect millions of out of status or non-status individuals. However, none of the executive orders address the plight of millions of out of status or non-status adults, who entered the United States as adults and who do not have any United States permanent resident or citizen children.

Second, during the summer of 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the opinion of Scialabba v. Cuellar De Osorio, which had a great impact on immigration law. The opinion had the effect of limiting immigration benefits, rather than increasing it.

The Scialabba opinion had the effect of precluding the ability of derivative beneficiaries in the F3 and F4 visa categories, who have aged out, to retain the original priority dates that was once assigned on the petition filed on behalf of their principal beneficiaries (mother or father).

Third, in the fall of 2014, certain fee changes were also announced for certain immigration applications and benefits. Of specific import to our local readers were the fee changes to the Affidavit of Support Review fee, which increased from $88 to $120, and the Immigrant Visa Processing fee, which increased from $230 to $325.

Here is the original post:
An immigration look back at 2014