The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs invites Orange County residents to learn more about the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services policy updates taking effect August 19, 2024. The policy updates impact thousands of people awaiting a pathway toward naturalization. Through the guidance of immigration law practitioners, community members will be more aware of the impacts the new policies have on their lives or the lives of immigrant and refugee families. Additionally, general guidance will be provided on how to prepare if eligible to apply for immigration relief.
Attendees can connect to immigration legal practitioners and schedule a free or low-cost immigration consultation.
Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, Dari, Pashto and Ukrainian interpreters will be available.
Speakers: Lisa D. Ramirez, Esq., U.S. Immigration Law Group, LLP, and Heather Kwak, Department of Justice Accredited Representative, Office Director, World Relief Southern California
Date: Thursday, August 22, 2024
Time: 3-5 p.m.
Location: County of Orange Social Services Agency, 500 N. State College Blvd., Orange, CA 92868
RSVP: https://bit.ly/4fEiots, (714) 245-6049 or oira@ssa.ocgov.com
Background:
- On June 18, the White House announced that spouses and children of U.S. Citizens could be eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence without having to leave the United States. This executive action, known as the Process to Promote the Unity and Stability of Families, is estimated to apply to about half a million spouses of U.S. citizens, and 50,000 noncitizen children whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen.
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients can learn more about D-3 waivers, a provision of the Nationality and Immigration Act (INA §212(d)(3)) that can excuse — on a case-by-case basis — a wide range of grounds of inadmissibility to the United States, including the 3- and 10-year bar. People who receive a D-3 waiver approval notice can obtain an employment-based temporary visa at a U.S. consulate abroad, and then re-enter the United States in valid status with work authorization.