Deferred Action For Parental Accountability (DAPA)
On November 20, 2014, President Barack Obama issued a series of immigration-related executive actions. One of his executive orders concerns Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), a new program that provides a temporary relief from deportation and employment authorization to undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
The DAPA program will be open to individuals who:
1) have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident child born on or before November 20, 2014;
2) have continuously resided in the United States since before January 1, 2010;
3) are physically present in the United States on November 20, 2014, and at the time of applying;
4) have no lawful immigration status on November 20, 2014;
5) are not an enforcement priority, which is defined to include individuals with a wide range of criminal convictions (including certain misdemeanors), those suspected of gang involvement and terrorism, recent unlawful entrants, and certain other immigration law violators DAPA grants will last for three years.
The DAPA program will begin in May 2015. Up to 4.5 million parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are expected to benefit from the new DAPA program.
