Changes to U and T Nonimmigrant Visa Categories as part of President Obama’s Action Initiative.

The Obama administration has included two important changes with respect to U and T visas for victims of crime in the workplace and trafficking as part of its administrative reform, by expanding the DOL’s U visa certification protocol to include three additional qualifying criminal activities, and committing to certification of T visas. It has also established an interagency task force to protect immigrant workers from employers who exploit their immigration status when they seek to exercise their workplace rights.

The DOL has posted a fact sheet here:  http://www.dol.gov/dol/fact-sheet/immigration/u-t-visa.htm. The fact sheet specifies that these changes will be enacted in 2015.

Among the DOL’s changes include:
•         Expand its existing U visa certification program by certifying requests that include: extortion, fraud in foreign labor contracting, and forced labor. (Although forced labor is not specifically enumerated in the U visa statute, it should be considered substantially similar to involuntary servitude. See, e.g. United States v. Bradley, 390 F.3d 145 (1st Cir. 2004)).
•         Certify applications for trafficking victims seeking T visas when human trafficking activity is detected in the course of the Wage and Hour Division’s workplace investigations. The DOL will publish a Federal Register notice delegating authority to issue T visa certifications and will amend procedures and protocol to reflect these changes.

The Obama administration has also announced the establishment of an interagency working group addressing consistent enforcement of federal labor, employment, and labor laws, which will seek to ensure that federal enforcement authorities are not used to undermine worker protections through the use of immigration authorities in labor disputes, and strengthening processes for staying the removal and providing temporary work authorization for undocumented workers asserting workplace claims. See: http://www.dol.gov/dol/fact-sheet/immigration/interagency-working-group.htm.

Expanded Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals.

On November 20, 2014 Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Charles Johnson issued

a memorandum significantly expanding the number of individuals eligible for deferred action for

childhood arrivals (“DACA”).

Note that the Secretary has directed that CIS begin accepting applications under the new DACA

standards no later than February 18, 2015.  If you may be eligible under the expanded criteria,

please contact our office as soon as possible, so that the application might be timely filed.

To be eligible for DACA under the new standards, individuals must meet the following criteria:

•  have entered the United States before the age of 16

• have entered the United States before January 1, 2010 and have continuously resided in the United States since that time; 

• are physically present in the United States on the date of the memorandum, and at the time of making a request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS; 

• are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.  

The biggest changes from the previous DACA policy, enacted in 2012, are: (1) the age

restriction previously excluding individuals over the age of 31 has been rescinded; (2) DACA

will be granted in three year increments, rather than two-year increments; and (3) the eligibility

cut-off date by which a DACA applicant must have been in the United States has been adjusted

from June 15, 2007 to January 1, 2010.


All fees and biometrics requirements outlined in the initial DACA program remain in effect.

As was the case with the initial DACA program, this action confers no substantive right,

immigration status or pathway to citizenship.  Only an Act of Congress can confer these rights.

However, the expansion of the DACA program will allow more individuals to obtain work

authorization and live normal lives in the United States.

Overview of President Obama's Executive Action

The President asked Secretary Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to undertake a rigorous and inclusive review to inform recommendations on reforming our broken immigration system through executive action. This review sought the advice and input from the men and women charged with implementing the policies, as well as the ideas of a broad range of stakeholders and Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Our assessment identified the following ten areas where we, within the confines of the law, could take action to increase border security, focus enforcement resources, and ensure accountability in our immigration system.

Read more

US DOL's Expanded U and T Visa Certifications for Victims of Workplace Crime

Dear friends,

The Obama administration has included two important changes with respect to U and T visas for victims of crime in the workplace and trafficking as part of its administrative reform, by expanding the DOL's U visa certification protocol to include three additional qualifying criminal activities, and committing to certification of T visas. It has also established an interagency task force to protect immigrant workers from employers who exploit their immigration status when they seek to exercise their workplace rights.

The DOL has posted a fact sheet here:  http://www.dol.gov/dol/fact-sheet/immigration/u-t-visa.htm. The fact sheet specifies that these changes will be enacted in 2015.

Among the DOL's changes include:

*         Expand its existing U visa certification program by certifying requests that include: extortion, fraud in foreign labor contracting, and forced labor. (Although forced labor is not specifically enumerated in the U visa statute, it should be considered substantially similar to involuntary servitude. See, e.g. United States v. Bradley, 390 F.3d 145 (1st Cir. 2004)).

*         Certify applications for trafficking victims seeking T visas when human trafficking activity is detected in the course of the Wage and Hour Division's workplace investigations. The DOL will publish a Federal Register notice delegating authority to issue T visa certifications and will amend procedures and protocol to reflect these changes.

The Obama administration has also announced the establishment of an interagency working group addressing consistent enforcement of federal labor, employment, and labor laws, which will seek to ensure that federal enforcement authorities are not used to undermine worker protections through the use of immigration authorities in labor disputes, and strengthening processes for staying the removal and providing temporary work authorization for undocumented workers asserting workplace claims. See: http://www.dol.gov/dol/fact-sheet/immigration/interagency-working-group.htm.

How Immigrants Contribute to the U.S. Military

Just as immigrants have roots in communities across the country, they are also found throughout the ranks of the U.S. military, fighting on the front lines and shaping policy in the Pentagon.

Read more here

Obama Plan May Allow Millions of Immigrants to Stay and Work in U.S.

WASHINGTON — President Obama will ignore angry protests from Republicans and announce as soon as next week a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration enforcement system that will protect up to five million unauthorized immigrants from the threat of deportation and provide many of them with work permits, according to administration officials who have direct knowledge of the plan.

Asserting his authority as president to enforce the nation’s laws with discretion, Mr. Obama intends to order changes that will significantly refocus the activities of the government’s 12,000 immigration agents. One key piece of the order, officials said, will allow many parents of children who are American citizens or legal residents to obtain legal work documents and no longer worry about being discovered, separated from their families and sent away.

Read full article from New York Times

Client Testimonial

The entire team at DAVID F. VEDDER, P.A.,

Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel towards all of you for what you have done for me and my family. Your hard work and devotion to our case has afforded us a new lease on life and I am forever grateful to you for that.

It was 4+ years ago when unfortunate circumstances led us to your offices, and while during all this time we have had many doubts about whether I would be able to spend the rest of my life here with my family, you were always the one source of reassurance that everything would be all right... as long as we had a good deal of patience and a great strategy. While our patience wore thin a number of times, your strategy delivered in spades!

Mr. Vedder, you were absolutely phenomenal in your approach to winning my very complicated case and I thank you for the personal interest you took in this matter to giving my life back to me. I have no doubt you do this for all your clients. And how could you not be successful given all the talent you have surrounding you!

Julie, I don’t know how I could ever have gotten through all that paperwork without your help. Your attention to detail and fortitude to follow-up and keep me informed as well as responsible for what was owed by me gave me much needed confidence that I was well represented and never forgotten. 

Daniel and Silvia, it was an absolute pleasure to work with both of you. I was very impressed by how well you were prepared to assist in my case, not to mention the most gracious, courteous and caring demeanor you portrayed in every regard.

Jacqueline, thanks for always taking my call and providing the convenience in keeping my account current. Thanks also for your patience when I did not call in time!

There will hopefully never be a circumstance such as this again in our lives, however I will say that if it were to happen, we would look no farther than to all of you for assistance. We recommend the firm of David F. Vedder P.A. to anyone and everyone dealing with the complexities of immigration matters no matter how trivial or complicated. You are talented and knowledgeable, and above all humble and patient in your approach to tackling cases for a successful outcome. Each and every one on the team is extremely professional and courteous to the point where we felt very comfortable discussing difficult issues and circumstances that led to my troubles.

We are deeply thankful and forever grateful to you for your personal attention and successful execution in my matter.

Best Regards, R&J/Client

Washington Post: White House Says Obama Will Act on Immigration Despite Warnings to Hold Off

The Washington Post reports that on Friday, President Obama firmly rejected the suggestion that he delay his promised executive action on immigration reform, dismissing calls from critics inside and outside his party to allow Congress to debate the issue next year. The President stated that he had already waited almost two years for congressional action on immigration and that his decision to proceed should not upend chances for cooperation on unrelated matters.
Read this story here

ESTA Adds Data Fields for Visa Waiver Program Applicants

DHS announced that effective November 3, 2014, those seeking to travel to the U.S. from countries in the Visa Waiver Program will be required to provide additional passport data, contact information, and other potential names or aliases in the travel application submitted via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
Read more here