There is a lot of confusion and misinformation out there regarding President Obama’s new executive actions on immigration. In general, the new executive actions expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), create the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program (DAPA), open up the use of provisional waivers, promote education and awareness, and modernize the immigration programs that are already in place.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is not currently accepting applications for the initiatives associated with the new executive actions. Some programs will accept applications as early as February 2015 or May 2015– depending on which program you qualify for. This means that you have time to get your documents in order and the government has time to develop its new procedures. This is also a good time to consult with Los Angeles immigration attorney Scott McVarish.

The USCIS expect to receive millions of applications. So, it will be in your best interest to receive legal guidance while filling out the forms to ensure that a mistake does not push your application to the back of the line. There are approximately 4.9 million people in the United States who may qualify. There is no requirement to apply right away and as of now, there is no official cutoff date for applying. Filing your paperwork early, however, will help ensure that your application will be processed quicker.

With so many new applicants, it is unclear how long the process will take or how the influx of applications will affect other immigration applications. We do know that applicants who fail their background check will have an uphill battle to secure legal resident status. All applicants must provide fingerprints and have a background check taken to ensure that they do not have a criminal record, have not committed fraud and are not otherwise eligible for deferred action. But you should do this with your immigration attorney to make sure you are getting the correct information for USCIS.

If you have any questions about your legal status and how the executive actions affect you, do not hesitate to contact the Immigration Law Office of Los Angeles, P.C. You may now qualify to live and work in the United States without the fear of facing deportation.