USCIS confirms start of deferred action, more details later this afternoon

I just participated in a conference call with Director Alejandro Mayorkas of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and other senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where they provided more details on eligibility, exceptions and the forms to be completed for the deferred action request.

USCIS confirmed that they will begin accepting applications starting tomorrow, August 15. Here is a brief summary and I will post a more complete version of the information later.

In short, the process will be like this:

USCIS receives applications

2. USCIS will review the forms and documentation to verify that the application is complete.

If complete, a receipt will be sent to the applicant.

4. USCIS will then send a notification for an appointment to obtain biometric (fingerprint) data.

5. USCIS will do a background check.

6. USCIS will begin processing the case, which will take several months.

Mr. Mayorkas emphasized that each case will be reviewed individually and all of the applicant's circumstances will be taken into account before a final decision is made as to whether deferred action will be approved.

Forms and mailing addresses will be available later today on the www.uscis.gov/childhoodarrivals website.