The DAPA Groundhog Will See His Shadow

Contributed by Kim Tremblay, Associate Attorney

February is the month we celebrate Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, the Chinese New Year, and some lesser known days (Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day and Blame Someone Else Day, just to name a few).  Some also celebrate Groundhog’s Day on February 2nd, the mid-point of winter.  Coincidentally, February is also the mid-point between the President’s November 20, 2014 announcement on Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) and the actual projected May beginning of the program.

Legend goes that if the groundhog sees his shadow upon emerging from the ground on February  2nd, there will be six more weeks of winter.  If he does not, spring should be right around the corner.  More details about DAPA were supposed to come out in January, but none have emerged thus far; today, government representatives holding a stakeholder conference call regarding the program did not announce a date for the guidance.  They only mentioned that guidance would be available before the program starts.  It looks like potential DAPA applicants and their representatives are going to have to suffer through the cold a little while longer.

Potential DACA applicants can watch out for emerging details about the program at USCIS.gov and can still prepare themselves by consulting an attorney or accredited representative to determine whether they appear to meet the basic requirements announced in November.