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Newsletter
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Office of Immigrant Relations
70 W. Hedding 11th Floor
San Jose, CA 95110
OIR Facebook
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DACA Update
With four different federal courts weighing in on the termination of DACA, this has caused some confusion about who is eligible to apply/renew. To lessen this confusion, below is a quick update for your reference. Please note that lawsuits regarding DACA are still pending in the courts, and information is changing
- For now, the DACA program is still partially available and will continue according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) guidelines issued in January 2018. DACA currently can be renewed if the applicant was enrolled or had applied to the program prior to September 5th, 2017. (https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-response-january-2018-preliminary-injunction)
- Although in April 2018 a federal judge opened the possibility of USCIS accepting DACA initial requests (new DACA applications), it is NOT YET IN EFFECT. On April 24, 2018 a federal judge issued a decision that could reinstate the complete DACA program by ordering USCIS to once again accept first-time requests from individuals. However, the federal judge has paused this order for 90 days to allow the government time to explain why DACA should be terminated. This means that in the next several weeks, there may be a response or new DACA memorandum issued by the federal government.
- Currently, NO INITIAL DACA REQUESTS are being accepted from individuals who have never applied. ONLY DACA RENEWALS are being accepted by USCIS (from anyone who ever had an approved DACA request). Please continue to visit the ILRC website at https://www.ilrc.org/daca for updates.
- For a Q & A from ILRC (English) or a timeline on DACA
- For updates on DACA please visit
- ILRC at https://www.ilrc.org/daca
- National Immigration Law Center at https://www.nilc.org/
- The United We Dream website at https://unitedwedream.org/
- Office of Immigrant Relations at www.sccoir.org
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22nd Annual Citizenship Day in SCC
The Santa Clara County Citizenship Collaborative hosted its annual Citizenship Day in San Jose on April 21st to assist legal permanent residents with their applications for U.S. citizenship. Over 1,000 people, attended this event.
After attending an orientation on how to become a U.S. citizen and a free legal consultation to determine eligibility, agencies that are part of this Collaborative conducted workshops in 14 languages and filled out applications for citizenship. Complex cases were given a follow up appointment for a more thorough evaluation.
The Santa Clara County’s Office of Immigrant Relations offered printed and digital resources to attendees of this event. These resources included additional legal services, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, housing, public benefits, and other useful information about “know your rights” and scams targeting immigrants.
A smaller scale citizenship event was also held in Gilroy on April 7th at Rebecca Children’s Services. There was an 85% increase in the number of participants in South County.
The event was sponsored by the Santa Clara County Citizenship Collaborative made up of Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations, Catholic Charities, SIREN (Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network), Center for Employment Training (CET), and Asian Law Alliance. Additional Sponsors included San Jose City College, the City of San Jose and the New Americans Campaign (NAC).
Below is a photo collage of the Citizenship Day held at SJCC
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Beware of Immigration Scams
In a county with the largest immigrant population in the state, immigration fraud is a topic of importance for a large part of the community. Especially during times of strong anti-immigrant sentiment, and administrative changes, immigrant communities become more vulnerable as they try to address situations that are causing stress. When immigration fraud is committed, money can be vanished, an opportunity to adjust immigration status can be lost or a client who has been mislead can be placed in deportation proceedings. Federal, state and local authorities work continuously to try to educate the community how to protect themselves.
In Santa Clara County, the Notario Fraud Unit exist to assist immigrants if they have been victims of this crime. If you believe you have been a victim of immigration fraud caused by a “notario”, an immigration consultant, or an attorney call the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. The website page is located at https://www.sccgov.org/sites/sheriff/Pages/Notario-Fraud-Unit.aspx
For additional information and resources click here.
Attorney General Alert on Immigration Scams
Immigration Consultants - English
ICE Fraud Alert-State Bar of CA (ICE-Fraud Alert)
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The SCC RRN Receives the Change Maker Award from the SVCN
The annual Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN) Change Maker Awards celebrate people, groups, and organizations that are creating real, lasting public policy change for Santa Clara County communities. SVCN defines Change Makers as innovating, inspiring, and collaborative, “From the professionals retiring from meaningful careers in public service to the advocates bringing housing, immigration, and people power from the local to the national stage, this year’s honorees inspire us with their passion for changing the way we understand and treat every member of our community.”
Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network (RRN) was one of the local collaborations recognized as “change makers”. The Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network and hotline, a collaborative project led by Sacred Heart Community Service, PACT, Pangea Legal Services, LUNA, SIREN, CLESPA, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the South Bay Labor Council, the Mexican Consulate, City of San Jose Office of Immigrant Affairs, and the Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations, aims to expand the community's capacity to monitor and document ICE operations in real time. Through training, thousands of community members are ready to support immigrant families and protect their constitutional rights as our County is targeted for deportations.
To read more about the Rapid Response Network or the other awardees click here
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H-4 Visas in Silicon Valley
In the complex terrain of immigration statuses, H-1B visa is a special status created for temporary highly skilled and educated workforce. In most instances, it is held by immigrant employees in high tech jobs, but scientists and other professionals are often also granted this status. The states with the most H1-B workers are California, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Illinois, respectively. Typically, H1-B workers can bring their spouses and children with them to the U.S. and they are simultaneously granted an H-4 status. Many of those spouses have careers of their own.
On April 2, the Department of Homeland Security requested 180 days to review a rule that allows H-4 visa holders to apply for work permits. Implemented under the Obama administration in 2015, the permit is given to select H-4 visa holders whose spouses are waiting for green cards for a lengthy period. Prior to 2015, no H-4 visa holders were allowed to work or possess a social security number that could be used for employment purposes.
The American Immigration Council has created a fact sheet to provide an overview of the category, details the characteristics of H-4 visa recipients and explains the work eligibility of certain H-4 spouses.
To read the fact sheet click here
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Immigrant Story: Yasmine Mourad's Story
Yasmine Mourad from Beirut, Lebanon.
Palo Alto High School junior, Yasmine Mourad, moved to the United States in 2016 when her dad, Mohamed Mourad, was given an opportunity to work at the YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, CA. Yasmine has lived in multiple countries around the world. Though it has taken time to adapt, she feels lucky to call Palo Alto and the United States her new home.
To read the rest of Yasmine’s story click here.
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