Work Permit, EAD, for immigrants who were granted Deferred Action under new DHS Enforcement Policy 08/18/2011. ICE FAQs published 08/30/2011.

Work Permit for immigrants who are granted Deferred Action, FAQs published by ICE on 08-30-2011:

Will beneficiaries of an exercise of prosecutorial discretion automatically receive work authorization?

No. Nothing about this process is automatic and nobody who goes through this process is automatically
entitled to work authorization. Per longstanding federal law, individuals affected by an exercise of
prosecutorial discretion will be able to request work authorization, including paying associated fees, and
their requests will be separately considered by USCIS on a case-by-case basis.

http://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/ero/pdf/immigration-enforcement-facts.pdf

USCIS switches to electronic forms & filing: new rule effective date November 28, 2011.

Say goodbye to traditional immigration processing forms.

08/29/2011

In preparation for a long-delayed transition to online processing of immigration
applications, the Homeland Security Department has released new rules for
describing forms and filing procedures in official policies.

The 43-page federal notice published Monday instructs the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, a unit of DHS, to stop typing on documents the traditional
numbers and titles for various benefit claims, such as "Application for
Naturalization, form N-400." Instead, to accommodate the new computerized
Transformation system, USCIS policies and rules will carry more generic phrases,
such as "the form designated by USCIS."

Rule effective date is November 28, 2011.

The goal of the $2.4 billion Transformation program, according to the
guidelines, is to improve customer service by offering applicants online
accounts for submitting and tracking their cases. Agency employees also should
be able to work faster because they will be collaborating on documents
electronically, rather than physically transferring folders between offices.
USCIS receives about 6 million forms annually.

All this digitization should tighten security by enabling staff to cross-check
information from multiple applications so they can better detect identity fraud,
DHS officials said.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-08-29/pdf/2011-20990.pdf and
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110829_3929.php

August 18, 2011 DHS Deportation or Prosecutorial Discretion New Policy is NOT an Amnesty: you can NOT apply for a work permit or ANY status under this policy at this time.

In view of August 18, 2011, public announcement by the DHS, the American Immigration Lawyers Association issued the following warning:

WARNING!

Do NOT believe anyone who tells you they can sign you up for a work permit
(Employment Authorization Document or “EAD”) or get you legal status
based on the Secretary Napolitano’s August 18, 2011 announcement!
Anyone who says that is not to be trusted!

There is NO “safe” way to turn yourself in to immigration and there is NO
guarantee that your case will be considered “low priority.” ANY person who
comes into contact with immigration authorities may be arrested, detained
or even removed.

Only a QUALIFIED IMMIGRATION LAWYER can evaluate your case and tell
your about your rights.

Do NOT seek legal advice from a notario or immigration consultant.
For more information about avoiding immigration scams go to
www.StopNotarioFraud.org

What the new policy is NOT:

** The Obama Administration announcement is NOT an
amnesty, it is NOT about granting legal status, and is NOT
something that you can sign-up for!

The Obama Administration made very clear that the announcements do NOT
provide any way to “apply” for a work permit or “EAD” nor is there a new way to
apply to remain in the United States. The change announced is not about giving
people work permits or legal status. The announcement applies ONLY to cases
already in the system, ensuring that low priority cases do not continue to clog
up an already overburdened immigration court system.

***What the new policy IS:

The Obama Administration announced the creation of a high-level working group made
up of Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice officials who are to
do the following:

** Review all cases already pending before the immigration courts. Those that are
considered “low priority” may be administratively closed. Those that are
considered a “high priority” will be prosecuted more aggressively.

** There are no rules or guarantees that a particular type of case will be considered
a “low” or “high” priority. Recent guidelines are helpful, but no one can tell you if
your case is a low priority--only immigration authorities will make that decision.

** In the future, immigration authorities will review the cases people before they are
placed in removal proceedings. Those that are “low priority” may not be referred
to the immigration court.

**Create department-wide guidance to help USCIS, CBP, and ICE agents and
officers make better, more consistent decisions about who to place in removal
proceedings.
** Issue guidance on providing discretion in compelling cases for persons who
already have a final order of removal.

In other words, the August 18, 2011 announcement was preliminary and nothing has been
implemented yet. Any details about how the review process will work, what cases will
be considered low priority or how to have a particular case considered have not been
decided.

The best course of action is to consult an immigration lawyer or accredited
representative, not to take action because a friend, neighbor or coworker
encourages you to act.

Even if a friend, neighbor or coworker encourages you to act, do NOT try to contact
immigration authorities or fall for a scam!

NOTE: At this time, there is NO application to fill out, NO form that can be filed, NO filing fee that can be paid and NO guidance from immigration authorities AT ALL as to how the review of cases
will happen.

Eventually, as the government decides how to proceed, that information
should be available from official government websites, such as USCIS.gov .

Read at http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=36705