The NYS Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Initiative

One major goal of the New York State initiative is to ensure that youth and their families are not the victims of scams by unauthorized practitioners of law such as notarios. The State has already received reports of scammers using this new opportunity to take advantage of these young people. Many times, these con artists charge a lot of money for services that are never provided. At times, victims are so damaged that they permanently lose out on important immigration opportunities.

The program will:

• Provide eligible youth with a team of experienced immigration lawyers that will provide immigration law consultations to young people, and legal technical assistance to immigrant service providers across our state
  
  
• Coordinate with bar associations to expand access to pro bono attorneys who can help young people as they prepare applications for deferred action
  
  
• Crackdown on scammers who take advantage of New Yorkers seeking deferred action by charging exorbitant fees or engaging in the unauthorized practice of law
  
  
• Help young people to collect the documents they need to demonstrate their eligibility for deferred action by partnering with the Consuls General of nations representing the State’s immigrants
  
  
• Coordinate and implement a major, multi-lingual media campaign to ensure that interested New Yorkers have accurate, up-to-date information about deferred action
  
  
• Expand the multi-lingual New York State New Americans hotline to include information regarding deferred action and to offer referrals to immigrant service providers capable of assisting eligible youth
  
  
• Conduct outreach in several languages in immigrant communities, making community presentations to explain deferred action, warn them of scams and provide follow up sessions