Chapter 1: Introduction
- 4 minsThanks for checking out my permanent residency via employment-based sponsorship for DACA recipients handbook. I hope that the information I provide is useful and can lead to more DACA recipients pursuing this path to a permanent status in the U.S., or at least becoming aware of it as a viable option.
Why I wrote this handbook
Like most DACA recipients, I have been living in the US since I was a child and consider this country home. I knew of my undocumented status early on in my life and always envisioned finding a pathway to a permanent status in this country. In my mind, that pathway was clear: I’d become educated, obtain a college degree, land my dream job in my chosen profession and convince my employer to sponsor me for permanent residency. Easy, right?
As a kid, this was only a vision that I had for my future life but as I entered high school, I began some early research into whether this would be a realistic possibility and if so, how I would go about it. Starting out, my research was not very fruitful; there was little information online about the intersection of DACA and employment-based permanent residency sponsorship and the few forums I could find did not provide a positive outlook.
The consensus at the time was that DACA recipients were ineligible for this pathway (this was true for nearly all working professionals at the time since they had received DACA after the age of 18.5 and had thus accrued unlawful presence, making them inadmissible). Nevertheless, I was stubborn and continued my search and educated myself on the sponsorship process, the steps involved, and the eligibility criteria. Based on everything I read, I was convinced that I was in-fact eligible and although I did not have access to legal counsel to confirm my theory, I continued to pursue my plan as I had envisioned, one step at a time.
I was blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to pursue a college education, obtained an engineering degree, landed my dream job and completed an employment-based permanent residency sponsorship just as I had dreamed of. As of August 2021, I am now a permanent resident of the United States and hope to become a citizen as soon as I am eligible.
Over the years, I have built a widespread network of DACA friends and colleagues, many of whom have shown interest in learning about my experience of going through the sponsorship process and how they may be able to go through it as well. I have shared a lot of that information in bits and pieces with them in private channels; this handbook is a compilation of that information with the goal of sharing it more broadly and publicly so that more people can benefit from it.
How this handbook is structured
I want this handbook to be as useful to as many people as possible and to serve as both a learning resource and a reference guide for those who end up pursuing this pathway. As such, although the content will be drawn directly from my experience, I won’t be focusing too much on the specifics of my story and background, but rather on explaining each of the steps that I went through, detailing important information such as: documents that are needed, preparation tips, useful links and further reading, etc. Because it is based on my personal experience, this will not be and is not meant to be a comprehensive guide that covers all possible situations or immigration circumstances that someone may find themselves in. Rather, this is meant to be a quick reference guide and a starting point to your own journey in your pursuit of an employment-based sponsorship.
Disclaimer
As you read this handbook, please keep in mind that I am NOT a legal professional. All the information contained in this handbook is drawn from my personal experience and my interpretation of the source material (mostly USCIS documentation) that I read to educate myself on the process as I went through it. This is intended to be a starting point for those wanting to learn more about the process and looking to read about a real-life example of someone successfully completing it. It should NOT be considered a replacement for legal representation, nor should it be taken as legal advice. Every case is unique and although I hope a lot can be taken away from this handbook, I urge everyone to consult an immigration attorney to closely look at the details of your case and present you personalized options that you may pursue.
Joel Marquez
Senior Software Engineering Manager @ Microsoft