Settlement (Spousal Visa) for DACA Client

Muldoon Britton were recently successful in obtaining a Settlement (Spousal) Visa for one of our clients who had ‘Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ (DACA) status in the USA.

DACA is an American immigration policy, established by the Obama administration in June 2012. It allows illegal immigrants who entered the US as minors, prior to June 2007, a two-year period of deferred action from deportation and grants them eligibility to work.

Our client approached Muldoon Britton after the current Trump Administration announced they would be rescinding the DACA expansion on 16 June 2017. The client was married to a British Citizen, and they had a 6-month old child together. The client and their spouse were concerned that should DACA be revoked, the client would have to relocate to the Philippines and their family would be separated. The logical option for their family was to relocate to the UK, where the client’s spouse and child already held citizenship.

Our client wished to know if they were eligible to apply for a visa in the UK, even though they were not ‘legally resident’ in the country in which they’d be making the application. Our client holds a valid Filipino passport, but due to DACA restrictions, could only re-enter the USA if they travelled abroad in limited circumstances, and returning to the Philippines was not a viable option. However, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) require an explanation as to what permission an applicant has to be in the country in which they are making the application from. Our client provided a document confirming their DACA status, and we included this in the bundle of supporting documents that were sent to UKVI.

Muldoon Britton submitted the client’s application days before the Trump Administration made the decision to rescind DACA on 5 September 2017, and our client and their family are absolutely delighted with the successful outcome of the visa application.

Initial entry clearance on a settlement visa is valid for a period of two and a half years, after which an applicant is eligible to apply for Further Leave to Remain. After being resident in the UK for a period of 5 years, an applicant is eligible to apply for Permanent Residency.