In a surprising turn of events, the US Supreme Court declared DACA legitimate and has allowed for all individuals registered as “Dreamers” to continue staying in the US.
Positively impacting over 800,000 people registered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the continuation of this federal program allows for young adults who came in to the United States as children with illegally documented or undocumented parents or family members a chance at an US education and work in the US employment system with a legitimate social security number.
Started in 2012 by the Obama administration, children of illegal immigrants were allowed to remain in the US if they came since June 2007 and were here before turning 16. This decision by the Supreme Court will affect at least 21,000 Indian nationals who would have faced deportation when this program was meant to be being phased out in October 2017.
Quick Facts For Eligible DACA Recipients
- Dreamers can apply for a Social Security number
- Can apply for a renewable work permit for a two-year period
- Some states allow for discounted college tuition
- Although Mexico tops the charts, India ranks 12th among the countries with illegal Dreamers in the Unites States.
- The expected age group for Dreamers today is between 18 – 40 years, a productive age group wherein most are either employed in the tech force or Covid’s medical teams. Thus, helping the US economy resuscitate.
- Over 17% of Dreamers are on track to complete an advanced degree.
- Given the Supreme Court’s decision, USCIS will accept fresh DACA applications
- If a prior DACA application was rejected, USCIS will not accept a new application for that candidate now.
- All properly filed and pending DACA applications and its associated employment authorization documents that were submitted after October 2017 but put on hold will now be considered on a case by case basis.
- USCIS will accept all renewal requests subject to all eligibility requirements being met.
How Can You Apply For Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals Program
- Get Proof of Identity
- This includes, passport, birth certificate, I-94, utility bill and official school records
- Fill out Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
- Mail the application and forms to USCIS address
- Fulfill your Biometrics requirement at a Application Service Center
- Check status online through a USCIS Account.
