News Update - December 4, 2010
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
DREAM Act Coming Up for Vote With Changes
The big news on the Hill is that the DREAM Act's fate will most likely be decided in this next week. In previous legislative thrusts championing the legislation, the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act) requirements were that students had to enter the U.S. before the age of 16, be present for five years before the date of enactment, and graduate from high school (or GED). They could then apply for a six year conditional residence status after which permanent residence could be approved if they graduated from college or completed two years in a degree program or served in the armed forces. Persons were not eligible if they were under a final administrative or judicial order of exclusion, deportation, or removal, unless they had remained in the U.S. under color of law or received the order before attaining the age of 16. Conditional residence could be terminated for lack of good moral character, criminal conduct, immigration fraud, national security concerns, dishonorable or less than honorable discharge in the armed forces, and on public charge grounds. Children at least 12 years old and enrolled full-time in a primary or secondary school would receive a stay of removal and employment authorization if in the U.S. for five years.
In order to attract broader support for the DREAM Act, changes have been made in the legislation such as imposing a cut-off age so that only those who are less than 30 years old on the date of enactment will be benefited; the good moral character requirement will now date back to the time that the applicants entered the United States rather than the date of enactment; and there would now be a conditional non-immigrant status of 10 years, followed by three years of permanent residence status before applicants could apply for naturalization. The clarification was also made that no one can apply until one year after enactment.
Still, with these and other changes, the fate of the DREAM Act remains up in the air, and it can only be hoped that the changes will be sufficient to push the bill over the top.
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