Dream Act vs. Deferred Action

A lot of people confuse the dream act with deferred action. The Dream Act, also called "Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors," was a parliamentary proposal and if passed, could have given conditional PR to some undocumented immigrants.

Eligibility under this law would have required candidates to: 

1. Be graduates from an American high school
2. Have good moral character
3. Attain a GED,
4. Enroll in a community or a four-year college,
5. Serve the military,
6. Be between the ages of twelve and thirty five

For a period of six years, successful candidates would be granted a "conditional" status to reside and work in the US.

Since Congress could not pass this bill after several attempts, in 2012 a new policy was brought into action known as “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" to offer similar benefits to the undocumented immigrants who could have benefited through the Dream Act. The requirements for eligibility under DACA are more or less the same as those proposed in the Dream Act. But DACA only offers two of the advantages as mentioned in the Dream Act to the eligible applicants- removing fear of deportation, and applying for work authorization. The policy does not, in any way, provide any legal status or a path towards legalization. Moreover, since deferred action is only an executive order, the president can change it at any given time without requiring approval.

Still, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has come in as a blessing for many hardworking illegal immigrants within the United States. However, to really benefit from the policy, it is important to file under the supervision of a professional San Antonio Immigration law firm. It is also important to have the required Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals information San Antonio to find out whether you are a right candidate for it or not.