Visa Lawyer Blog: Texas Congresswoman pushes to legalize Dreamers — February 10, 2025
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U.S. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, of Texas, is leading a renewed effort to create a path to citizenship for Deferred action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. Currently, DACA recipients are allowed to renew their DACA benefits but the future of the program remains uncertain.
Following a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Garcia urged President Trump to work with lawmakers on passing the American Dream and Promise Act. This piece of legislation was originally introduced in 2021 and was refiled in 2023, but the bill failed to gain approval from lawmakers.
The bill would give 10-year conditional permanent resident status to qualifying individuals who entered the United States as minors. Candidates must pass background checks and prove they have lived continuously in the U.S. from 2021. They also need to be enrolled in or have graduated from school. Among those who would benefit are those who are deportable or inadmissible, have deferred enforced departure, temporary protected status, or are children of “certain classes of nonimmigrants.”
As of September 2024, there were roughly 538,000 DACA beneficiaries in the United States. Another 3.6 millions arrived in the U.S. when they were children, but are not protected. These include employment-based non-immigrant visas, 245(i) eligibility for adjustment of status for those who qualify, and other screening. These include employment-based non-immigrant visas, 245(i) eligibility for adjustment of status for those who qualify, and other screening.
DACA beneficiaries should also be aware that the H-1B registration period will open on March 7th for the fiscal year 2026 cap season, making this the perfect time for DACA holders with job offers in a specialty occupation to consider this visa.
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