What does the DREAM Act mean for Immigrants and Higher Education in the U.S.
If the DREAM Act becomes Law…
- Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996will be repealed.
- Under the current law, foreign nationals who are not lawfully resident in the U.S. are ineligible for any higher education benefit on the basis of residence within a State unless U.S. citizens are eligible for education benefits regardless of residency within the State.
- Removal of foreign nationals who are admitted to college, completed at least 2 years towards an undergraduate degree, served two years in the military, or who have obtained a high school diploma or GED in the United States may be canceled, and status may be adjusted to Conditional Permanent Resident (valid for six years) if the foreign national has lived in the U.S. for at least five years before the date that the DREAM Act is enacted and the student was under age sixteen when he or she initially entered to the U.S.
- Foreign national students may apply for a waiver of the grounds of ineligibility or deportation for humanitarian or family unity reasons without being placed in removal proceedings
Ref.: DREAM Act of 2009, 111th Congress (2009-2010) S.729.IS
Donna Nanan's Immigration Law Blog 