To protect documented dreamers, a group of 43 members of the US Congress (which cuts across party lines) has requested the Biden administration to take administrative action. Till such legislative change happens, in an elaborate letter, this group has recommended measures like deferred action and parole that can be taken to safeguard over 2.5 lakh documented dreamers, out of which over a lakh are children who belong to Indian families.
Once they turn 21 years old, children whose parents hold non-immigrant visas like H-1B visas cannot continue with their H-4 visa which is meant for dependants. On turning 21 years old (that’s when they age out), these children called documented dreamers must either get themselves an international student F-1 visa or go back to India or some other country. Immigration reform bills passed over the last few years have not come up with any positive results including lifting of country-caps for employment-based green cards.
Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Deborah Ross who championed America’s Children Bill lead this group. “While we continue to pursue legislative solutions to permanently protect these individuals, we urge you to take administrative action to protect the thousands of children who may be forced to self-deport each year,” the letter said. They include: granting deferred action relief on a case by case basis for aged-out children from long-term visa holders; expanding eligibility for employment authorization document (EAD) issuance under certain circumstances such as approval of I-140 petition / or filing I-485 application; and finally establish a process where the aged-out kids could apply for parole based on cases-by-case if required because of humanitarian emergency or there is significant public interest involved .