It’s been little over a month since USCIS began accepting applications for the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The program, which provides protection from deportation along with work authorization in two year increments, applies only to so-called “childhood arrivals” or “Dreamers,” those immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and who either fell out of legal status or never had it to begin with. An August report from the Migration Policy Institute estimates that the number of eligible applicants is near 1.76 million. However, as of September 14th, only 82,361 applications had been received, and of that number only 29 applications had been approved (AILA InfoNet). Stern & Curray represents many Dreamers applying for deferred action status.
