Question about Dream Act qualification.

Hello. I am a South Korean citizen who came to US 3 1/2 years ago. I am currently 18 and of course am here illegally with parents. As most of us are expecting that the law will pass within a year, i still need to wait for 1 and a half year since it is for ppl who are living here for total of 5 years. My question is that if lets say the law passes tomorrow, will i be able to qualify for dream act after 1 and a half year? because i heard someone saying that i gotta qualify when the president signs the paper.

thank you and sorry for my poor grammar. bye.

Yes, I would think you have the wait that extra year. But maybe you can find a way around that with a good lawyer if it passes this year.

No, you wouldn't qualify even after a year. You have to be in the US for at least 5 years prior to the passage of the law.

are you serious? damn, what should i do...

You might qualify for another part of CIR, especially if a version similar to the STRIVE Act passes Congress this year. DREAM isn't the only legalization plan out there, even though it is the one with the most direct pathway to citizenship.

What's a Strive Act? I just looked up in wikipedia but dont understand lol
Will i be able to attend college?

The STRIVE Act is an immigration bill that's in the House of Representatives. It's basically package that will "eliminate" illegal immigration by strengthening border security, implementing a new guest-worker plan, providing a long pathway to citizenship for certain illegal aliens, and beefing up interior enforcement [i.e. stricter fines on companies that employ illegals, etc.]. In the legalization provisions, there's a section regarding immigrants who have been here illegally since June of 2006 [I believe...]. You more than likely fall under that category.

What state are you from? You may be eligible to go to college even as an illegal, depending on where you're graduating high school from...

I think he would qualify, correct me if I'm wrong. He was here for 3.5 years, so if the DREAM Act passes in 1.5 years, wouldn't that make his stay 5 years?

i live in NJ, but long story short, i dropped out of school to get a GED from Maine. I was gonna get a GED from my state, but required 2 forms of governmental issued ID... so did some research and Maine only needed my passport. i know that NJ isnt one of those state that allow in-state tuition for undocumented students, so im planning to attend a pretty-good community college in ny.

hm... i was actually thinking about joining the military once DREAM passes but this sucks lol

Well, I was under the impression that he was asking if he would qualify for DREAM if it passed this year. The answer to that would be no. If it were to pass in a year and a half from now, then that's a different situation as he would qualify as long as he has completed the five years on or before the day of passage.