U.S. sets Feb. 18 for children of
undocumented immigrants to seek status
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[January 30, 2015]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United
States will begin accepting applications on Feb. 18 for temporary legal
status from children of undocumented immigrants who came to the United
States with their parents, under a plan announced by President Barack
Obama last November.
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The U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) said on Thursday
the applications for the program to defer deportation and obtain a
3-year legal status would be available to undocumented immigrants
who entered the country as children before 2010.
They will be the first group of immigrants who will benefit from
Obama's sweeping immigration reform announced on Nov. 20.
The plan will let up to 4.7 million of the estimated 11 million
undocumented immigrants in the United States stay without threat of
deportation, including about 4.4 million who are parents of U.S.
citizens and legal permanent residents.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/30/images/ads/current/gives_you_more_bch_040314.png) As part of the reform, Obama expanded the so-called Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to include undocumented immigrants
who entered the country before 2010, eliminate the requirement that
applicants be younger than 31 years old, and lengthen the renewable
deferral period to three years from two.
"This expansion is set to benefit nearly 1 million people, and will
protect them from deportation and provide them with work permits,"
United We Dream, an immigrant youth organization, said on Thursday,
welcoming the announcement.
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Republicans have vowed to fight Obama's immigration plan, charging
the president overstepped his constitutional powers in taking the
executive action.
(Writing by Sandra Maler; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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