Press Release

Today, Representatives Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) and Deborah Ross (D-NC) led over 30 House colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas recommending the DHS strengthen protections for children and young adults who have grown up in the United States as dependents of long-term work visa holders – a group known as the Documented Dreamers.

"America benefits immensely from H-1B and other nonimmigrant visa holders, highly skilled and talented individuals who contribute to the American economy and growing fields in engineering, medicine, and technology," said Representative Bera. "Yet, due to decades-long backlogs in the immigrant visa system, around 200,000 children of nonimmigrant visa holders are at risk of having to "self-deport" when they reach the age of 21. As the proud son of immigrants, I am honored to lead Members of Congress in calling on the Biden Administration to take action to provide protections for young people who have grown up in the United States as dependents of long-term visa holders and who know America as their only home."

Specifically, the letter recommends updating DACA criteria to include Documented Dreamers and adjusting the way USCIS determines an individual's age when he or she files for adjustment of status in order to protect more Documented Dreamers from aging out of the system. These recommendations would improve our immigration system and protect young people who maintained status as dependents of long-term visa holders.

Full text of the letter can be found here.