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The past couple of months have been tough for undocumented immigrants in Houston. In late August, Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas city, killing dozens of people and displacing hundreds of thousands. Days later, the Trump administration ended the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals or DACA program, putting nearly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants at risk of losing their jobs and being deported when their protections expire. For 29-year-old DACA recipient Oscar Hernandez, a lead organizer with the Houston chapter of immigrant rights group United We Dream, it was time to help out. “Here in Houston, we had a lot of folks who lost everything during the hurricane,” Hernandez told HuffPost earlier this month. “What does it mean to have to replace everything in your house, while also trying to get the $450 needed to file the [DACA renewal] application? So it’s been extremely challenging for undocumented youth across the country, but especially here in Houston.” Read More: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/united-we-dream-houston-immigrants-daca-harvey_us_59e697b5e4b00905bdad5a7f

Hello fellow DACAs, For those who may not know, you can join the army through MAVNI program and get US citizenship with 6-12 months if you are qualified. You should check out this website http://mavnicenter.com for more info. Good luck!

I was just wondering if anyone here knew, or themselves, took advantage of parole in place? How legitimate is this offer and did your parents receive the promised help? Any more information on this topic would be appreciated, especially first hand experiences

Thousands flee the United States. According to the web site EscapingAmerica.org, each year thousands of Americans leave the U.S. for a new home aboard. According to the main contributors of the site, there are many reason for this, including economical issue such as wages continuing to decline. Also crime is on the rise. The cost of health care in the US is a big problem, too. Americans pay more for health care than any other country, yet America ranks only 38th in the world in terms of health care. Lastly, education in the U.S. is extremely expensive. And getting in to a college can be very difficult even if you can afford it. [Name] is a 30 year resident of the U.S.. He moved his family back to Japan due to the cost of health care and education. Health care in Japan is free and the education is extremely high quality. Why should this concern us? He took his high income and his company back to Japan. Meanwhile, America continues to allow many immigrants in to the country, and most are primarily poor. When Americans leave they take their social security, their retirement benefits and IRAs with them. And many times the company jobs. Education: Each year thousands of students travel abroad for education. Again this is a case of U.S. dollars flowing out of the country. One such student we talked with told us he was not able to get into medical school here, even with a 4.0 GPA and an IQ of 185. But he was able to get student loans totaling $250,000 and he qualified for medical school in the Dominican Republic. That's more money flowing out of the U.S.. More and more Americans now travel abroad for education. Each year thousands of doctors come from India because America cannot educate doctors fast enough for the growing demand of an ailing society. The U.S. allows roughly 70,000 work visas for highly educated foreigners to come and work in the country. These companies insist that they cannot find skilled labor here, and that Americans just do not have the education needed to fill these jobs. Health Care: Statistics show that for every one person coming to the U.S. for medical care, more than 12 travel outside the U.S. to countries like Thailand that average over 5,000 foreigners each day for medical care. Think about that: 35,000 patients each week travel to Thailand for medical care, while the U.S. averages only about 60,000 foreign patients per year who come for medical treatment. Most of the 60,000 come from poor countries with little or no medical care, while over 700,000 leave to get medical treatment in foreign countries. Standard of living: The cost of living in many countries is a fraction of the cost needed to live in the U.S.. One expatriate, James, tells us, "Because many counties have such great transportation system there is no need to own a car. This saves me about $750 a month alone, with no need for gas, no car payment and no need for insurance. I can now afford a maid. I can afford a massage several times each week. I eat at restaurants every day. I wasn't able to do any of those things in the U.S.. Medical care is so inexpensive for me now, I can just pay as I go and there is no wait. I can see doctors, same day, without an a appointment." The Editor of Escaping America states that by the year 2025 there will be more people leaving the U.S. than coming to it.

I am very happy to share the good news with my fellow dreamers; this morning I got an email from USCIS telling me that I have been approved and that I should be receiving my card very soon. This forum has been very helpful and I would like to thank all those who showed support. I'm still going to be around to show the same support for those who are still waiting. Keep your hopes up. Applied: 11-23-2012 Biometrics: 12-21-2012 R.F.E. Sent: 9-5-2013 R.F.E. Response: 10-11-2013 Last Service Request Made: 1-13-2014 Approved: 2-3-2014

Hello Everyone, First off I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year, I hope your holidays went well. I am writing this post to express my frustration with the wait I've had to endure this past 13 months. I applied for DACA on Nov. 23, 2012 and till this day I haven't received a decision on my case. I have made several service requests, I've sent several emails, tried getting help from my senator, I responded to and R.F.E and still nothing. I reside in Texas and my application is being processed in Nebraska, wtf?! Are any of you still waiting after a year for a decision on their case? Do you live in Texas or any neighboring states and you have you're application being processed in Nebraska or Delaware? If so, what are you doing in regards to the long processing time besides waiting? Is there anything else we can do but wait and hope to get our case resolved? I don't understand why this is taking so long. I know people who applied in 2013 many months after me and received their papers within about 4-5 months. In this year of waiting I turned down better paying jobs including outside my state. I don't know what to do anymore this situation really sucks.

Hello Everyone, Today marks the day that USCIS received my application 13 months ago. The wait has been very frustrating to say the least, and the service provided by the operators when I call USCIS has been worse. I have many 3 service requests, I have written to my senator and I have even received a R.F.E and returned it to USCIS over 2 months ago and still nothing. I'm from South Texas and my application is being processed at the Nebraska Service Center, where they don't normally doesn't handle applications from Texas. At this point I'm just giving up hope. I had to turned down better paying jobs, got a ticket for driving with no license and I have to keep explainig to everyone almost everyday when they ask me about my papers. I'm sure there are many of you who are also part of the one year club or who waited almost a year to get your case approved. What steps are you following or followed to help get your case approved? Application Received: Nov. 23, 2012 Date of Biometrics: Dec. 21, 2012 R.F.E. Sent: Sep. 5, 2013 R.F.E. Returned: Oct. 11, 2013 Last Service Request: Dec. 12, 2013 STILL NOTHING

Hello, On Sept. 5 I received a RFE from USCIS which I responded to on Oct. 9 and which they received on Oct. 11. It has been almost a month since I got an email from USCIS telling me that they had received all the additional information they had requested. What now? I know they told me that it will take a minimum of 60 days for me to get a decision on my case but I am not so sure since a lot of people have to wait longer than that after they submitted their RFE's. Can anybody tell me if they had to send and RFE and how long did you have to wait to get a decision on your case? I have been waiting for almost a year now since I submitted my application (Nov. 23, 2013) my patience is wearing thin and its just very frustrating.

Hello, My name is Joel Sati, and I am undocumented. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya on June 3, 1993. At the age of nine, my family packed up and moved to the United States on October 24, 2002. Right after my 17th birthday, my mother took me to the local DMV to get a learners’ permit. They told us we needed to provide proof of residency; we didn’t have it so we left. I didn’t know why we didn’t have it, so I asked my mother – she said nothing, and we left it at that. I didn’t know that I was undocumented until September 2010, while applying to college. There was that part of the application that asked for the SSN. A huge part of the depression that ensued was the fact that I had received this news at such an expectant time in my life, where I had just finished my formative education and was about to make headway into adulthood. I couldn’t look at a financial aid form, and my new f-bomb was “FAFSA.” Because of my status, I was unable to apply for merit-based scholarships. I had received offers from prestigious four year colleges, which I accepted, but due to the extremely high costs, I could not attend. I then enrolled in Montgomery College, A community college in Rockville, MD, where I graduated valedictorian. I am an American in every sense of the term. I have gone to school here; I have my diploma and my Associates degree. I have ambitions to pursue a career in academia and research. I am heavily involved in my community, having worked with CASA de Maryland among many organizations. Outside of all this, I am someone who has a deep love for Philosophy, writing, and the Atlanta Falcons. I am a son of a single mother, a brother, and an uncle. My personal motto is short – strive not to just attain knowledge, but to advance it. The reasons I am behind efforts to pass the DREAM Act are not just limited to me. I know of so many young people around the country that have the skills and the intelligence to be successful citizens, but the current system precludes them from doing so. The author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said that “stereotypes are so not because they are incorrect, but because they are incomplete; they make one story become the only story.” This issue is not just a Hispanic issue; it is also an African issue, an Asian issue and most importantly, it is a human issue. I have come to learn that there is more than one face, more than one story to this struggle. I became an activist to stand for these who have given all of themselves for the betterment of their community. For a large part of my journey, I have had the rather incomplete mantra “If I only had the opportunity….” That’s what I always say to myself. I am sure that a lot of young men and women share my sentiment. I want to stand with the rest of the DREAMers and secure opportunities we have dreamed of having. It is my firm belief that if America refuses to legitimize those who could be integral to our recovery, then America is not living up to the creed of equal opportunity for all. Regards, Joel C. Sati Find me on Twitter @JoelCSati

USCIS sent me a RFE on Sep. 5 which I responded to on Oct. 9 by sending all the additional evidence they requested. On Oct. 11 I got an email saying that they had received the evidence I sent them which brought me some calm. Its almost been two weeks since they last contacted me. Does anyone know approximately how long it takes for USCIS to make a decision on a case after a RFE has been responded to?

Hello I currently live in Florida and over here Deferred Action Students cannot qualify for in state tuition,(even though I've lived here for four years and attended college through dual enrollment), or finical aid. So i was thinking the best decision would be for me to move to California, live there until i can get in state tuition and finical aid, meantime I'll work. The problem is i have no knowledge about California, can anyone tell me good areas? Cheap areas? Good community colleges? Good colleges? Whats the job market like? Or anything else you can tell me about there. If you can answer any of these questions or tell me anything at all it would be greatly appreciated. Nevertheless, thank you for your time!

Hey all. I've been a lurker since nov 2012. Just wanted to thank u all for contributing to this forum, espacially for those that read in silence. Just wanted to come out of lurk-mode and say how grateful I am for the guidance of this site. Many of us came to America not knowing what our lives would embark on because we came at such a young age. It sucks but I'm just grateful for a change in "status" (not legal status but being able to have an ID and work legally is still great) and I hope it gets better sooner than later. I applied for DACA Jan 29 2013 and received my Approval notice (April 29) and Work permit today (5/2). I really hope to one day travel abroad but I'm thankful for this first step. PATIENCE IS EVERYTHING WITH THIS PROCESS!!! I kinda forgot about it and randomly checked my status online to see a message saying my approved items are in the mail. I was shocked with happiness and received it the next day in the mail. God is great and his time will forever be the best time. Just in time for my new job!! Hope all of us get approved and get what you deserve. Please continue what you guys are doing on this site and your blessings will continue to pour in. Later guys...

Just putting it out there! tomorrow is the Annual LA march to insist the government for an immigration reform!!. anyone who is able to participate, please do so!!!...and please encourage others to join in as well!!!!

Great news for all us, M. Zuckerberg, as well as many other leaders in Silicon Valley and other industries, have joined us in our fight towards an overhaul of the severely flawed immigration system. Here is his Op-Ed in the Washington Post: http://www.washingto...90a4_story.html

Sign this petition for immigration reform.. http://wh.gov/vnwb

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/us/dream-act-gives-young-immigrants-a-political-voice.html?pagewanted=all&pagewanted=print Young Immigrants Say It’s Obama’s Time to Act By JULIA PRESTON NEW HAVEN — It has been a good year for young immigrants living in the country without legal papers, the ones who call themselves Dreamers. Their protests and pressure helped push President Obama to offer many of them reprieves from deportation. So far about 310,000 youths have emerged from the shadows to apply, with numbers rising rapidly. Door-knocking campaigns led by those immigrants, who could not vote, mobilized many Latinos who could, based in no small part on the popularity of the reprieve program. After Latinos rewarded Mr. Obama with 71 percent of their votes, the president said one of the first items on his agenda next year would be a bill to legalize 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, which would offer a path to citizenship for young people. Behind the political momentum, administration officials and advocates say, is an extensive and surprisingly adroit movement of youthful immigrants. Because of their illegal status, however, they have often been more influential than they have been visible. In the past two years, they pursued their goal of legal recognition through a calibrated strategy of quiet negotiations, public “coming-out” events where youths declared their status, and escalating street protests. Now, movement leaders say, it is payback time. When Congress last debated broad reform, in 2007, populist energy was on the side of those opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants. Angry resistance from Republicans defeated a legalization proposal by President George W. Bush. This time the young immigrants are the rising force, and they seek legislation to give them a direct and permanent path to citizenship. But recalling that Mr. Obama also promised at the start of his first term to move swiftly on immigration overhaul, they say their attitude toward him is wait-and-see. “People are not going to hug the president right now,” said Carlos Saavedra, 26, an immigrant from Peru and national coordinator of United We Dream, the largest network of young immigrants here illegally. “They are waiting for him to take some action.” This weekend, United We Dream will gather more than 600 leaders (most still without legal status) from 30 states at a meeting in Kansas City, Mo., to work out their strategy to keep the heat on the White House and Congress during the coming immigration fight. Even some adversaries acknowledge the youth movement’s successes. “They have framed their story in a very popular way, and they’ve leveraged that story very effectively,” said Roy S. Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, a leading group opposing amnesty. There have been other banner moments this year for young people who take their name from the Dream Act, a bill before Congress that would create a formal path to citizenship for young people here illegally who came to this country as children. In June, Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist born in the Philippines, appeared on the cover of Time magazine along with a dozen others without legal status. In August, Benita Veliz, who is from Mexico, spoke at the Democratic National Convention about growing up without legal status. Overcoming Fear The high profile is recent for organizers whose work has often been clandestine. In the early years of the movement, even convening a meeting was a challenge, since so many youths, lacking papers, could not fly or drive without risking deportation. “They put at risk their own safety and being sent back to a country they haven’t seen since they were in diapers,” said Angela Kelley, an advocate and veteran of many immigration wars on Capitol Hill, now at the Democratic-leaning Center for American Progress in Washington. For many Dream leaders, activism began in the last years of high school, when they realized that their status might prevent them from going to college. Here in New Haven, Lorella Praeli, the director of advocacy for United We Dream, said she was 2 years old when she came from Peru. Her father brought her for medical treatment after her leg was amputated following a car crash. Ms. Praeli attended Quinnipiac University on scholarship, and she graduated last year with honors. Now 24, she said exasperation with Congress’s inaction on the Dream Act propelled her to join the movement. Mr. Saavedra, from Boston, was in high school in 2004 when he joined a campaign for an in-state resident college tuition discount for illegal immigrants in Massachusetts. He said he became a full-time activist after the bill passed the state legislature but was vetoed by the governor, Mitt Romney. Gaby Pacheco, 27, originally from Ecuador, hoped to teach children with autism, but without papers could not be certified. In 2010 she joined a four-month protest walk from her home in Miami to Washington with three other students. In California, Justino Mora, 23 and Mexican-born, was an honors student and track team captain in high school. Because of his status, Mr. Mora said, he had to postpone college studies in aerospace engineering. He joined a California branch of the Dream network. The leaders had another moment of truth when they publicly revealed their illegal status. Ms. Praeli’s moment came before television cameras at a news conference called at the last minute in New Haven in 2010. “I wasn’t prepared and I’m thinking, I haven’t even talked to my mom yet,” she said. Improvising, she recounted her personal story. Soon, she felt relief. “Once you’re out in public,” she said, “there is no hiding, there is no fake narrative. The overwhelming feeling is, I don’t have to worry about being someone I’m not.” The Power of Stories United We Dream was founded in 2009 by local groups that banded together into a national network. The leaders realized that encouraging young people to recount the stories of their lives in hiding and of their thwarted aspirations could be liberating for them, and also compelling for skeptical Americans. Now, in tactical sessions, young immigrants are trained to tell their stories to anyone who will listen, from a voter to a United States senator. Two years ago Dreamer groups began holding coming-out ceremonies where students defied the immigration authorities with signs announcing they were “undocumented and unafraid.” “One of our successes has been that we have created a shared identity about being a Dreamer,” said Cristina Jimenez, 28, who was born in Ecuador and graduated from Queens College in New York and is now the managing director of United We Dream. A turning point for the movement was the lame-duck session of Congress in late 2010. The Dream Act passed the House of Representatives. In the Senate, it failed by five votes. More than 200 immigrants watched from the Senate gallery. “A lot of us stepped out of the gallery and we were crying,” Ms. Praeli said. “And it was like that, I think, for five minutes. And then the attitude just changed.” Many left Washington feeling more determined, she said. Ms. Pacheco said she concluded that day that it was time to shift strategies. The House majority would pass to Republicans, who rejected the Dream Act as a reward to immigrant lawbreakers. The movement would have to concentrate on the president, Ms. Pacheco believed, to press him to stop deportations using executive powers. In a meeting after the vote with Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, Ms. Pacheco said she grabbed him and whispered in his ear. “You know the president has the power to stop deporting us,” she said. “You know you could tell him to do this.” Startled, Mr. Reid gave her a hug and walked away. November 30, 2012

Asi que me IIamo la atencion que nadie ha hablado sobre esto. Y estoy cansado de buscar y esperar en un alma confia a "subirse al escenario." Planeo casarme con mi pareja, sin embargo, yo queria esperar hasta que este aprobado para DACA. No se por que, pero yo y mi madre and padre siente que seria mejor. Inmigracion sentria que es menos de una estafa, si? O debo casarme incluso antes? Cual es su opinion? Retroalimentacion apreciada.

Haven't done your applications yet? Filled out your application but still hesitant to send it? Even after sending your applications, do you still have a few lingering questions about DACA? Talk to Lauren Burke, an immigration attorney, LIVE! September 16th, at 6 pm EST, here: http://www.vokle.com/series/34402-deferred-action-q-and-a-with-atlas-diy-and-nysylc You can even check out her previous videos to get answers to previously asked questions. Sign up to Vokle to get notifications to remind you of the event. Good luck everyone! And I wish God's favor over all your processes!!