Biden Administration Unveils Groundbreaking Initiative for DACA Recipients' Work Visas and Green Cards

President Biden revealed on Tuesday, June 18, a new initiative that could have a significant impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of undocumented young adults, commonly referred to as Dreamers. Their legal status has been tied to a temporary immigration program that has been in a precarious situation for some time.

Employer-Sponsored Work Visas for DACA Beneficiaries

This new directive will offer many beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program the opportunity to promptly obtain work visas sponsored by employers, a privilege they had been deprived of until now. Additionally, these young immigrants might, in due course, be able to apply for green cards, granting them permanent lawful residency, through their employers.

This policy marks one of the two new immigration measures put forth by the administration on Tuesday. It signifies a major shift for a generation of young people who arrived in the United States unlawfully as children, liberating them from the uncertainties surrounding the DACA program, which was initially implemented in 2012 as a temporary solution and has since been entangled in complex legal battles.

Effects of the DACA Program

For many individuals, the DACA program has been the means to stay in the only country they have ever known. Sebastian Melendez, a 25-year-old registered nurse at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, expressed how his DACA status has enabled him to contribute to groundbreaking medical procedures, make significant purchases, and support his parents financially, all of which would have been impossible without it.