However, the bill still needs to go before the Senate. The Senate plans to vote today but as mentioned in yesterday’s blog post the outcome is uncertain as some Democrats are predicted to defect thus requiring Republican votes. The last time the bill went before the Senate it received 52 of the 60 votes needed. If the bill is not passed through Congress it will be sent back to the House and tabled until 2011 at the earliest.
If passed, individuals who are under 30 and high school graduates and have lived in the US illegally and continuously for the last five years may apply for conditional non-immigrant status. They can then earn legal immigrant status after ten years as a conditional non-immigrant with either two years of military service or two years in a four-year institution of higher education.
The candidates will have to prove good moral character and that they arrived in the US before they were 16 years old. If they meet these requirements they will be eligible to apply for permanent residency. Those who do not meet the requirements after ten years would lose their conditional nonimmigrant status and would be subject to immigration action including removal.