Among the 11 mil­lion undoc­u­ment­ed peo­ple liv­ing in this coun­try are South Asians, includ­ing those from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pak­istan and Sri Lanka.

Many are stu­dents who seek to go to col­lege, spend time with friends and fam­i­ly, and pur­sue their pro­fes­sion­al inter­ests. In fact, there were approx­i­mate­ly 240,000 undoc­u­ment­ed Indi­ans in 2011 alone, mak­ing India the sev­enth high­est coun­try of ori­gin for undoc­u­ment­ed indi­vid­u­als in the Unit­ed States. If you are undocumented and South Asian, you might be eligible for assistance under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

What is daca?

Deferred Action for Child­hood Arrivals is a pol­i­cy direc­tive allow­ing undoc­u­ment­ed youth relief from depor­ta­tion (known as “deferred action”), for a spe­cif­ic peri­od of time, if cer­tain eli­gi­bil­i­ty cri­te­ria are satisfied.

It is avail­able for a two year renew­able peri­od and you can apply for employ­ment authorization.

It does not mean you can get a green card or citizenship.

SAALT Resources on DACA

• DACA Guide
  • Eng­lish DACA Guide
  • Ben­gali DACA Guide
  • Hin­di DACA Guide
  • Urdu DACA Guide

• Are you a DREAM­er? DACA Could Improve Your Life
• Why DACA Isn’t Enough: Quotes from DACA­ment­ed South Asians