The eligibility to apply for the Dream Act can be found here.
No, students who hold a temporary nonimmigrant Visa are ineligible to submit an application. The exception is the “U” Visa.
The “U” Visa provides eligible crime victims with legal status to temporarily remain in the U.S. while assisting law enforcement. AB 1899 allows “U” Visa holders to be considered for state financial aid programs and are not required to complete the AB 540 Affidavit.
The online and paper application will be available October 1. For faster processing time, CSAC recommends using the online application process.
The deadline for the Dream Act Application is March 2nd.
Yes, students who meet the AB 540 eligibility requirements are not required to have a Social Security number in order to submit the application. If you have a Social Security number issued by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for work purposes only, that number should be entered on question #8 of the application. Question #8 should be left blank for applicants without Social Security numbers.
No, undocumented students are not eligible for federal student aid. If you attend an eligible California public or private institution, you will be considered for CA state financial aid–like Cal Grants, Chafee Foster Youth Grant, Middle Class Scholarship—and institutional aid—like University Grants, State University Grants, California Community College Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waivers, and private scholarships administered through institutions. Eligible students attending the University of California and the California State University may be eligible for the Dream Loan. Your school will determine your financial aid eligibility. We encourage you to submit the Dream Act Application by March 2, because it is the deadline to receive consideration for most types of aid available to you.
No, do not miss any important deadlines! The CADAA uses prior-prior-year tax information. If you or your parents did not earn enough in the prior year to file taxes, simply select “Will not file” on the tax filing question in the application.
If you are 24 years or younger, and don’t meet any of the independent criteria, even if you do not live with your legal parents (your biological and or adoptive parents), you must provide your parent’s information, and one parent must sign your application. You cannot report your aunt, grandparent, sibling, boyfriend/girlfriend, legal guardian, or friend’s information in place of parent information unless they have legally adopted you.
If you are unable to get your parent information, complete the application as much as you can and contact your college’s financial aid office (FAO) as soon as possible. The FAO will evaluate your condition and inform you if they can override the need for parent information. CSAC does not have the authority to override dependency or financial information.
No, the Dream Act and DACA are not the same. The Dream Act is potential legislation that must be passed by Congress and signed by the President into Law whereas DACA is an Executive Order recently signed by President Obama in June 2012.
