SAN DIEGO.- Over 800,000 young people in the United States could benefit from a new immigration policy aimed to students. However, advocates are asking them to be wary of possible scammers who could be looking to take advantage of this situation.

After President Barack Obama announced that he would stop the deportation of illegal immigrant students under 30 years of age, there have been many questions amongst the youngsters who wish to take advantage of this program.

For that reason, a community forum will be held this Saturday in San Diego with the aim of clearing any doubts the interested parties may have, thus preventing immigration frauds.

On the matter, Christian Ramírez, representative of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC), stated that, besides warning about possible scams, with this presentation they intend to clarify what the Federal Government offers through this program.

"It's not a reform of the immigration laws, but rather an administrative adjustment that will benefit young people in a temporary manner since it is not a regulated application" emphasized the advocate.

Even though there is still not an exact date, it is estimated that next August the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start receiving applications.

The requirements stated by the US Department of Homeland Security to be an eligible participant are: that the interested person arrived to the US while under the age of 16, he or she has lived in the country for at least 5 years with no interruption prior to June 15, that they have not been convicted of a felony, that they are currently enrolled in school and under 30 years of age.

This Saturday's forum will inform young people about the documentation needed to demonstrate their eligibility for this program; the papers required include school certificates, vaccination charts and, if they have them, check stubs.

He mentioned that even if at the moment there is no record of frauds committed by scammers who promise young people to help with the procedures, there is a high chance of something like that happening since this is a common scheme every time the Federal Government makes any kind of change in its immigration policy.

"The risk in this kind of frauds is not only losing money, but that it can affect their status, something that it could ban them from applying in the future" he warned.

In the USCIS' official website, it is emphasized that at the moment they are not taking in applications since the procedure is not available yet.

For this reason, Ramírez cautions about possible scammers who could ask their victims for money with the pretense of getting the process started or speeding it up.

The main recommendation is waiting for the Federal Government to officially begin the application process and, once this happens, the best thing is to seek advice from attorneys specialized in immigration laws.

To confirm they have a legitimate business with the degrees needed, interested parties are encouraged to verify the attorney in the State Bar of California, a feature available through their site.

The information forum will be held this Saturday (June 23rd) at 10 am in the Sherman Heights Community Center located in 2258 Island Avenue in San Diego.

Over a hundred people are expected, they will be able to ask questions directly to experts in the field.

Information clinics to counsel young people interested will be set up soon.

alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com

Original text by Alexandra Mendoza

Translation by Karen Balderas Licea