II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 774 

To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher 

education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and 

adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United 

States residents and who entered the United States as children, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2007 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

CRAIG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. 

OBAMA, and Mr. FEINGOLD) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 

Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine 

State residency for higher education purposes and to 

authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment 

of status of certain alien students who are long-term 

United States residents and who entered the United 

States as children, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Development, Relief, 

3 and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007’’ or the 

4 ‘‘DREAM Act of 2007’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

9 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High10 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

11 (2) UNIFORMED SERVICES.—The term ‘‘uni12 formed services’’ has the meaning given that term in 

13 section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code. 

14 SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF STATE OPTION TO DETERMINE 

15 RESIDENCY FOR PURPOSES OF HIGHER EDU16 CATION BENEFITS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 505 of the Illegal Immi18 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1623) is repealed. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeal under subsection 

21 (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the 

22 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

23 Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104–208; 110 Stat. 

24 3009–546). 


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1 SEC. 4. CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL AND ADJUSTMENT OF 

2 STATUS OF CERTAIN LONG-TERM RESIDENTS 

3 WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHIL4 DREN. 

5 (a) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN LONG-TERM RESI6 DENTS WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHIL7 DREN.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law and except as otherwise provided in 

10 this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security may 

11 cancel removal of, and adjust to the status of an 

12 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, 

13 subject to the conditional basis described in section 

14 5, an alien who is inadmissible or deportable from 

15 the United States, if the alien demonstrates that— 

16 (A) the alien has been physically present in 

17 the United States for a continuous period of 

18 not less than 5 years immediately preceding the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, and had not yet 

20 reached the age of 16 years at the time of ini21 tial entry; 

22 (B) the alien has been a person of good 

23 moral character since the time of application; 

24 (C) the alien— 

25 (i) is not inadmissible under para26 graph (2), (3), (6)(E), or (10)(C) of secVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:25 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S774.IS S774

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1 tion 212(a) of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); and 

3 (ii) is not deportable under paragraph 

4 (1)(E), (2), or (4) of section 237(a) of the 

5 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1227(a)); 

7 (D) the alien, at the time of application, 

8 has been admitted to an institution of higher 

9 education in the United States, or has earned 

10 a high school diploma or obtained a general 

11 education development certificate in the United 

12 States; and 

13 (E) the alien has never been under a final 

14 administrative or judicial order of exclusion, de15 portation, or removal, unless the alien— 

16 (i) has remained in the United States 

17 under color of law after such order was 

18 issued; or 

19 (ii) received the order before attaining 

20 the age of 16 years. 

21 (2) WAIVER.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the 

23 ground of ineligibility under section 212(a)(6)(E) of 

24 the Immigration and Nationality Act and the ground 

25 of deportability under paragraph (1)(E) of section 


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1 237(a) of that Act for humanitarian purposes or 

2 family unity or when it is otherwise in the public in3 terest. 

4 (3) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security shall provide a procedure by regulation al6 lowing eligible individuals to apply affirmatively for 

7 the relief available under this subsection without 

8 being placed in removal proceedings. 

9 (b) TERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PERIOD.—For 

10 purposes of this section, any period of continuous resi11 dence or continuous physical presence in the United States 

12 of an alien who applies for cancellation of removal under 

13 this section shall not terminate when the alien is served 

14 a notice to appear under section 239(a) of the Immigra15 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(a)). 

16 (c) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BREAKS IN PRES17 ENCE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall be considered 

19 to have failed to maintain continuous physical pres20 ence in the United States under subsection (a) if the 

21 alien has departed from the United States for any 

22 period in excess of 90 days or for any periods in the 

23 aggregate exceeding 180 days. 

24 (2) EXTENSIONS FOR EXCEPTIONAL CIR25 CUMSTANCES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 


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1 may extend the time periods described in paragraph 

2 (1) if the alien demonstrates that the failure to time3 ly return to the United States was due to excep4 tional circumstances. The exceptional circumstances 

5 determined sufficient to justify an extension should 

6 be no less compelling than serious illness of the 

7 alien, or death or serious illness of a parent, grand8 parent, sibling, or child. 

9 (d) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

10 Nothing in this section may be construed to apply a nu11 merical limitation on the number of aliens who may be 

12 eligible for cancellation of removal or adjustment of status 

13 under this section. 

14 (e) REGULATIONS.— 

15 (1) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish pro18 posed regulations implementing this section. Such 

19 regulations shall be effective immediately on an in20 terim basis, but are subject to change and revision 

21 after public notice and opportunity for a period for 

22 public comment. 

23 (2) INTERIM, FINAL REGULATIONS.—Within a 

24 reasonable time after publication of the interim reg25 ulations in accordance with paragraph (1), the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:25 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S774.IS S774

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1 retary of Homeland Security shall publish final regu2 lations implementing this section. 

3 (f) REMOVAL OF ALIEN.—The Secretary of Home4 land Security may not remove any alien who has a pending 

5 application for conditional status under this Act. 

6 SEC. 5. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—Not9 withstanding any other provision of law, and except 

10 as provided in section 6, an alien whose status has 

11 been adjusted under section 4 to that of an alien 

12 lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall be 

13 considered to have obtained such status on a condi14 tional basis subject to the provisions of this section. 

15 Such conditional permanent resident status shall be 

16 valid for a period of 6 years, subject to termination 

17 under subsection (b). 

18 (2) NOTICE OF REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (A) AT TIME OF OBTAINING PERMANENT

20 RESIDENCE.—At the time an alien obtains per21 manent resident status on a conditional basis 

22 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home23 land Security shall provide for notice to the 

24 alien regarding the provisions of this section 


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1 and the requirements of subsection (c) to have 

2 the conditional basis of such status removed. 

3 (B) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE NO4 TICE.—The failure of the Secretary of Home5 land Security to provide a notice under this 

6 paragraph— 

7 (i) shall not affect the enforcement of 

8 the provisions of this Act with respect to 

9 the alien; and 

10 (ii) shall not give rise to any private 

11 right of action by the alien. 

12 (b) TERMINATION OF STATUS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security shall terminate the conditional permanent 

15 resident status of any alien who obtained such sta16 tus under this Act, if the Secretary determines that 

17 the alien— 

18 (A) ceases to meet the requirements of 

19 subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 4(a)(1); 

20 (B) has become a public charge; or 

21 (C) has received a dishonorable or other 

22 than honorable discharge from the uniformed 

23 services. 

24 (2) RETURN TO PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION STA25 TUS.—Any alien whose conditional permanent resiVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:25 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S774.IS S774

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1 dent status is terminated under paragraph (1) shall 

2 return to the immigration status the alien had im3 mediately prior to receiving conditional permanent 

4 resident status under this Act. 

5 (c) REQUIREMENTS OF TIMELY PETITION FOR RE6 MOVAL OF CONDITION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order for the conditional 

8 basis of permanent resident status obtained by an 

9 alien under subsection (a) to be removed, the alien 

10 must file with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

11 in accordance with paragraph (3), a petition which 

12 requests the removal of such conditional basis and 

13 which provides, under penalty of perjury, the facts 

14 and information so that the Secretary may make the 

15 determination described in paragraph (2)(A). 

16 (2) ADJUDICATION OF PETITION TO REMOVE

17 CONDITION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a petition is filed in 

19 accordance with paragraph (1) for an alien, the 

20 Secretary of Homeland Security shall make a 

21 determination as to whether the alien meets the 

22 requirements set out in subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (E) of subsection (d)(1). 

24 (B) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS IF

25 FAVORABLE DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary 


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1 determines that the alien meets such require2 ments, the Secretary shall notify the alien of 

3 such determination and immediately remove the 

4 conditional basis of the status of the alien. 

5 (C) TERMINATION IF ADVERSE DETER6 MINATION.—If the Secretary determines that 

7 the alien does not meet such requirements, the 

8 Secretary shall notify the alien of such deter9 mination and terminate the conditional perma10 nent resident status of the alien as of the date 

11 of the determination. 

12 (3) TIME TO FILE PETITION.—An alien may pe13 tition to remove the conditional basis to lawful resi14 dent status during the period beginning 180 days 

15 before and ending 2 years after either the date that 

16 is 6 years after the date of the granting of condi17 tional permanent resident status or any other expi18 ration date of the conditional permanent resident 

19 status as extended by the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security in accordance with this Act. The alien shall 

21 be deemed in conditional permanent resident status 

22 in the United States during the period in which the 

23 petition is pending. 

24 (d) DETAILS OF PETITION.— 


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1 (1) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—Each petition 

2 for an alien under subsection (c)(1) shall contain in3 formation to permit the Secretary of Homeland Se4 curity to determine whether each of the following re5 quirements is met: 

6 (A) The alien has demonstrated good 

7 moral character during the entire period the 

8 alien has been a conditional permanent resi9 dent. 

10 (B) The alien is in compliance with section 

11 4(a)(1)(C). 

12 (C) The alien has not abandoned the 

13 alien’s residence in the United States. The Sec14 retary shall presume that the alien has aban15 doned such residence if the alien is absent from 

16 the United States for more than 365 days, in 

17 the aggregate, during the period of conditional 

18 residence, unless the alien demonstrates that 

19 alien has not abandoned the alien’s residence. 

20 An alien who is absent from the United States 

21 due to active service in the uniformed services 

22 has not abandoned the alien’s residence in the 

23 United States during the period of such service. 

24 (D) The alien has completed at least 1 of 

25 the following: 


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1 (i) The alien has acquired a degree 

2 from an institution of higher education in 

3 the United States or has completed at 

4 least 2 years, in good standing, in a pro5 gram for a bachelor’s degree or higher de6 gree in the United States. 

7 (ii) The alien has served in the uni8 formed services for at least 2 years and, if 

9 discharged, has received an honorable dis10 charge. 

11 (E) The alien has provided a list of each 

12 secondary school (as that term is defined in sec13 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) that 

15 the alien attended in the United States. 

16 (2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security may, in the Secretary’s dis19 cretion, remove the conditional status of an 

20 alien if the alien— 

21 (i) satisfies the requirements of sub22 paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph 

23 (1); 

24 (ii) demonstrates compelling cir25 cumstances for the inability to complete 


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1 the requirements described in paragraph 

2 (1)(D); and 

3 (iii) demonstrates that the alien’s re4 moval from the United States would result 

5 in exceptional and extremely unusual hard6 ship to the alien or the alien’s spouse, par7 ent, or child who is a citizen or a lawful 

8 permanent resident of the United States. 

9 (B) EXTENSION.—Upon a showing of good 

10 cause, the Secretary of Homeland Security may 

11 extend the period of conditional resident status 

12 for the purpose of completing the requirements 

13 described in paragraph (1)(D). 

14 (e) TREATMENT OF PERIOD FOR PURPOSES OF NAT15 URALIZATION.—For purposes of title III of the Immigra16 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), in the 

17 case of an alien who is in the United States as a lawful 

18 permanent resident on a conditional basis under this sec19 tion, the alien shall be considered to have been admitted 

20 as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence and 

21 to be in the United States as an alien lawfully admitted 

22 to the United States for permanent residence. However, 

23 the conditional basis must be removed before the alien 

24 may apply for naturalization. 


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1 SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE BENEFITS UNDER THIS ACT. 

2 If, on the date of enactment of this Act, an alien has 

3 satisfied all the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 

4 through (E) of section 4(a)(1) and section 5(d)(1)(D), the 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of 

6 the alien to that of a conditional resident in accordance 

7 with section 4. The alien may petition for removal of such 

8 condition at the end of the conditional residence period 

9 in accordance with section 5(c) if the alien has met the 

10 requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of sec11 tion 5(d)(1) during the entire period of conditional resi12 dence. 

13 SEC. 7. EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu15 rity shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine eligibility 

16 for relief under this Act, except where the alien has been 

17 placed into deportation, exclusion, or removal proceedings 

18 either prior to or after filing an application for relief under 

19 this Act, in which case the Attorney General shall have 

20 exclusive jurisdiction and shall assume all the powers and 

21 duties of the Secretary until proceedings are terminated, 

22 or if a final order of deportation, exclusion, or removal 

23 is entered the Secretary shall resume all powers and duties 

24 delegated to the Secretary under this Act. 

25 (b) STAY OF REMOVAL OF CERTAIN ALIENS EN26 ROLLED IN PRIMARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The AtVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:25 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S774.IS S774

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1 torney General shall stay the removal proceedings of any 

2 alien who— 

3 (1) meets all the requirements of subpara4 graphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of section 4(a)(1); 

5 (2) is at least 12 years of age; and 

6 (3) is enrolled full time in a primary or sec7 ondary school. 

8 (c) EMPLOYMENT.—An alien whose removal is stayed 

9 pursuant to subsection (b) may be engaged in employment 

10 in the United States consistent with the Fair Labor 

11 Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) and State and local 

12 laws governing minimum age for employment. 

13 (d) LIFT OF STAY.—The Attorney General shall lift 

14 the stay granted pursuant to subsection (b) if the alien— 

15 (1) is no longer enrolled in a primary or sec16 ondary school; or 

17 (2) ceases to meet the requirements of sub18 section (b)(1). 

19 SEC. 8. PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN APPLICA20 TION. 

21 Whoever files an application for relief under this Act 

22 and willfully and knowingly falsifies, misrepresents, or 

23 conceals a material fact or makes any false or fraudulent 

24 statement or representation, or makes or uses any false 

25 writing or document knowing the same to contain any 


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1 false or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined in 

2 accordance with title 18, United States Code, or impris3 oned not more than 5 years, or both. 

4 SEC. 9. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 

6 (b), no officer or employee of the United States may— 

7 (1) use the information furnished by the appli8 cant pursuant to an application filed under this Act 

9 to initiate removal proceedings against any persons 

10 identified in the application; 

11 (2) make any publication whereby the informa12 tion furnished by any particular individual pursuant 

13 to an application under this Act can be identified; or 

14 (3) permit anyone other than an officer or em15 ployee of the United States Government or, in the 

16 case of applications filed under this Act with a des17 ignated entity, that designated entity, to examine 

18 applications filed under this Act. 

19 (b) REQUIRED DISCLOSURE.—The Attorney General 

20 or the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide the 

21 information furnished under this section, and any other 

22 information derived from such furnished information, to— 

23 (1) a duly recognized law enforcement entity in 

24 connection with an investigation or prosecution of an 

25 offense described in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 


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1 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1182(a)), when such information is requested 

3 in writing by such entity; or 

4 (2) an official coroner for purposes of affirma5 tively identifying a deceased individual (whether or 

6 not such individual is deceased as a result of a 

7 crime). 

8 (c) PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly uses, publishes, 

9 or permits information to be examined in violation of this 

10 section shall be fined not more than $10,000. 

11 SEC. 10. EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS; PRO12 HIBITION ON FEES. 

13 Regulations promulgated under this Act shall provide 

14 that applications under this Act will be considered on an 

15 expedited basis and without a requirement for the pay16 ment by the applicant of any additional fee for such expe17 dited processing. 

18 SEC. 11. HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE. 

19 Notwithstanding any provision of the Higher Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), with respect 

21 to assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Edu22 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), an alien who 

23 adjusts status to that of a lawful permanent resident 

24 under this Act shall be eligible only for the following as25 sistance under such title: 


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1 (1) Student loans under parts B, D, and E of 

2 such title IV (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 1087a et seq., 

3 1087aa et seq.), subject to the requirements of such 

4 parts. 

5 (2) Federal work-study programs under part C 

6 of such title IV (42 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), subject to 

7 the requirements of such part. 

8 (3) Services under such title IV (20 U.S.C. 

9 1070 et seq.), subject to the requirements for such 

10 services. 

11 SEC. 12. GAO REPORT. 

12 Not later than seven years after the date of enact13 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

14 States shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judi15 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 

16 of the House of Representatives setting forth— 

17 (1) the number of aliens who were eligible for 

18 cancellation of removal and adjustment of status 

19 under section 4(a); 

20 (2) the number of aliens who applied for adjust21 ment of status under section 4(a); 

22 (3) the number of aliens who were granted ad23 justment of status under section 4(a); and 


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1 (4) the number of aliens whose conditional per2 manent resident status was removed under section 

3 5. 

Æ 


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