By John Newton, La Voz Latina, Savannah, Ga.
President Obama’s deferred action (DACA) program for undocumented students celebrated its two-year anniversary last month and, owing to its controversial nature, still makes headlines on a regular basis. Republicans in the US Congress have vowed to end the program if they succeed in regaining control of the US Senate in November.
Under DACA guidelines, many young immigrants who were raised in the US and educated in public schools can qualify for a temporary but renewable two-year adjustment to their legal status, obtain a valid work permit, a social security number, and a drivers license (in most states).
But as one DACA student discovered this summer, traveling abroad is still a tricky proposition.
Yair Muñoz is a rising-senior at Armstrong State University and has been very active since arriving on the Savannah campus from his hometown of Quitman, Ga. three years ago. Since that time, Muñoz has served in student government, the student ambassadors program, and was president of HOLA
(Hispanic Outreach & Leadership at Armstrong). He is pursuing a degree in pre-medicine and plans to become a family physician.
Muñoz is spending this semester in Heredia, Costa Rica studying cellular and molecular biology at the Universidad Nacional. His summer facebook posts have been filled with colorful photos of Costa Rica’s amazing natural beauty.
“I want to credit the Goizueta Foundation Scholarship for making this experience possible,” he said. “The scholarship covered most of my expenses and the rest came out of pocket. Thankfully I was able to work right before I came and saved up for any other expenses that could arise along the way.”
Muñoz said that his status as an undocumented student made traveling outside the US very complicated.
“There was a lot of paperwork and a few heavy fees involved (I spent about $700 just on immigration
paperwork),” he said. “I am able to travel through advance parole under my deferred action status. It took some self discipline and determination to file everything on time and to make all of the trips for paperwork that were necessary. Thankfully I had some friends that were very helpful in the process. Since this is fairly new, I also had a few circumstances arise at the airport. But in the end, everything was taken care of.”
Muñoz offers some advice for other DACA recipients who want to travel abroad under their adjusted status.
“Traveling abroad is something that everyone should experience in their lifetime,” he said. “The problem is that it is easier said than done and not everyone will support your dream of traveling abroad. As a deferred-action recipient, the process is a little more complex; there is not a step-by-step guide on how to travel abroad or where to get started with the paperwork. Things do not always go smoothly, and help is not always available. And do not count up the costs in advance because, if you do, you might get discouraged and give up.”
“Just make up your mind that you will call as many times as you need to call, you will be on hold for as long as you need to be on hold (once I was on hold for 3 hours), you will run to the post office as many times as it takes, etc. Do whatever it takes to make your dream of traveling abroad a reality. You have to stop hiding out behind your fears and coming up with excuses to validate your inaction.”
“If traveling abroad is something that you really want to do, take the challenge “head on” and life will never be the same again. Is it possible to do it? Is it possible to live this dream and make that a reality? Yes, it is possible! But the real question you should be asking yourself is this– Have I decided that I’m really going to do this?”
For more information on traveling outside the US if you have DACA status, please contact Yair Muñoz at ricoyair@gmail.com