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Originally published Friday, August 3, 2012 at 6:50 PM

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Young immigrants to pay $465 for temporary work permits

Critics have denounced the immigration-policy change as an end-run around Congress that rewards illegal immigrants.

Los Angeles Times

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LOS ANGELES — Young illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and who hope to avoid deportation will have to pay $465, submit fingerprints and undergo a background check, according to details of the program released Friday by the Department of Homeland Security.

The fees will pay for the process of applying for work permits and relief from deportation under a program announced by the administration in June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday.

Critics have denounced the policy change as an end-run around Congress that rewards illegal immigrants.

Up to 1.4 million people could benefit from the change, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group. Applications will be accepted and forms will be available on the USCIS website starting Aug. 15, as explained in an online brochure.

Addressing the fears of some that coming forward could result in deportation, officials said information in applications would not be shared with immigration-enforcement agents in most cases. But it could be turned over if someone is a convicted criminal, is considered a national-security or public-safety threat, or commits fraud in the application process.

Officials also said "brief, casual, and innocent" absences from the United States would not be counted against residency requirements.

To qualify for deferred action, a person must:

• Have been born after June 15, 1981

• Have arrived in the U.S. before age 16

• Have resided continuously in the U.S. since June 15, 2007

• Have been in the U.S. on June 15, 2012

• Be in school, graduated from high school or received a GED, or be an honorably discharged veteran

• Be at least 15 years old to apply, if not currently in removal proceedings

In addition, applicants must not have been convicted of a "felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety."

Driving without a license will not be considered a significant misdemeanor but could factor into the application's overall consideration, an official said.

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