The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program is a United States program that allows people who came to the United States as children illegally a pathway to legal residency that would allow them to work in the United States. 
What’s notable about this program is that the people who want residency need to demonstrate that they’ve been living in the United States since 2007, which is difficult for people who do not have any school or work records, nor any government identification in most cases.
High school graduate becomes legal resident of US in unique way
Jose Munoz was a prime example of someone who the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program was designed to help, having come to the United States in grade three with no records to demonstrate his residency – but he had an Xbox.
Xbox 360 has an online gaming system called Xbox Live, where users must buy a membership to gain access to online gaming with their friends or other gamers. Xbox Live members can also buy points, which allows them to purchase different things within games or on the system itself.
While Jose had no record of his residency visa traditional means, his Xbox live account information and Xbox Live points purchase history showed that he’s been purchasing things with his points since 2007, and that his address was on the account. The government actually took this as sufficient evidence and after a two-month wait, Jose is now a legal resident of the US with two jobs and dreams of going to college – and he still plays Xbox.
It is quite surprising that Xbox points were accepted as valid proof of residency, what with the government’s general love of official forms and identification documents – but this is a great story! It just goes to show that there is room for creativity in certain aspects of the immigration process, and in this case it worked out for the best.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
