Meet the country’s documented dreamers: Americans who are only American until they turn 21
- Over 200,000 U.S. residents “Documented Dreamers,” children who came to the U.S. legally with their family.
- But once those children turn 21, they’re age out of their parent’s visa.
- In the worst cases possible, some have to self-deport and leave their family behind.
Laurens Van Beek, 25, grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, for the majority of his life. He went to elementary school, middle school, high school and completed a degree in computer science at the University of Iowa. In July of 2022, he left the United States and moved to Leuven, a city in Belgium just east of Brussels.