Dream Center

Services

The DREAM Center addresses the needs of undocumented students, members of mixed-status families, campus faculty and staff by providing the following services and resources:

  • Assistance with AB 540, DREAM Act, DACA & scholarships (walk-in or by appointment)
  • Peer Mentoring
  • Programs & Services for Undocumented Students
  • Legal Services Referrals
  • Referrals to Counseling Resources
  • Ally & Policy Literacy Trainings
  • Policy & Legislative Updates
  • Computer & Printer Access

Non-Legal Services

The DREAM Center offers our non-legal services free of charge to CSUN students, faculty, and staff. If you have any questions regarding services that aren’t listed on this page, our Virtual Assistance is available for general consultations during the specified hours Monday through Thursday.

Office Hours with Financial Aid Counselor

Fridays: 10 a.m. – Noon (Biweekly)

Financial Aid Counselors can assist students one-on-one with questions regarding their Financial Aid award status, the Dream loan, special circumstances, campus scholarships and emergency grants, and more to help you make ends meet. Please contact the DREAM Center to be connected to a Financial Aid Counselor.

Faculty Mentors

Faculty mentors can provide support with exploring graduate school, career development, research opportunities and finding academic mentors. Email professors directly to set up a meeting.

Dr. Tracy Lachica BuenavistaDr. Tracy Lachica Buenavista
She/her(s)/isúna
Asian American Studies
tracy.buenavista@csun.edu 

I consider myself a faculty ally/accomplice to the students and staff at the DREAM Center and have served as a mentor prior to the existence of institutionalized resources for undocumented students at CSUN.

Dr. Omar RuvalcabaDr. Omar Ruvalcaba
He/Him/His
Psychology
omar.ruvalcaba@csun.edu

I'm a faculty member here in the department of psychology. I grew up in Inglewood, California and my family is from Zacatecas, Mexico. I received my Ph.D. and Masters in Developmental Psychology from the UC Santa Cruz. In one thread of my research, I study culture, gender, and technology contexts (such as eSports and gaming). In the second, I focus on how first-generation immigrant students negotiate cultural practice and identity.

Dr. Daniel OlmosDr. Daniel Olmos
He/Him/His
Sociology
daniel.olmos@csun.edu

As a child of Latin American immigrants, I am dedicated to supporting students of all backgrounds, most especially those with precarious and vulnerable legal status. I truly believe that if our most vulnerable students are supported, then the entire CSUN community thrives.  

Let’s Talk by University Counseling Services

Let’s Talk is an outreach program that provides easy access to informal consultations with counselors from University Counseling Services. Counselors provide drop-in consultation hours at sites around campus throughout the week. There is no fee for this service and no appointment is needed. Students can meet for a consultation on a first-come, first-served basis. A Let’s Talk counselor is available to listen, offer support, and provide resources and problem-solving tools.

Talking can help.
Whether it is stress, sadness, difficulty adjusting to school, academic concerns, or relationship or family problems, sharing your concerns with another person can make a positive difference. Let’s Talk counselors can talk through your issue with you and help you determine the best way to get help.

Let’s Talk Wednesdays — DREAM Center
2 – 3 p.m.
Facilitated by Elizabeth Poloskov

 


Legal Services

CARECEN

Direct immigration legal services are available free of charge to CSU Northridge students, faculty, staff and immediate family. An immigration attorney is onsite on a weekly basis for general immigration related consultations. The legal services provided focus primarily on DACA renewals and general assistance in filling out immigration forms, such as family-based petitions.

Funding for the services is provided by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) in collaboration with the CSU Chancellor's Office. Legal services are provided by the Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles (CARECEN).

Founded in 1983, CARECEN, is the largest Central American immigrant rights organization in the country; it empowers Central Americans and all immigrants by defending human and civil rights, working for social and economic justice, and promoting cultural diversity.

Schedule a CARECEN Appointment
>

Preparing for Your Appointment

Confirmation Email

Please read the confirmation email sent immediately after booking the appointment (check spam/junk folder too). The email includes important instructions on how to prepare for the appointment, documents that need to be completed, and where to send the documents once completed. The email also includes a helpful video for those interested in Initial DACA.

Appointment Forms

Make sure your appointment forms are completely filled out. Please make sure everything is sent as an attachment and not part of the email’s body. All attachments should have all four corners of the document visible and writing on attachments should clear. We should be able to read the document.

Confidentiality During Your Appointment 

To ensure confidentiality, we recommend finding a private and quiet area for you to have your virtual appointment. We understand this is not available to everyone and there may be no room available for you to be in a private or quiet setting. If that is the case, we suggest using headphones. 

We know this can all seem intimidating, or you do not know your immigration information as well as your parents, but you and your case worker are the only ones allowed in the appointment, due to confidentiality standards and the ethical responsibilities of your attorney. Parents and others are not allowed to attend your appointment. Please do not put us on speaker or have your parents hiding behind the computer camera. Any questions you don’t know answers for, you can go and ask your parents and then come back to us.

Common Scheduling Concerns

Cancelling or Rescheduling Your Appointment

To open up time slots, please take the time to cancel or reschedule your appointment if necessary. This makes the slot you no longer need available for someone else. When you do not cancel the appointment you no longer need, you are preventing someone else from being able to be helped at that time. Instructions to reschedule can be found in your confirmation email.

Booking Multiple Appointments

Please do not book multiple appointments unless your case worker asked for you to do so. If you did, please choose who you would like to have your appointment with and cancel the other. You can cancel by going back to the confirmation email for instructions on how to do so.

Appointments for CSUN Alumni

CARECEN is not able to assist alumni as a part of the CSU Project. If you are an alumnus/alumna, you will be referred out to the main organization, which may have service fees. The CSU Project only offers services for current students, faculty and staff, and their immediate family members (parents, spouses, children, and siblings only). To book an appointment with the main organization, please call 213-385-7800 ext. 122. Leave a voicemail if needed and someone will call you back as soon as possible.