SEATTLE -- The first hurdle has been cleared for a bill that would open college financial aid to young immigrants who have no legal status in the country.

The so called Washington Dream Act was approved by the House Appropriations committee on Friday.

The measure's next stop is the House floor for a vote. The bill makes young immigrants who have qualified for the Obama Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program eligible for the State Needs Grant.

The federal program provides young immigrants who arrived in the United States as children a legal way to live in the country on renewable two-year stays if they meet certain age and don't h ave a criminal history.

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