In May 2006, 63million votes were cast in the American Idol finale, a figure that drew more votes than had ever been cast for a president in a US election. Today it is Barack Obama living the American Dream and today it is he with 63 million votes, more still to be counted.

In the same month Taylor Hicks was earning a spiritual following, Barack Obama was at the beginning of a two year journey for the Presidentship and the opportunity to represent the soul of a divided nation.

Speaking at an immigration rally in Chicago to thousands of Spanish, Hispanic and Latino immigrants he declared his pride that a national movement had started in Chicago, ‘because Chicago has always been ahead of the curve’.

Like a natural born leader he moulded an excited a crowd into a directed design and spoke of ‘lifting people out of the shadows to give them the same rights and responsibilities of all American citizens’.

Obama was sending a clear message to the 9.5 million immigrant workers lost in the system, also known as aliens and it appears the minority voters and legal immigrants from this movement have played a significant role in Obama’s success.

“The pathway to citizenship should be earned. They should pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line.’ The line now includes Obama’s Boston-based aunt.

‘To those concerned who think we can simply seal off the borders and deport, there is nothing to fear, people who have come here have come here for the same reasons as generations of Americans before them, they want a better future for their children’.

The President –elect believes America can be a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. In a statement that could be interpreted as being directly associated to the recent H1-B visa scandal, he warned of holding employers accountable.

In October, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) released a report revealing 13% of petitions filed for H1-B programme on behalf of employers were fraudulent and another 7% contained some sort of technical violations.

Some US tech firms advertise positions requiring candidates to perform a wide variety of highly skilled tasks on a salary that does not necessarily reflect the high level of the work.

For this reason US citizens do not apply for the jobs and in turn the tech firms can advertise the positions under the H1-B programme.

By the time some skilled migrants begin working in the US some aren’t always doing the jobs they apply for. One ended up working in a laundromat servicing washer and drier machines.

Bigger Tech companies like Oracle, Microsoft and Google have pushed to get more visas, claiming that a shortage of skilled workers is hampering U.S. competitiveness. The US currently grants 65,000 H1B visas a year. Microsoft Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates has twice testified in front of Congress on the raising the number of visas for skilled foreign workers..

So what now for the H1B program?

Immigration, a sticky subject in both races for the title, was an issue both parties were happy to leave until after the finish line.

Obama is for increasing the numbers but he also wants to integrate the illegal immigrants into society and hold companies accountable for abusing the system.

Whatever the outcome, Obama’s ideas seem revolutionary.

Mr. Obama is the first black President and as such will be setting further precedents in the years to come. Some people will be watching for mistakes but the vast majority will be praising great progress.

Given the support he has received from his landslide victory at home and from his followers around the world, this man just might breathe life back into a dream, which for millions of immigrants, has been dead for years.