USCIS Resumes Accepting DACA Renewals After Court Order

USCIS announced on January 12, 2018 that it has resumed the renewal process for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients. This decision came days after District Judge William Alsup issued an injunction order against the deportation of DACA recipients on January 9, 2018. Passed by President Obama, the program went into effect in 2012 allowing illegal immigrants who entered the countries as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and allow these individuals to apply for a work permit. To learn more about DACA, click here.

Stated in an update posted online on Saturday, USCIS announced that, until further notice, the DACA policy will be operated on the same terms in place before it was rescinded by the Trump administration on September 5, 2017. Individuals who were previously granted deferred action and whose DACA expired on or after September 5, 2016 may request renewal by filing the appropriate forms at the USCIS designated filing locations. USCIS is only accepting renewals and will not accept applications from individuals who have never before been granted deferred action. USCIS is also not accepting or approving advance parole requests from DACA recipients. The Trump administration have stated that the injunction order was “unfair” and suggested that it would take measures to reverse the decision at a higher court.