Court Issues Decision on DACA

On October 5, 2022, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision on the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. DACA is an executive order signed by former President Obama on June 15, 2012 which provided some individuals who came to the U.S. before their 16th birthday, and who were born after June 15, 1981, the ability to apply for work authorization and not be deportable for the duration of the grant. The court partially affirmed the district court’s July 2021 decision declaring the 2012 DACA policy unlawful. However, the court of appeals also preserved the partial stay issued by the district court in July 2021 and remanded the case back to the district court for further proceedings regarding the new DACA regulation published in August 30, 2022 which was scheduled to go into effect on October 31, 2022.

At this time, the ruling does not affect current DACA holders. USCIS will continue to accept and process renewal DACA requests along with accompanying requests for employment authorization and travel permit. USCIS will also continue to accept initial DACA requests, but will not process the initial requests until further developments from the district court.