U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has resumed accepting requests to renew grants of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. USCIS is currently not accepting requests from individuals who have never before been granted deferred action under the DACA program. There is one lawsuit still pending that challenges the validity of the DACA program. However, our advice to our students are as follows:
- If you currently have DACA, you should request renewal 150-120 days before it expires to minimize the possibility that your current period of DACA expires before you receive a decision on your renewal request.
- If you now have DACA , USCIS will accept renewal requests more than 150 days in advance of your DACA expiration; however, this could result in an overlap of your current DACA period and your renewal period.
- If your expiration date is over one year, you can renew. Typically, USCIS will not reject renewals if the expiration date does not exceed one year.
- If you had DACA previously and it expired more than one year ago or was terminated, you may not request DACA as a renewal, but you may file a new initial DACA request. As addressed above, if you had DACA and it expired less than one year ago, you can request renewal and USCIS will typically accept the request.
- If you would like to implement a family preparedness plan due to the uncertainty of the DACA program, please contact Student Legal Services.
In addition to some other requirements, to qualify for deferred action, a person must not be convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, or otherwise pose a threat to public safety or national security.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will not accept advance parole applications from DACA recipients.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Student Affairs office by email or phone (651-962-6120).