The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has reinstated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and resumed the acceptance of first-time applications effective December 7, 2020, in accordance with a recent U.S. District Court order. In addition, USCIS will:
- Accept DACA Renewal Requests;
- Accept applications for advance parole (travel document);
- Extend one-year of grants of deferred to two years; and
- Extend one-year employment authorization documents to two years.
DACA is a program created in 2012, which grants USCIS prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against foreign nationals without legal status in the U.S. if certain criteria are met. Specifically, the program was intended to aid individuals who came to the U.S. as children before their 16th birthday.
Despite the current reinstatement of DACA, USCIS may continue to seek relief from this court order leaving the long-term availability of the program unknown. Therefore, it is recommended that prospective applicants quickly take advantage of the U.S. District Court’s order. If you have any questions about DACA or the impacts of the court’s decision, please do not hesitate to contact me.
