Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 2017 Announcement

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DHS Will Reject Initial Requests for DACA As It Weighs Future of the Program

Please see the announcement and memorandum (PDF) issued by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. More information will soon be available.

Important information about DACA requests: Due to federal court orders, USCIS has resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA. USCIS is not accepting requests from individuals who have never before been granted deferred action under DACA. Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in this guidance, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017. For more information, visit Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Response to January 2018 Preliminary Injunction

 

On Sept. 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated the orderly phase out of the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Read the memorandum from Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke for details.

Next Steps for Phasing Out DACA

If you currently have DACA, you will be allowed to retain both DACA and your work authorization (EAD) until they expire, unless terminated or revoked.

USCIS will adjudicate, on an individual, case by case basis:

  • Properly filed pending DACA initial requests and associated EAD applications that USCIS accepted as of Sept. 5, 2017.
  • Properly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated EAD applications that USCIS accepted as of Sept. 5, 2017.
  • Properly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated EAD applications from DACA recipients whose DACA and EAD expire between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, that we accepted on or before Oct. 5, 2017. USCIS will consider DACA requests received from residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on a case-by-case basis.
If ... Then ...

You currently have DACA

You will retain both your period of deferred action and your employment authorization document (EAD) until they expire, unless terminated or revoked.

USCIS received your properly filed initial or renewal DACA request and associated application for an EAD on or before Sept. 5, 2017

We will continue adjudicating your request.

Your DACA expires between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, and you wish to renew it

USCIS must have received your properly filed renewal request on or before Oct. 5, 2017.

You did not request initial DACA on or before Sept. 5, 2017

The DACA process is no longer available to you.

Your DACA expired on or before Sept. 4, 2017, and you did not properly file your renewal request on or before Sept. 5, 2017

The DACA process is no longer available to you.

You have DACA and your still-valid EAD is lost, stolen, or destroyed

You may submit Form I-765 to request a replacement EAD at any time during the validity period.

Resources

For more information:

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