Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Weekly Immigration News: Slow Shifts to Change

President Biden is not acting quickly on immigration issues – will his slow shifts help move us towards change? Alejandro Mayorkas, a former Obama administration immigration official and a Cuban immigrant, has been officially nominated to become DHS (Department of Homeland Security) secretary in a Tuesday Senate vote. Although some Republicans opposed Mayorkas’ nomination due to a 2015 internal investigation on his actions during his role as head of...

Federal Judge Restores DACA Program Pending A 90-Day Stay

A federal judge in Washington D.C. has ruled that the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was unlawful and must be set aside. However, the judge stayed his order for 90 days, and gave the Department of Homeland Security the opportunity to better explain its reasoning for canceling the program, or accept new applicants. This is great news for those individuals who are eligible...

What To Do When Your DACA Is Delayed

Your DACA renewal application has been pending for 105 days, and you have yet to get a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in the mail? Here is what you can do: 1. Initiate a service request at USCIS – Call USCIS National Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 and request to use the Service Request Management Tool (SRMT) to request expedited processing of your case and ask for an interim EAD, if your DACA renewal...

Five Key Changes to the DACA Program

Beginning on February 18, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting program for the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Any requests that are pending as of February 18, 2015, will be considered under the new program. Here are some changes to expect to the program as we know it. 1. No upper-level age-cap: President Obama initially offered deferred action to only those undocumented immigrants who...

USCIS Releases Handy DACA Toolkit

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has belatedly created a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) toolkit for applicants. The comprehensive 34-page document should answer many of the questions that you have about the DACA program, and the renewal process. It is available here. USCIS is still accepting initial requests for DACA. An individual may be considered for initial DACA if he or she: Was under the age...