Tuesday, January 16, 2018

DACA Renewals Available

On January 13, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services (USCIS) announced that it is once again accepting DACA renewal applications, because of an order issued by a U.S. district court in San Francisco. A frequently-asked-questions document authored by NILC and United We Dream and based on the Jan. 13 announcement will be available soon.
The court order was issued in a case challenging the Trump administration’s termination of the DACA program. The termination was announced on September 5, 2017. Our statement about that announcement is here.
In accordance with the administration’s Sept. 5 announcement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stopped accepting initial DACA applications (i.e., from people who didn’t already have DACA) after October 5, 2017. People who already had DACA and whose work permits would expire between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, were eligible to apply for a two-year renewal if they applied by October 5, 2017. The recent court order and USCIS’s announcement of Jan. 13 have made it possible, once again, for people to submit DACA renewal applications, at least for a limited time.
If you want to apply to renew your DACA under the latest policy (based on USCIS’s Jan. 13 announcement), we encourage you to speak first with an immigration attorney or a Board of Immigration Appeals–accredited representative. If you decide to proceed with an application, we urge that you be represented by an attorney or accredited representative (a Form G-28 should be filed with your application).

DACA Fees assistance: https://missionassetfund.org/daca-grant/

USCIS and DACA Renewal Applications
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

By Ignacia Rodriguez, NILC, and Sanaa Abrar and Greisa Martinez, United We Dream

Last revised JANUARY 14, 2018

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it would resume accepting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) renewal applications beginning January 13, 2018. This policy change is in response to the January 9 injunction by a U.S. district court in San Francisco requiring the federal government to resume accepting DACA renewal applications. This policy reversal is the result of several lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s September 5, 2017, decision to terminatethe wildly successful DACA program.
This is another victory on the path to winning a permanent solution for immigrant youth, which is the Dream Act, optimally by January 19. We will be providing updates as more information becomes available, but here are the top five things we think you should know:
1. USCIS is now accepting certain DACA renewal applications. If your DACA expired on or after September 5, 2016, you may send USCIS a DACA renewal application. This means you must fill out the latest versions of Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; and Form I-765WS Worksheet. If your DACA expired before September 5, 2016, you must reapply by filing your application as a first-time one rather than as a renewal. All applicants, whether filing as first-timers or as renewing, must include the date their DACA expired or will expire on Part 1 of the Form I-821D.
2. USCIS will not accept new DACA applications from people who haven’t applied previously. No actually first-time DACA applications will be accepted by USCIS. If you are eligible for DACA now but have not applied for it in the past, this announcement does not apply to you.
3. Requests for advance parole from DACA recipients will not be accepted. USCIS will not accept or approve any advance parole requests from DACA recipients.
4. We do not know how long USCIS will continue to accept DACA renewal applications. The Trump administration stated that it plans to “vigorously” challenge the district court’s decision. This means that the window of time available for submitting your DACA renewal application is uncertain. If you fulfill the requirements mentioned above, you should assess whether to apply immediately.
5. Our fight to get the Dream Act passed by January 19 continues! This is a testament to the work that undocumented youth have led to fight back against Trump’s decision to end DACA, which was announced on Sept. 5, 2017. However, we can’t keep living our lives in monthly — or daily — limbo. Our goal is clear: win the Dream Act by January 19. Not all of us are protected by DACA, so our community remains at risk of detention and deportation until we win a permanent legislative solution. Text DreamActNow to 877877 to learn how you can join us in pressuring Congress to stand on the right side of history and pass the Dream Act by January 19!
DACA InformationLitigation

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