How do I renew DACA?
How do I renew DACA?
DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, allows people who arrived in the country as children to avoid deportation and receive temporary immigration status. However, in 2017 this program was terminated.
Nonetheless, if you were granted DACA at least once in your life you can request a renewal if you have not left the country on or after August 15, 2012, without having been granted first advance parole and if you have resided in the United States from the time you submitted the initial request until now.
Also, you must have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor or three or more misdemeanors and not be considered a threat to national security or public safety.
Currently, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, is accepting and processing DACA applications that were submitted by people whose DACA expires more than 150 days after their submission. However, if you wait for more than 150 to request your renewal, we suggest you contact an immigration lawyer in California to seek help with your status in the country.
What happens if your DACA is expired?
Even if your DACA expired, USCIS is accepting renewal applications for anyone who previously had DACA, however, the process varies depending on when yours expired.
If your DACA has not yet expired, then all you need to do is fill out a renewal application. If it expired less than a year ago, you can also request a renewal by filling out the application.
Nonetheless, if your DACA expired more than a year ago you will need to fill out an application as if you were requesting it for the first time and you will also need to submit evidence showing that you meet eligibility.
We encourage you to speak with an immigration attorney if you want to apply early for your DACA renewal. One of the risks of applying early is that USCIS could deprioritize your application. In addition, your old DACA and work permit may have not yet expired when your new DACA and work permit begins and you could lose several weeks of permit.
How do I renew my DACA?
We recommend you renew as soon as possible since DACA-related court cases may make it harder or even impossible to renew DACA later on. If you need assistance, contact an immigration attorney in California to start your renewal process.
You should also take into consideration that a court order may stop USCIS from continuing to accept applications before or while your request is still pending. This could mean you could lose the $495 fee for renewal.
Another recommendation is to submit consistent information in the renewal request with the information you provided in the initial one.
In case you have been arrested, received legal citations, or been criminally charged or convicted since your initial DACA, you should seek advice from a criminal and immigration attorney before applying for renewal. The same occurs if you are currently in exclusion, deportation or removal proceedings.
Contact us at Kannan Law where we practice both criminal law and immigration law in California. We’ll be ready to assist you with your DACA renrewal procedure.