USCIS Again Accepting Applications for DACA Benefits
As a result of federal litigation against the United States government, on December 7, 2020 USCIS began to accept applications for DACA benefits. Those benefits include:
- Accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
- Accepting DACA renewal requests based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
- Accepting applications for advance parole documents based on the terms of the DACA policy prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
- Extending one-year grants of deferred action under DACA to two years; and
- Extending one-year employment authorization documents under DACA to two years
Since 2017 I have meet individuals who would have been eligible for DACA but who never applied. When Trump stopped the DACA program in 2017, they were no longer eligible to apply for DACA. Also since 2017 I met others who had DACA status but who had never applied for and received Advance Parole. Some of those DACA recipients had entered the US without visas and were now married to US citizens. If they had received Advance Parole, left the US and re-entered, they would have been eligible to apply for green-cards through their US citizen spouses. Since they had not used Advance Parole to re-enter the US, the only way for them to get marriage-based green cards was by applying for a provisional waiver of inadmissibility (Form I-601A), waiting for approval, and then leaving the US to get the green card at an embassy.
At this point, I am advising most DACA eligible individuals to apply for DACA and to apply for the accompanying employment authorization and advance parole.
Please contact me if you would like to set up a consultation to discuss your eligibility for DACA and other immigration benefits.
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