USCIS DACA Policy Reinstated

On December 7, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued an updated policy on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) in compliance with a November 14, 2020 and December 4, 2020 United States District Court order entered in the cases Martin Jonathan Batalia Vidal et al. v. Chad Wolf and State of New York v. Donald Trump et al.



Based on the district court orders, USCIS is now again accepting first-time immigration petition requests for DACA. USCIS is again granting DACA for a two (2) year period, including the employment authorization under DACA for two (2) years. Further, USIS is 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. DACA renewal requests will continue to be accepted. The applicable standards for the requests will be based on terms of the DACA program prior to September 5, 2017.

With the district court orders in place, the Court vacated the “Wolf Memorandum,” issued in July 2020. The Wolf memorandum had called for: (1) rejecting all pending and future initial requests for DACA; (2) rejecting all pending and future applications for advance parole-necessary for DACA recipients to leave and re-enter the United States-absent exceptional circumstances; and (3) requiring DACA recipients to renew their status under the program annually rather than every two years.

On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued a memorandum to the Secretary of Homeland Security regarding: Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). President Biden reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to DACA as it reflects a judgment that dreamers should not be a priority for removal based on humanitarian concerns. Further, work authorization afforded by DACA is a means to allow dreamers to earn a livelihood. In the memorandum, President Biden called for the memorandum to be implemented consistent with applicable law.

After the fate of DACA was under attack in the previous administration, Lavelle Law is closely monitoring progress on the DACA program and immigration policies under the Biden administration.

If you have any questions about this article and DACA, contact attorneys Amil Alkass aalkass@lavellelaw.com and Kiran Gill at kgill@lavellelaw.com or 847-705-7555 for a free initial consultation.