DACA Reinstated – Apply QUICKLY!

© Farhad Sethna, Attorney, 2018

Breaking news per the USCIS website – www.USCIS.gov: – Saturday, Jan 13, 2018:
To summarize:  Following the Federal judge’s decision and nationwide injunction, DACA status is available again for renewals ONLY – not for advance parole or for new applications. However – DACA applicants who previously lost DACA before Sept 5, 2016 (NOT 2017) can also reapply.  A copy of the USCIS website posting follows this blog article.
How is this possible given that Trump banned DACA entirely and the Congress has not passed any DACA law to Trump to sign?
I have a couple of theories: First, the White House is so on the defensive about Trump’s “S***Hole” comment they don’t have the resources to decide whether to appeal Tuesday’s federal judge’s DACA decision, OR – they are just completely dysfunctional.
This helps hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients (totalled at just under 800,000) to get a new two-year extension of their stay in the USA;  It also protects those DACA recepients from removal (deportation), and continues their work authorization and temporary lawful presence in the USA.
Whatever the reason for not appealing the District Court judge’s DACA decision – either way – or neither way, perhaps – don’t look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth – if you are eligible, FILE FOR DACA right away! 
________________USCIS WEBSITE POST______________

Jan. 13, 2018, Update:  Due to a federal court order, USCIS has resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA.  Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in this guidance, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017.

Individuals who were previously granted deferred action under DACA may request renewal by filing Form I-821D (PDF), Form I-765 (PDF), and Form I-765 Worksheet (PDF), with the appropriate fee or approved fee exemption request, at the USCIS designated filing location, and in accordance with the instructions to the Form I-821D (PDF) and Form I-765 (PDF).  USCIS is not accepting requests from individuals who have never before been granted deferred action under DACA.  USCIS will not accept or approve advance parole requests from DACA recipients.

If you previously received DACA and your DACA expired on or after Sept. 5, 2016, you may still file your DACA request as a renewal request.  Please list the date your prior DACA ended in the appropriate box on Part 1 of the Form I-821D.

If you previously received DACA and your DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or your DACA was previously terminated at any time, you cannot request DACA as a renewal (because renewal requests typically must be submitted within one year of the expiration date of your last period of deferred action approved under DACA), but may nonetheless file a new initial DACA request in accordance with the Form I-821D and Form I-765 instructions. To assist USCIS with reviewing your DACA request for acceptance, if you are filing a new initial DACA request because your DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or because it was terminated at any time, please list the date your prior DACA expired or was terminated on Part 1 of the Form I-821D, if available.

Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer a removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion.  Further, deferred action under DACA does not confer legal status upon an individual and may be terminated at any time, with or without a Notice of Intent to Terminate, at DHS’s discretion.  DACA requests will be adjudicated under the guidelines set forth in the June 15, 2012 DACA memo (PDF).