DACA TO BE FULLY RESTORED?

With the Trump Administration unable to provide a satisfactory justification for eliminating DACA, on this past Friday, August 3, Judge Bates affirmed that DACA must be fully restored; however, Judge Bates has continued to stay his order to restore DACA for 20 days (i.e., until August 23) in order to give the Trump Administration the chance to decide whether to appeal his decision.

It is anticipated that the Judge's decision in Texas regarding DACA will conflict with Judge Bate's ruling; if this is the case, it is unclear how USCIS would deal with DACA applications. Therefore, generally, it is advised that all eligible DACA renewal applicants file their applications as soon as possible (before August 8th) in case that the Texas Judge's decision causes USCIS to stop accepting DACA applications. Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. has noted that USCIS has been accepting renewal applications that are before the 150 days (from the DACA expiration date); however, it also points out that since USCIS is basing the new DACA expiration date on the date of the approval of the renewal application, that, in the case where the renewal application is filed and approved early, the applicant may not get the full 2 year DACA extension.

If you are currently or may in the future need to rely on DACA to legally remain in the U.S. or if you are no longer able to rely on DACA to legally remain in the U.S. and still wish to remain in the U.S., you may want to contact an immigration attorney as soon as possible to discuss any options that you may have.

***Please keep in mind that this blog posting is for educational purposes only (i.e., to give you general information and a general understanding of this immigration related matter); this blog posting does not provide specific legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship.***