DACA Eligibility
In order to be eligible to apply for DACA, you must meet the following criteria:
- You were under 16 years old when you came to the U.S.
- You were under 31 years old as of June 15, 2012
- You have continuously resided in the U.S. from June 15, 2007, to the present
- You entered the U.S. without inspection before June 15, 2012, or, if you had legal immigration status, it had expired as of June 15, 2012
- You were physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012 (you must also be physically present in the U.S. when you apply for DACA)
- You are currently in school, have graduated from high school, obtained your GED, or have been honorably discharged from the U.S. armed forces or Coast Guard
- You have not been convicted of a felony, a serious misdemeanor, or more than three misdemeanors
- You do not pose a threat to national security or public safety
You must be at least 15 years old to apply. However, you may apply if you are under 15 if you are in removal proceedings or have a final removal order or a voluntary departure order.
DACA Dangers
DACA offers temporary relief in lieu of anticipated immigration reform. It is a step in the right direction, but it is not without its pitfalls and risks.
We strongly urge you to consult with an immigration lawyer before applying because you will be exposing yourself if you are here illegally and if you do not meet DACA criteria you could wind up in removal proceedings. You also need to be aware that DACA status is discretionary and can be revoked at any time.
The immigration lawyers of the Pagliara Law Group can help you understand what DACA can and cannot do for you, and if applying is the right course of action in your unique circumstances.
If you or someone you love is interested in obtaining U.S. citizenship or is facing deportation, please talk to the immigration lawyers of the Pagliara Law Group, today, or fill out the online form.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
Since September 5, 2017, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA would be terminated (followed by a DHS memo terminating the program), DACA’s future has been uncertain. Several lawsuits were immediately filed challenging the legality of terminating DACA, and a few courts have ordered DHS to continue accepting renewal applications.
Currently, only renewal applications are being accepted as a result of a preliminary injunctions issued by the Federal Courts in California, and New York. However, this does not mean that DACA is back permanently. Rather, the judge ordered DHS to continue accepting renewal applications while the lawsuit challenging the decision to terminate DACA is litigated.
There has also been a lawsuit filed in the US District for the Southern District of Texas,, against the government that says DACA is unconstitutional and should be terminated.
Although employment authorization documents (EAD) continue to be issued to DACA Beneficiary’s, the courts issuing the preliminary injunctions did not instruct DHS to also continue issuing advance parole travel documents to DACA Beneficiaries, thus those applications are still not be accepted.
So what does this mean if you are currently a DACA Beneficiary? Your EAD is still valid and you can, and should, continue to renew your DACA status if it is set to expire soon. DACA renewals, however, are not set in stone and DACA Beneficiaries should stay up-to-date with the latest DACA news.
What does this mean if you were hoping to apply for DACA for the first time? You need to wait and see if the courts will decide that the DACA program is constitutional AND the termination of DACA is unconstitutional.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to begin accepting new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and otherwise restore the program to the form it took prior to Sept. 5, 2017, the day the administration announced plans to end the program.
The Supreme Court ruled in June to vacate President Trump’s decision to end DACA, which provides protection against deportation and work authorization to certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, including many current and former college students.
Rather than reinstate the program following the Supreme Court ruling, Chad Wolf, acting in his capacity as acting secretary of homeland security, issued a memo in July curbing DACA, reducing the term for renewals from two years to one and saying the administration would not accept any new applications.
But U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis ruled Nov. 14 that Wolf “was not lawfully serving as acting secretary of homeland security under the Homeland Security Act” at the time he issued the memo, rendering the memo void. Judge Garaufis noted that the Government Accountability Office reported in August to Congress that Wolf was serving as acting secretary “by reference to an invalid order of succession.”
On Friday, Judge Garaufis ordered that the administration post notice within three days of “that it is accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under DACA, renewal requests, and advance parole requests, based on the terms of the DACA program prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with this court’s Memorandum & Order of November 14, 2020. The notice must also make clear that deferred action and employment authorization documents (‘EADs’) granted for only one year are extended to two years, in line with the pre-Wolf Memorandum policy.”
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