Who is eligible for DACA?

Currently, the only people eligible for DACA are those who had DACA as of July 16, 2021. These DACA recipients may continue to renew their status every two years.

How can a DACA recipient get a green card without marriage?

If they qualify, a DACA recipient may get a green card from any eligibility category. However, the recipient will likely have to leave the U.S. and potentially remain abroad for years for most green card options. If a Dreamer fits narrow criteria, they may get a green card without departing the U.S. through SIJS, asylum, a human trafficking visa, a crime victim visa or an informant visa.

How long does DACA renewal take?

USCIS typically takes 120 to 150 days to process DACA renewals.

Can a DACA recipient apply for citizenship?

Currently, DACA recipients can’t apply for citizenship based on DACA status.

Is DACA taking new applications in 2024?

While USCIS is accepting new applications, it isn’t making decisions on them. It will keep but won’t approve or deny any new application for DACA status.

2024 DACA update: the current rules for Dreamers

What's Inside

Bottom line

Key Takeaways:

Currently, people who had DACA on or before July 16, 2024, may continue to renew their status.
The Biden administration is challenging the court invalidation of DACA in a case that may be issued as soon as late 2024.
In August 2024, the Biden administration implemented a new process that may benefit many Dreamers: a path to a green card and citizenship.
The 2024 presidential election may decide DACA’s future and the potential for similar programs.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, announced by former President Obama in 2012, changed the lives of many undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. DACA allowed those individuals to obtain employment authorization and, along with it, a government-issued ID. It also offers a promise by the government to not target recipients for deportation based on their lack of immigration status alone.

However, the program has faced many challenges, including court cases concluding the program is improper and politicians trying to do away with DACA. While the future of the program is tied to the 2024 presidential election, recent DACA news has many hopeful for better days ahead.

For a fuller picture of where DACA stands, below, we explore DACA’s history and how you currently qualify for the program. Then we discuss the most recent DACA update and how it may benefit recipients, as well as other status options for Dreamers. Finally, we address the future of DACA.

What is DACA?

In order to understand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, you first need a little background on how immigration works in the U.S.

The U.S. executive branch, headed by the president, administers and enforces U.S. immigration law through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a DHS branch, issues most visas and administers the DACA program.

DACA authorizes “deferred action” for certain undocumented individuals brought to the U.S. as minors. Deferred action is a type of temporary legal status. In essence, when the government grants deferred action, it’s declaring that you’re not a deportation priority. The government is promising that, while your deferred action status is valid, it won’t place you in removal proceedings.

Pro-tip:

You may ask for deferred action even if you don’t have DACA. First, however, you have to end up in immigration court and risk removal from the country.

Additionally, people who qualify for DACA may live in the U.S. without accruing “unlawful presence.” This is when a noncitizen is present in the U.S. without legal authorization. Typically, unlawful presence prevents noncitizens from qualifying for immigration benefits.

DACA timeline

In 2001, Congress considered The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act for the first time but didn’t pass it. In many ways, DACA pulls from the act’s proposals.

Many senators and representatives have introduced different versions of the DREAM Act over the years. But because of intense politicization, the DREAM Act has never been passed, despite enjoying broad support from the American public.

The Obama administration created the DACA program to help Dreamers in the face of Congressional inaction.

Pro tip: The DREAM Act is the origin of the term “Dreamers”, which include DACA recipients and others brought to the U.S. as children but who don’t qualify for DACA, typically based on the date cutoffs the program includes.

Under Presidents Trump and Biden, DACA has remained in place but has been subjected to court challenges and political targeting. The politicization of DACA has mainly focused on the fact that those who qualify didn’t enter the country legally. However, court cases challenging DACA have focused instead on how the program was created. In particular, some judges have concluded that the program is an overreach of executive power. Those judges believe that a program like DACA must be created through legislation, not by the president.

The following timeline details DACA’s tumultuous history:

2012: Obama administration introduced the DACA program
2014: Obama administration amended and expanded the program by adjusting dates and providing guidance to evaluate DACA requests
September 5, 2017: Trump administration tried to eliminate DACA for political reasons
January 9, 2018: Federal judge ordered Trump administration to continue DACA
June 18, 2020: U.S. Supreme Court directed DHS to address how it would run DACA going forward
July 28, 2020: Trump administration declared it would process DACA renewal requests but cease processing new requests
December 4, 2020: Federal judge ordered DHS to resume accepting new DACA requests
January 20, 2021: President Biden directed DHS to preserve and strengthen DACA
July 16, 2021: Federal judge stopped DHS from processing new DACA applications
August 30, 2022: Biden administration published DACA rules as a federal regulation, which would move the DACA from a memo to a regulation that passes through several processes, including a public comment period
October 5, 2022: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld July 16, 2021 ruling
September 13, 2023: Federal judge declared the new DACA regulations invalid as executive overreach, stopping DHS from deciding new applications
November 9, 2023: Biden administration appealed the September decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
October 10, 2024: Fifth Circuit will hear the appeal

By appealing, the Biden administration is trying to convince the Fifth Circuit that the federal judge’s September 13, 2023, ruling that the DACA regulations were improper was incorrect. The court may release its opinion before the end of 2024, or it may wait to release the opinion until a couple of months into 2025.

If the Fifth Circuit rules in the administration’s favor, the DACA regulations published in 2022 would go into effect, and DHS would begin processing new DACA applications. And since the program would be contained in a regulation instead of a memo, any attempts to repeal it would have to follow the process of changing a regulation.

Still, the regulations simply continue the DACA program—they offer deferred action, a temporary solution. The DREAM Act seeks to offer a more permanent solution. In its most recent form, introduced in 2023, the act would provide a path to citizenship for many Dreamers. The law wouldn’t be tied to specific dates, like DACA is, so Dreamers who are now too young to qualify for DACA could benefit too.

Pro-tip:

Because DACA is more than 10 years old and applies only to Dreamers who have been in the U.S. since 2007, younger Dreamers—those 17 or younger in 2024—can’t qualify. The DREAM Act, however, would apply to younger Dreamers and offer them a path to stay in the U.S. along with older Dreamers.

Qualifying for DACA in 2024

USCIS isn’t currently granting new DACA requests. However, those who received DACA on or before July 16, 2021, may renew their status.

Initial qualification

You may qualify for DACA if you:

Were born June 16, 1981 or later
Came to the U.S. before age 16
Resided in the U.S. since June 15, 2007
Were physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012 and when you applied
Lacked lawful immigration status on June 15, 2012 and when you applied
Are enrolled in school, completed high school, have been honorably discharged from U.S. armed forces or obtained a General Education Development (GED)
Haven’t been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor or three or more misdemeanors
Don’t pose a threat to safety or security

Significant misdemeanors include:

Domestic violence
Sexual exploitation and abuse
Burglary
Unlawful use or possession of a firearm
Drug distribution or trafficking
Driving under the influence
Any conviction you actually were sentenced to and confined for 90 days or longer

You apply for DACA by submitting Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, to USCIS. If you have an “economic necessity”, you may request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) through Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and a Form I-765 Worksheet. You have an economic necessity if you need to work to pay your bills. You show your economic necessity by providing the government details about your income, expenses and resources.

Renewing DACA

DACA lasts two years. USCIS advises that you apply to renew 120 days to 150 before your current DACA and EAD expire. (This is how long USCIS presently takes to process renewals).

To renew your DACA, submit Form I-821-D, Form I-765 and the I-765 worksheet within one year of your DACA expiring. If you attempt to renew your status more than a year after it expires, USCIS considers you a new applicant and won’t process your application.

Pro-tip:

Unlike many programs, your DACA-based employment authorization isn’t automatically extended when you file for renewal. If you don’t apply to renew on time, you may temporarily lose your employment authorization.

DACA update in 2024 immigration news

On June 18, 2024, President Biden proposed a “Keeping Families Together” plan that may benefit many Dreamers. DHS proposed guidelines to implement President Biden’s proposals on August 19, 2024.

These new proposals apply to noncitizens who entered the U.S. without being admitted (that is, they didn’t cross through a border checkpoint) who are married to or the stepchildren of U.S. citizens. Under the new process, the noncitizens may apply for “parole in place”. In immigration terms, parole is the legal authorization to live in the U.S. despite not having status.

Unlawful presence waivers

Noncitizens married to U.S. citizens generally qualify for immediate relative (IR) visas, allowing them to obtain green cards. However, noncitizens who have accrued significant periods of unlawful presence typically have to apply for a waiver before they get a visa.

A noncitizen may request a provisional waiver from within the U.S. But after the waiver is granted, they must depart the U.S. to apply for a visa from a U.S. consulate or embassy and remain outside the U.S. to avoid accruing additional unlawful presence. Through the new program, noncitizens may bypass the requirement that they leave the country.

Parole in place

To qualify for the new process, a noncitizen must:

Have entered the U.S. without being admitted or paroled
Have been continuously present in the U.S. since specific dates
Be physically present
Not have been convicted of felonies or disqualifying misdemeanors
Submit biometrics and not pose a threat to public safety or national security

A noncitizen spouse must have been physically present since at least June 17, 2014 and in a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024.

A noncitizen stepchild must have been:

Under 21 and unmarried on June 17, 2024
Continuously present since at least June 17, 2024
The stepchild of a U.S. citizen legally married to the stepchild’s parent on or before June 17, 2024

If you qualify, you must also show that USCIS should exercise its discretion to grant parole based on factors like your:

Ties to the U.S.
Age
Time spent in and outside of the U.S.
Caregiving to U.S. citizen children, parents, in-laws or siblings
Special medical needs
Targeting by or witnessing crime, civil rights violations or labor violations
Military status
Role in the lives of family members

To apply, submit the new Form I-131F, Application for Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens, and supporting documents to USCIS.

Your noncitizen spouse or stepparent may file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, to ask USCIS to determine that you have a qualifying relationship at the same time. If USCIS approves your Form I-131F, your parole will last three years. After your parole in place is approved, you may apply for a green card to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely.

Other options for Dreamers

Some Dreamers may qualify for highly limited and specific programs like:

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
Asylum
Informant S-visas, trafficking victim T-visas and crime victim U-visas
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
Humanitarian parole
Family reunification processes

Of these processes, only SIJS, asylum and the crime-related visas open pathways to green cards and eventual citizenship. The others offer temporary status and work authorization—like DACA does—but haven’t experienced the same political targeting.

Pro-tip:

If you’re placed in removal proceedings and would qualify for DACA or an updated DACA, you may still request deferred action in your case. A lawyer can advise you on how to request it, but citing DACA’s provisions may help convince DHS not to remove you, even if you can’t get DACA.

DACA’s future

We’ll have a better picture of DACA moving forward after the Fifth Circuit hears the appeal from the judge’s July 16, 2024 ruling and issues an opinion. Depending on the decision, USCIS may begin accepting new DACA applicants or continue to only accept renewals.

Beyond that, a lot depends on the 2024 presidential election. If Vice President Harris is elected, she’s likely to continue building on programs like the new parole-in-place process. If former President Trump is elected, we will likely see little progress.

Moving forward

If you have DACA or are a Dreamer, consider speaking with an immigration lawyer. They may help you understand whether you qualify for lawful status that would allow you to live and work in the U.S. If you’re eligible, your lawyer can help you prepare and submit an application, monitor deadlines, work with USCIS and respond to questions or issues that arise.

Sources

https://www.uscis.gov/search?query=unlawful+presence

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/dream-act-overview