With the election of a new U.S. president and the recent transition of power, a lot of changes are going to be made. Some of these changes have already been put into motion. In addition, many of these changes will have to do with immigration laws. In fact, on January 20, 2021, President Joseph Biden released a briefing,  “Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).” Read on to learn more about the briefing and the changes that are being made involving DACA.

What is DACA?

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created in 2012 to provide temporary protection from deportation to qualified individuals who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

What Changes Have Been Made to DACA?

  • June 12th, 2012
    • The Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children, and met certain criteria, could request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years.
  • November 20th, 2014
    • The Obama Administration expanded DACA. For example, they eliminated the age cap that had been included in the requirements and extended application deadlines.
  • October 5th, 2017
    • On October 5th, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped accepting DACA applications. A memo was issued by the Department of Homeland Security, rejecting all pending and future initial requests for DACA. Additionally, the memo limited the benefits of current DACA beneficiaries. For example, they may only receive one-year renewals of their DACA status, rather than the previous two-year extensions.

What is the Future of DACA?

On January 20, 2021, President Joseph Biden passed an executive order which will preserve and fortify the DACA program.

While the future is still uncertain, our firm will be posting updates on any changes that are made and is here to help clients impacted by these changes

If you have any questions about what the DACA program is, what changes have been implemented, and how this may affect you, contact our firm today. We are here to walk you through all of your immigration law matters.

Contact Our New York City Immigration Lawyers

Our law firm can explain all the opportunities associated with fiancé visas and help you through the entire procedure, as well as discuss whether this is a good option. For an initial consultation with a skilled immigration lawyer, contact the Law Office of Cheryl R. David in New York.