Updated Guidance on USCIS Solution to Erroneous DACA Rejection Notices

As most people are aware, on September 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced that DACA will be rescinded on March 5, 2018. Applicants with DACA had until October 5 to deliver their renewal applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

USCIS received reports that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has identified USPS mail service delays that affected many DACA renewal requests. Because the DACA policy has been rescinded and individuals can no longer request deferred action under DACA, and in light of the mail service delays identified by USPS, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke has directed USCIS to accept some DACA renewal requests. USCIS will accept those individuals who resubmit their DACA renewal request with individualized proof that the request was originally mailed in a timely manner and that the cause for receipt after the Oct. 5, 2017, deadline was the result of USPS mail service error. Affected applicants who do not have such proof may contact USPS, which will review the cases on an individual basis and provide a letter if appropriate.

USCIS will not accept requests that do not include individualized proof that the request was originally mailed in a timely manner to be received by the October 5 deadline, and that the cause for receipt after the Oct. 5, 2017, deadline was the result of USPS mail service error. In addition, USCIS discovered certain cases in which the DACA requests were received at the designated filing location (e.g., at the applicable P.O. Box) by the filing deadline, but were rejected. USCIS will proactively reach out to those applicants to inform them that they may resubmit their DACA request. If an applicant does not receive such a notification and believes that his or her DACA request was received at the designated filing location by the filing deadline, he or she may resubmit his or her DACA request with proof that the request was previously received at the designated filing location on or before the filing deadline.

USCIS will issue more guidance on the deadline for such renewal applications shortly. If you have any questions, please call the Joseph & Hall P.C. to make a consultation with an attorney regarding this new development.