DACA Renewal Information and Assistance

If your DACA is still valid: 

Individuals with a current, unexpired grant of DACA will continue to hold DACA until it expires. This means that current DACA recipients maintain their protection from deportation and work permit until their current expiration date. USCIS will not refer DACA recipients and applicants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation unless they meet USCIS’ Notice to Appear guidance or pose a risk to national security or public safety. Applicants with currently pending and processing applications should attend biometrics appointments and respond to any requests for additional evidence they receive from USCIS.

If you are eligible to renew: 

If you are eligible to renew under the above guidelines, you should do so and file your application to USCIS. 

For more information, please see the government’s Frequently Asked Questions
and the Memorandum on Rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Read about the DACA Renewal Process and Tips (pdf)

Complete the items on the DACA Renewal Checklist (pdf)

DACA Renewal and Life After DACA

Use the Calculator to determine when you should file your DACA Renewal. Find it at CitizenPath.com

Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), also known as work permits, for current DACA recipients will remain valid until they expire or the government terminates your DACA. 
  • If you currently have an unexpired work permit under DACA, you are allowed to keep your work permit and have the right to work legally until your work permit’s expiration date. 
  • You have no obligation to inform your employer that DACA has ended. 
  • Your employer does not have the right to ask you whether you are a DACA recipient or how you got your work permit.
  • Even as DACA winds down, your employer does not have the right to fire you, put you on leave, or change your work status until after your work permit has expired. 
  • If your expiration date is nearing, your employer may ask you for an updated work permit but cannot take any action against you until after it is expired.
  • You still have the right to apply for a new job or change jobs until your work permit expires.  
  • For more information about your rights as an employee see this advisory by the National Immigration Law Center: https://www.nilc.org/issues/daca/daca-and-workplace-rights/

  • Your Social Security Number (or SSN) is a valid number for life, even once your work permit and DACA grant expires. 
  • If you have not done so already, apply for an SSN while your DACA and work permit are still valid. 
  • You can and should continue to use the SSN you got under DACA as your SSN even after your work permit expires. 
  • You can use your SSN for education, banking, housing and other purposes. 
  • Your SSN contains a condition on it that requires a valid work permit to use it for employment purposes so without valid EAD's, you will only be able to use it for the the previously mentioned so again, your SSN will remain yours and valid for life. 

  • In California, you can still apply for a driver’s license or state identification card if your DACA is still valid.
  • In California, if you have DACA you are eligible to apply for either a standard Class C license or an AB 60 driver’s license. 
  • An AB 60 driver’s license is a license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to any California resident who is eligible, regardless of immigration status. 
  • If you have an AB 60 license, it will not be affected by the change in your DACA or any other immigration status. When your DACA status expires or is terminated, your AB 60 license will still be valid and unaffected.
  • If you have a standard Class C license that you got because of DACA,  then your standard Class C driver’s license will expire when your DACA expires. 
  • You will not be able to renew your standard Class C driver’s license unless your DACA is renewed or you gain other lawful immigration status. 
  • Therefore, you can switch your standard Class C driver’s license to an AB 60 license.
Here’s how to switch licenses: 
    1. Schedule an in-person appointment for an original (new) driver’s license, even if you already have a driver’s license. 
    2. Attend your appointment where you will have to pay the current fee and will likely have to take the writing test. 
    3. You will need to bring the required documents for an AB 60 license. See DMV’s guide: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/ab60
    4. You can use your AB 60 license to drive in California and as a form of ID for state purposes ONLY in California. 

Find Bay Area DACA Legal Service Providers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma Counties. Organizations provide a variety of services including clinics. Contact them directly for details.

Advance Parole

If USCIS has decided to defer action in your case and you want to travel outside the United States, you must apply for advance parole by filing a Form I-131, Application for Travel Document and paying the applicable fee. USCIS will determine whether your purpose for international travel is justifiable based on the circumstances you describe in your request. Generally, USCIS will only grant advance parole if your travel abroad will be in furtherance of:

  • humanitarian purposes, including travel to obtain medical treatment, attending funeral services for a family member, or visiting an ailing relative;
  • educational purposes, such as semester-abroad programs and academic research, or;
  • employment purposes such as overseas assignments, interviews, conferences or, training, or meetings with clients overseas.

Travel for vacation is not a valid basis for advance parole.

You may not apply for advance parole unless and until USCIS defers action in your case under the consideration of DACA. You cannot apply for advance parole at the same time as you submit your request for consideration of DACA. All advance parole requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If USCIS has deferred action in your case under the DACA process after you have been ordered deported or removed, you may still request advance parole if you meet the guidelines for advance parole described above.

CAUTION: However, for those individuals who have been ordered deported or removed, before you actually leave the United States, you should seek to reopen your case before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and obtain administrative closure or termination of your removal proceeding. Even after you have asked EOIR to reopen your case, you should not leave the United States until after EOIR has granted your request. If you depart after being ordered deported or removed, and your removal proceeding has not been reopened and administratively closed or terminated, your departure may result in your being considered deported or removed, with potentially serious future immigration consequences. If you have any questions about this process, you may contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the local ICE Office of the Chief Counsel with jurisdiction over your case.

CAUTION: If you travel outside the United States on or after Aug. 15, 2012, without first receiving advance parole, your departure automatically terminates your deferred action under DACA.

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