As communicated in a statement from the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS), pursuant to the July 16, 2021, order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Texas v. United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is prohibited from granting initial DACA requests and any accompanying requests for employment authorization.
What does this update mean for your employees?
All individuals whose DACA requests were granted prior to this decision will continue to have, and be eligible to renew, their DACA and employment authorization status.
In case this decision is overturned, DHS is still allowing individuals who have yet to be granted DACA status to submit initial DACA request, and accompanying requests for employment authorization. For now, these individuals will not be eligible for work authorization under DACA.
USCIS expects to provide additional details in the coming days. Refer to the USCIS DACA Frequently Asked Questions webpage for more information.
How should you respond to this update?
Continue to review and monitor your employees’ work authorization statuses.
- New employees who are DACA recipients and present valid employment authorization documents (EADs) are authorized to work.
- At this time, individuals who have applied for but not yet granted DACA status are not authorized to work.
- No action is needed for current DACA recipient employees who have presented valid EADs.
- USCIS strongly encourages DACA recipients to file their renewal requests 120 to 150 days before the expiration of their current DACA validity period.
- Current employees who are DACA recipients with expired EADs are not authorized to work.
- Refer to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Reminders knowledge base article for more details.
