DACA in 2026: renewals are processed, initial requests are held, and what the rule says

As the USCIS DACA page stands, USCIS continues to accept and process DACA renewal requests, and continues to accept initial requests but does not process them at this time, following a Fifth Circuit decision of 17 January 2025 and a Texas injunction. DACA is deferred action for two years, not lawful status. The DACA fee is $85 on Form I-821D plus the work permit, and USCIS says the DACA fees cannot be waived.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, is a policy under which DHS agrees, for a limited time, not to pursue removal of certain people who came to the United States as children. It began with a 2012 memorandum. DHS turned it into a regulation in 2022 (final rule, 87 FR 53152, effective 31 October 2022), now at 8 CFR 236.21 to 236.25.

The legal position has been in litigation for years. What matters for readers is what USCIS is doing with requests today, and that is set by court orders rather than by the 2022 rule alone. This page describes the USCIS DACA page as it stood on 10 October 2026. The alert it leads with concerns the 17 January 2025 decision. Check it before you rely on this summary, before you file, and before you pay.

This page explains how the rules work. It does not say whether any person qualifies, whether to file, or what to do about travel or a criminal record. Those answers depend on facts and on current court orders, and only an attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can advise on them.

What USCIS says now

USCIS's DACA page opens with an alert. It says that on 17 January 2025 the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision about the DACA final rule, and then:

"Pursuant to the court's order, USCIS will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization under the DACA regulations at 8 CFR 236.22 and 236.23. USCIS will continue to accept initial requests but will not process initial DACA requests at this time. Current grants of DACA and related Employment Authorization Documents remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated."

The page also states that a "July 16, 2021, injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, which was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and on Oct. 14, 2022 was extended by the district court to the DACA final rule, remains in effect", and that "DHS is prohibited from granting initial DACA requests and related employment authorization under the final rule."

In plain terms:

Renewals. Requests from people who already have DACA are accepted and processed.
Initial requests. First-time requests are accepted, and not processed "at this time". Whether to file while processing is held is a legal question for a representative.
Existing grants. Current grants and work permits remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated.

Court orders change. The USCIS page, not this one, shows the current state.

What DACA is, and what it is not

The regulation says: "Deferred action is an exercise of the Secretary's broad authority to establish national immigration enforcement policies and priorities" and "a form of enforcement discretion not to pursue the removal of certain aliens for a limited period". It continues: "This temporary forbearance from removal does not confer any right or entitlement to remain in or reenter the United States. A grant of deferred action under this section does not preclude DHS from commencing removal proceedings at any time or prohibit DHS or any other Federal agency from initiating any criminal or other enforcement action at any time." (8 CFR 236.21(c)(1)). USCIS puts it more briefly: "Deferred action does not provide lawful status."

What follows from a grant, on the basis of the DACA regulation only:

Work authorization. USCIS may grant a work permit under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(33) to recipients who have demonstrated an economic need (236.21(c)(2)). A DACA request "must also contain a request for employment authorization" (236.23(a)(1)).
Lawful presence. A recipient is considered "lawfully present" under 8 CFR 1.3(a)(4)(vi) for the period of forbearance (236.21(c)(3)).
Unlawful presence. A recipient "is not considered 'unlawfully present'" for the purposes of inadmissibility under section 212(a)(9) (236.21(c)(4)).
Period. A grant is "for an initial or renewal period of 2 years, subject to DHS's discretion", and the work permit runs for the same period (236.23(a)(4)).
No pending-case benefits. "A pending request for deferred action under this section does not authorize or confer any interim immigration benefits such as employment authorization or advance parole" (236.22(a)(2)).

Lawful presence and non-accrual of unlawful presence are different from lawful status. They are not a visa, they do not give a path to permanent residence by themselves, and they can end on termination of the grant.

The rule also has a severability clause (236.24) and says it creates no rights "enforceable at law by any party" (236.25). Both reflect that the policy is an exercise of enforcement discretion.

The criteria in the rule

Under 8 CFR 236.22(b), USCIS may grant a request "only if USCIS determines in its sole discretion that the requestor meets each of the following threshold criteria and merits a favorable exercise of discretion". The requestor carries the burden "by a preponderance of the evidence" (236.22(a)(3)).

Age on arrival. The requestor "first resided in the United States before his or her sixteenth birthday".
Continuous residence. Continuous residence in the United States from 15 June 2007 to the time of filing. Brief, casual and innocent absences before 15 August 2012 do not break it, but "unauthorized travel outside of the United States on or after August 15, 2012, will interrupt continuous residence, regardless of whether it was otherwise brief, casual, and innocent."
Presence. Physically present in the United States both on 15 June 2012 and at the time of filing.
No lawful status. Not in lawful immigration status on 15 June 2012 and at filing; if the person held status earlier, evidence that it had expired or ended before those dates.
Education or service. Currently enrolled in school, graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, obtained a General Educational Development certificate, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces.
Criminal history, public safety, national security. No conviction of a felony, a "significant" misdemeanor described in the rule, or three or more other misdemeanors not arising from the same act or scheme, and not a threat to national security or public safety. Expunged convictions, juvenile adjudications and convictions under state immigration-related laws are not counted as disqualifying for this purpose. A single misdemeanor is disqualifying if it is an offence of domestic violence, sexual abuse or exploitation, burglary, unlawful possession or use of a firearm, drug distribution or trafficking, or driving under the influence, or if it carried a custodial sentence of more than 90 days (the rule explains the detail).
Age. Born on or after 16 June 1981, and at least 15 years old at filing, unless in removal proceedings, subject to a final order of removal or a voluntary departure order.

Even where every criterion is met, "USCIS retains the discretion to assess the individual's circumstances and to determine that any factor specific to that individual makes deferred action inappropriate" (236.22(c)).

How these tests apply to a person's records, school history or travel is a fact-heavy question. The USCIS page lists the kinds of documents it accepts for each criterion.

Fees and filing

The fee. 8 CFR 106.2(a)(51) sets Form I-821D, "Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals", at $85, and states that "The online filing discount in § 106.1(g) does not apply to this section." A DACA request includes the work permit, Form I-765, with its own fee, which is listed in 106.2(a)(44) and on the USCIS I-765 page. Check Form G-1055 on uscis.gov for the current total before paying; USCIS fees change, and some change on 16 October 2026.

No waiver. The fee waiver rule lists the I-765 as waivable "except persons filing under category (c)(33), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (8 CFR 106.3(a)(3)(ii)(F)), and the I-821D appears in none of the waivable lists. USCIS's DACA page says of the I-821D, the I-765 and the worksheet: "These fees cannot be waived." The same page describes a narrow route for a "fee exemption", which must be requested and "favorably adjudicated before you file your DACA request without a fee". It lists three situations: a person who "cannot care for yourself because you suffer from a serious, chronic disability" with income under 150 percent of the poverty level; a person with $10,000 or more of unreimbursed medical debt in the past 12 months and income under 150 percent of the poverty level; and a person under 18, with income under 150 percent of the poverty level, who is homeless, in foster care or otherwise lacking parental or familial support.

Processing steps. USCIS says to use the most recent edition of the form and warns it "will reject older versions". After the request is accepted, USCIS schedules biometrics at an Application Support Center; the page says "If you fail to attend your ASC appointment, we may deny your DACA request." Requests can also be tracked through a USCIS online account.

Evidence. The USCIS page lists examples: passports, school and employment records, medical records, rent and utility receipts, military records, and affidavits where documents are missing. The more precise rules for what counts are in the I-821D instructions.

Rejection and denial. USCIS "may deny a request for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals without prior issuance of a request for evidence or notice of intent to deny" (236.23(a)(3)). There is "no administrative appeal from a denial", and no motion to reopen or reconsider under 8 CFR 103.5 (236.23(c)(3)). A denial does not bar the person from other benefits or from making another DACA request, and USCIS "will not issue a Notice to Appear or refer a requestor's case to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for possible enforcement action based on such denial unless USCIS determines that the case involves denial for fraud, a threat to national security, or public safety concerns" (236.23(c)(1)-(2)).

Travel, information use and termination

Travel. The regulation treats unauthorized travel after 15 August 2012 as interrupting continuous residence for a first request. For a recipient, USCIS "may terminate a grant of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, in its discretion and following issuance of a Notice of Intent to Terminate with an opportunity to respond, for DACA recipients who depart from the United States without first obtaining an advance parole document and subsequently enter the United States without inspection" (236.23(d)(2)). USCIS's page says that for someone who travels before DHS decides a first request, "You cannot apply for advance parole unless and until DHS has determined whether to defer action in your case". Travel with or without advance parole raises separate legal questions about reentry and admissibility; take them to a representative before any trip.

Information use. Information in a DACA request about the requestor "will not be used by DHS for the purpose of initiating immigration enforcement proceedings against such requestor, unless DHS is initiating immigration enforcement proceedings against the requestor due to a criminal offense, fraud, a threat to national security, or public safety concerns", and information about family members or guardians will not be used for enforcement against them (236.23(e)).

Termination. USCIS "may terminate a grant of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals at any time in its discretion", ordinarily after a Notice of Intent to Terminate and a chance to respond, but without that notice if the recipient is convicted of a national-security offence or an egregious public-safety offence. Termination of the grant automatically ends the work permit (236.23(d)).

Detention. A person in immigration detention may request DACA but cannot be approved unless ICE releases them before the decision (236.23(a)(2)).

Removal proceedings. USCIS has exclusive jurisdiction over DACA requests. EOIR, which runs the immigration courts, "shall have no jurisdiction to consider requests for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (236.23(a)(2)). A person in proceedings can still make a request to USCIS.

Proposed changes elsewhere. DHS proposed on 5 June 2026 (91 FR 34352) a rule on discretionary employment authorization. Comments closed on 4 August 2026. It is a proposed rule, not in force. The proposal says its changes to the deferred-action work permit category (c)(14) would not apply to DACA work permits under (c)(33), but that its proposed provisions about criminal conduct and biometrics, which apply broadly to discretionary work permits, would apply to DACA. Read the document and any final rule before relying on this summary.

Legal help and what a representative does

Only an attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can legally represent a person before USCIS (8 CFR 292.1). USCIS's "Find Legal Services" page lists who may. Our pages on notarios and immigration lawyers, free immigration legal help and DOJ-accredited representatives explain how to check, and EOIR publishes a quarterly List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers.

Work on a DACA filing typically involves:

checking the current USCIS page and court orders, and which requests are being processed;
mapping each criterion to documents, including residence since 2007 and entry before age 16;
reviewing the criminal record against the "significant misdemeanor" and felony tests, including how a conviction is defined in immigration law;
checking the work permit timing for a renewal, and whether the grant is still valid;
preparing the forms, fees and any fee-exemption letter; and
keeping receipts, address changes and notices.

That list describes the work. It does not say whether any person should file.

For other humanitarian protections that are in the news, see our pages on TPS, the U visa, the T visa and the asylum work permit.

Finding a licensed attorney or accredited representative

Migratio's directory lists immigration attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives. Listings are shown in a neutral order with factual filters (state, language, attorney or accredited representative). Migratio does not recommend, rank or match any lawyer, and it is not a lawyer referral service. Check any listing yourself against the state bar or the EOIR roster before you sign anything.

See attorneys and accredited representatives in the directory.

Notaries public, notarios and immigration consultants are not lawyers and cannot give immigration legal advice. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can.

Migratio is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can advise you.

Questions people ask

Can I apply for DACA for the first time in 2026?

USCIS's DACA page says it "will continue to accept initial requests but will not process initial DACA requests at this time", following a Fifth Circuit decision of 17 January 2025 and a Southern District of Texas injunction. Check the page for any newer alert, and ask an attorney or accredited representative whether to file.

Can I renew DACA?

Yes, as the USCIS page stands: "USCIS will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization". Current grants and work permits remain valid until they expire unless individually terminated.

How much does DACA cost?

The I-821D fee is $85 (8 CFR 106.2(a)(51)). The work permit fee is separate, and USCIS says these fees cannot be waived. A narrow fee exemption must be requested and approved before filing. Check Form G-1055 for current figures.

Does DACA give lawful status or a green card?

No. USCIS says "Deferred action does not provide lawful status." The regulation treats a recipient as lawfully present and not unlawfully present for specified purposes, but also says deferred action confers no right to remain in or reenter the United States (8 CFR 236.21).

How long does a DACA grant last?

A grant is for an initial or renewal period of 2 years, in DHS's discretion, with a work permit for the same period (8 CFR 236.23(a)(4)). USCIS can terminate a grant at any time in its discretion, generally after notice (236.23(d)).

Can I travel with DACA?

USCIS's page says that for a first request, advance parole cannot be applied for until DHS has determined whether to defer action in the case. The regulation lets USCIS terminate a grant if a recipient departs without advance parole and enters without inspection (8 CFR 236.23(d)(2)). Take travel plans to a representative first.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-10.

Related guides

TPS in 2026: how Temporary Protected Status works, the fees, and the Federal Register notices country by country — Temporary Protected Status is granted to nationals of countries DHS designates, for set periods, and it ends when DHS publishes a termination notice. The I-821 fee rises from $510 to $520 and the first TPS work permit from $560 to $570 for requests postmarked on or after 16 October 2026. Every country's position is set by its own Federal Register notice, so check the USCIS TPS page before acting.
Advance parole (Form I-131): the fee and the travel rules — Advance parole, a reentry permit and most other travel documents on Form I-131 cost $630 under 8 CFR 106.2(a)(7)(iii); refugee travel documents cost $165 (age 16 or older) or $135. Under 8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii), leaving the US while an adjustment application is pending is treated as abandoning it unless advance parole was granted first and the person was inspected on return.
Form I-765 fee 2026: $520, $260, $570 or no fee — The standard paper fee for Form I-765 is $520 (8 CFR 106.2(a)(44)). It is $260 with a pending I-485 filed with a fee after 1 April 2024, some groups pay nothing, and a statutory fee applies to initial asylum, parole and TPS work permits, rising from $560 to $570 on 16 October 2026.
USCIS fee waiver (Form I-912): which forms qualify and how it works — Only the fees listed in 8 CFR 106.3(a)(3) can be waived, and the green card petition for a relative (I-130) and advance parole are not on the main list. Inability to pay is shown by a means-tested benefit, household income at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines, or extreme financial hardship. A denial cannot be appealed.
Free ($0) and low-cost immigration legal help: where it comes from — Legal help at $0 or low cost comes mainly from three official sources: EOIR's List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers (for people in immigration court), DOJ-recognized non-profits with accredited representatives, and supervised law school clinics. Government filing fees usually still apply.
What is a DOJ accredited representative? — An accredited representative is a non-attorney the Department of Justice has approved to represent people in immigration matters, working only through a DOJ-recognized non-profit. 'Full' accreditation covers USCIS, immigration court and the BIA; 'DHS only' covers USCIS and the rest of DHS.
Notario vs. immigration lawyer: what a notary can't do — In the United States a notary public (notario público) is not a lawyer and may not give immigration legal advice or represent you. Federal rules limit representation to attorneys, DOJ-accredited representatives and a few narrow categories.
Immigration scams: warning signs and where to report them — Only attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives may give immigration legal advice, USCIS forms are available at no cost on its website, and USCIS does not take payment by gift card or by apps such as Venmo. If you have paid a scammer, report to the FTC and your state consumer protection office.