The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will only decide on DACA renewal requests that it received by October 5, 2017. More than 7,000 Indians may face deportation following the discontinuation decision.
The Obama era’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that allowed undocumented individuals who came to the US as children to be considered for deferred action for a period of two years and could be renewed thereafter, has been discontinued.
“On Sept. 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated the orderly phase out of the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” USCIS said. “DHS will provide a limited, six-month window during which it will consider certain requests for DACA and applications for work authorization, under specific parameters.”
Beneficiaries of the program who are in the 2-year period are allowed to keep their work authorizations and other benefits of the program till their two years period is valid. On renewal requests, the department said, “We are only adjudicating DACA renewal requests received by Oct. 5, 2017, from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between Sept. 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018.”
The statement by USCIS said as the phase out continues, the procedure that will be followed regarding the already received renewal requests will be decided on an individual basis.
The agency said:
USCIS will adjudicate, on an individual, case by case basis:
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Properly filed pending DACA initial requests and associated applications for employment authorization documents (EADs) that have been accepted as of Sept. 5, 2017.
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Properly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated applications for EADs from current beneficiaries that have been accepted as of the date of this memorandum, and from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between Sept. 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018 that have been accepted as of Oct. 5, 2017.
Individuals who have not filed for initial request under DACA by September 5 should no longer apply as the agency “will reject all applications for initial requests received after Sept. 5”
It is estimated that about 7,000 Indians will now face deportation after Trump rescinded the amnesty on Tuesday.