www.nilc.org
What factors are likely to cause a longer application processing time?
Certain factors, such as new arrests or criminal convictions, will likely lead to a longer renewal
request processing time. If you have been arrested or convicted since the last time you renewed
your DACA, you should speak with an immigration legal expert before filing a renewal request.
For more information about what “criminal background” issues might trigger a delay, see this
table that lists and describes the crime-related bars to DACA: www.ilrc.org/daca-criminal-bars-
chart.
Also, if you submitted your DACA request early (i.e., if you submitted it more than 150 days
before your current DACA expires), USCIS may wait until closer to your DACA’s expiration date
to process your request. We know that requests submitted “early” have been subject to a 150-
day queue/bar, meaning that USCIS stops reviewing a request when it is ascertained that more
than 150 days are left before the requestor’s current DACA expires and then goes back to
reviewing the request when there are less than 150 days left before the person’s DACA expires.
What can you do if your DACA renewal is delayed?
Some people who’ve previously applied to renew their DACA have not had their application
approved before their DACA and work authorization expired. Others have received their renewal
close to the date their DACA and work authorization expired. The suggestions or tips described
below were developed based on our experience helping people who are in these situations.
Even if you did not submit your DACA renewal application within the time period that USCIS
recommends, you may still be able to take some of the steps described below to be informed
about your application’s progress and possibly speed up its processing. Some of the options
described may be more effective than others, depending on your particular case. Therefore, we
recommend taking as many of these steps as you can.
When you take any of these steps, be prepared to provide:
• your full name
• your alien registration/USCIS number (A-number)
• your application receipt numbers and receipt dates
• the expiration date of your DACA and employment authorization document (EAD)
• information you provided in the renewal application forms (I-821D and I-765)
(If you made copies of the forms before you submitted them, have them on hand so you
can refer to them.)
Below are the steps we suggest you take to follow up on your DACA renewal application.
1. Check your case status online
You can monitor your case’s status by using USCIS’s online “My Case Status” tool, at
https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do. You will need to enter the receipt number for
either your DACA application or your employment authorization application. (You should have
received a receipt for each application after you submitted your renewal application.) USCIS’s
online case status tool may show that your renewal application has been approved before you
receive your new EAD in the mail, so we recommend you check your case status online
regularly.