HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DACA / DREAMER RENEWAL
The status was originally two years. This means that it is time to renew with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. If you were prepared to do your Dreamer Applications with the assistance of a top immigration lawyer in 2012, then you should be wise enough to do the renewal with an outstanding immigration attorney now.
- You have 120 days to file your Dreamer Applications before it expires. If you file more than 150 days before expiration, your case will be rejected.
- You must use the brand new Form I-821D. Use of the original form will also be rejected.
- Immigration will not be asking for new evidence. They will simply follow past decisions that Dreamer Applications be granted.
- The only exceptions to (3) are the following pieces of evidence:
a. removal (deportation) proceedings that may have begun
b. criminal cases that may have occurred
c. proof of travel on advance parole - You do not need to prove the educational requirement on renewal of Dreamer Applications. Immigration will rely on the first application.
- If you file Dreamer Applications late (if DACA expired more than a year before) you have to file a new, initial 821D, with all new evidence as if it is not a renewal.
- You must file I-821D & I-765 (work permit) together.
- Renewal of Dreamer Applications require the same $465 payable to US Department of Homeland Security, as the first time.
- Doing it yourself is not advisable. We have seen countless people over the last two years who made simple errors and cost themselves many extra months without DACA status.
- As always is the case with all immigration applications, Dreamer Applications can be deceptively simple looking. Be careful. Consult with the best immigration law firm that you can find.
More than half a million Dreamers have received work permits, social security cards and driver’s licenses. But they must maintain the Dreamer Applications to keep these necessary documents.
