Hurry to renew DACA status

Q AU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted me Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. My status will expire March 2020. Can I apply to renew it now? Name withheld, Miami, FL

You can apply now, and you should. I recommend anyone whose DACA will expire before Feb. 1, 2021, to apply to renew before Oct. 1, 2020. If United States Citizenship and Immigration Services grants your renewal, you’ll get two more years in DACA status. USCIS recommends filing DACA renewals 120-150 days prior to expiration, but it has been accepting and approving applications filed much earlier.

DACA is the Obama program granting protection from deportation and employment authorization to many undocumented youths. Federal Court judges have stopped the Trump administration’s efforts to end the program, though individuals who never had DACA may not apply now. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals on the cases. Even if the Court rules against DACA, you will likely be allowed to stay in that status until your status expires.

Individuals who have DACA may apply to renew. Those who had it, but let it expire, may apply to get back DACA status. If you submit your DACA renewal application now, and USCIS approves it in a few months, you’ll get DACA status valid until mid-2021. By then we may have a new president who will protect the DACA program.

Will filing to extend or reinstate DACA lead to my getting deported if the Supreme Court ends the program? Name withheld

Very, very unlikely. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported some DACA youths, but mainly those with criminal arrests or convictions. Using the “what would you tell your brother or sister to do” test, I recommend applying.

Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com.