DACA Decision: Renewal Timing, Forms, and Expiration Risks

If you already hold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA renewal is still available and still being processed. A federal court injunction blocks U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from approving any new first-time requests, but a stay in that same order keeps renewals running for the roughly 525,000 people who held active status before July 2021. USCIS recommends filing your renewal 150 to 120 days before the expiration date on your most recent I-797 approval notice.¹

When to File Your Renewal

The 150-to-120-day window (roughly five to four months before expiration) is the sweet spot. File any earlier and USCIS may reject the request as premature. File any later and you risk your current grant expiring before the new one is approved.¹

A gap matters more than most recipients realize. There is no grace period on the employment side, and unlawful presence begins accruing the day your DACA ends. Both consequences are covered below.

Forms, Fees, and Documents

A renewal packet contains two forms filed together:

Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals²
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, along with the I-765 Worksheet³

Under the fee schedule that took effect in April 2024, the total is $555 filed online and $605 filed on paper. Eighty-five dollars of that covers the I-821D; the balance covers the I-765. Fees change, so confirm the current amount on the USCIS fee schedule before you send anything.

You also need documentation showing you have lived continuously in the United States since your initial DACA grant, and evidence that your criminal record remains clean. You cannot have been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors.²

Replacing a Lost or Damaged Work Permit

If your current DACA period is still active and you only need to replace an Employment Authorization Document that was lost, stolen, or damaged, file Form I-765 by itself. Do not attach Form I-821D. If you include it by mistake, USCIS will deny the I-821D and will not refund the $85 fee.³

What Happens if You Let DACA Expire

Missing the renewal window creates problems that compound fast.

You Lose the Right to Work Immediately

Your employer is legally required to reverify your work authorization no later than the day your EAD expires. If you cannot show a document proving current authorization, your employer cannot keep you on the payroll.⁴ Reverification runs through Supplement B of Form I-9, and it happens on schedule whether or not a renewal is pending with USCIS.

Unlawful Presence Starts Accruing

Once your DACA period ends, you begin accruing unlawful presence. More than 180 days but less than one year triggers a three-year bar on reentry if you leave the country. One year or more triggers a ten-year bar.⁵ Waivers for both bars exist but are hard to get.

The One-Year Cliff

If your most recent DACA period expired more than a year ago, or if your DACA was terminated for any reason, USCIS treats you as a first-time applicant.⁶ Under the current court injunction, that means your paperwork will be accepted but no decision will be issued. This is the single strongest reason to file every renewal on time.

If You Need to Travel: Advance Parole

With an active DACA grant, you can apply for advance parole to leave and reenter the United States. You file Form I-131 and pay the associated fee, set at $630 as of April 2024.⁶ Congress passed legislation in 2025 adding a separate immigration parole fee on top of the base filing fee, so check the current total on the USCIS fee schedule before filing.

USCIS approves advance parole only for limited purposes:⁶

Humanitarian reasons, such as medical treatment, visiting a seriously ill relative, or attending a funeral
Educational reasons, such as study-abroad programs or academic research
Employment reasons, such as overseas assignments, conferences, training, or client meetings

You must have the approved advance parole document in hand before you leave. Departing without it puts your DACA at serious risk, and USCIS has warned that recipients who leave without advance parole may be unable to return.¹ Even with the document, reentry is not guaranteed. Customs and Border Protection officers inspect you at the port of entry and can deny admission at their discretion.

Why the Legal Situation Should Affect Your Timing

DACA operates under an injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, issued in July 2021, affirmed by the Fifth Circuit, and extended in September 2023 to cover the 2022 regulation that tried to shore up the program.¹

On January 17, 2025, the Fifth Circuit issued a new decision holding that the district court should have separated DACA’s deportation protection from its work authorization instead of striking down both together. In the court’s view, the work-permit piece was the provision causing concrete harm to the plaintiff states. The Fifth Circuit kept the stay in place, citing the “immense reliance interests” DACA has built over more than a decade.⁷

After the mandate issued in March 2025, the case returned to Judge Andrew Hanen. In July 2025, he ordered briefing on how to implement the Fifth Circuit’s instruction to separate deferred action from work authorization. The government, DACA intervenors, and the plaintiff states filed responses in September 2025. No ruling had been issued at the time of this writing.

The practical takeaway for renewal planning: if the district court follows the Fifth Circuit’s logic and lifts the stay on the work-authorization piece, existing recipients could lose the ability to work legally while still keeping temporary protection from removal. That outcome is not certain, and any ruling could be appealed, but it is a reason to renew as early in the 150-to-120-day window as you can and to keep your paperwork current.

First-Time Applicants: A Note on the Boundary

The renewal path described above is only open to people who already hold DACA or whose most recent grant expired within the past year. If you have never held DACA, USCIS will accept your Form I-821D and filing fee but will not issue a decision while the injunction is in place.¹ Earlier DHS guidance said fees would be returned if initial requests are rejected. Filing anyway is a judgment call about whether you want your paperwork in the queue if the injunction is ever lifted, weighed against handing the government your current address and immigration history. Talking to an immigration attorney before filing a first-time request is worth the cost.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reverifying Employment Authorization for Current Employees
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions
7
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Texas v. United States, No. 23-40653