How to Renew DACA Online: Timing, Forms, and Biometrics

To renew DACA online, create a free myUSCIS account, complete Forms I-821D, I-765, and I-765WS in the portal, upload your supporting documents, and pay the $555 filing fee through Pay.gov. USCIS strongly encourages filing between 120 and 150 days before your current DACA grant and Employment Authorization Document (EAD) expire.¹ Timing matters more here than in most immigration filings, because DACA recipients get no automatic extension of work authorization while a renewal is pending.²

File 120 to 150 Days Before Expiration

Look at the expiration date on your current I-797 approval notice and EAD, and aim to file roughly four to five months before that date.¹ Filing earlier than 150 days out will not speed anything up.³

If you file closer to expiration, or if your DACA lapses while USCIS is still working on the renewal, you lose work authorization on the day your EAD expires and you begin accruing unlawful presence (unless you were under 18 when you filed). Category (c)(33) EADs are not covered by the automatic extension rule that helps applicants in other categories keep working. Your work permit is valid only through the date printed on the card.²

If your DACA has already expired but less than a year has passed, you can still file a renewal. Once more than a year has passed, or if USCIS terminated your DACA, you would need to submit an initial request instead. Under current court orders, USCIS accepts but is not processing initial requests; only renewals are being adjudicated.¹

Confirm You Still Qualify

Before starting the online application, check that you still meet the renewal criteria. You must have continuously lived in the United States since your last approved DACA request, and you must not have traveled abroad without an approved advance parole document. Any unauthorized departure on or after August 15, 2012 breaks continuous residence and disqualifies you.¹

Your criminal history also has to clear the same bars that applied to your original request: no felony convictions, no conviction for a disqualifying misdemeanor (including domestic violence, sexual abuse, burglary, unlawful firearm possession, drug distribution, DUI, or any misdemeanor that resulted in more than 90 days in custody), and no three or more other misdemeanors from separate incidents.²⁴ Minor traffic offenses do not count toward the misdemeanor tally. If you have picked up any arrest or conviction since your last approval, talk to an immigration attorney before filing.

Create Your myUSCIS Account and Complete the Forms

The renewal lives entirely inside a free myUSCIS account at the USCIS online portal, where you complete the forms, upload documents, pay, and later track your case.⁵

The system will walk you through three forms as a single package:

Form I-821D, the DACA renewal request itself.
Form I-765, the application for employment authorization, which the portal presents automatically after you finish I-821D.
Form I-765WS, a worksheet where you list your income, expenses, and assets to establish your economic need to work.⁵

Documents to Have Ready Before You Start

Have your current EAD, your most recent I-797 approval notice, and any other supporting materials scanned before you begin, because the session can time out between steps. Uploads must be in PDF, JPG, or JPEG format and no larger than 12 MB per file. Do not password-protect or encrypt the files.⁶

Sign, Pay, and Submit

When all three forms are complete and your documents are uploaded, the portal shows a summary of your biographical details, dates, and addresses. Read this carefully. Errors in your date of birth, Social Security number, or A-number can push processing back or cause a denial.

You sign electronically by typing your full legal name into the signature field. That signature has the same legal weight as a handwritten one and is your attestation, under penalty of perjury, that everything in the filing is true.

The portal then hands you off to the Department of the Treasury’s Pay.gov to process your fee.⁷ The total for an online DACA renewal is $555:⁸

$85 for Form I-821D.
$470 for Form I-765 when filed online.

There is no separate biometrics fee. Pay.gov accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and prepaid cards, plus direct bank account withdrawals.⁷ After the payment clears, you have to click the final submit button. That locks the filing and starts the review.

Fee Exemptions

USCIS does not offer fee waivers for DACA filings, but a narrow fee exemption exists if you meet one of three conditions and apply for the exemption before filing your renewal: a serious chronic disability that keeps you from caring for yourself with income under 150% of the federal poverty level; $10,000 or more in unreimbursed medical debt for you or an immediate family member in the past 12 months with income under 150% of the poverty level; or being under 18, without parental or familial support (homeless or in foster care), with income under 150% of the poverty level.¹

After You Submit

A digital receipt notice appears in the activity tab of your USCIS account almost immediately, with a receipt number you can use to track the case. Save it. It is also your proof that a renewal is pending.⁵

Biometrics

USCIS may schedule you for a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center, but the agency can reuse a photograph taken within the last 36 months, which usually covers renewal applicants since DACA grants run for two years.⁹

Processing Times

USCIS targets 120 days for most DACA renewals. Median processing time was about one month in fiscal year 2023 and under two months in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, though those numbers change; check the current estimate on the USCIS site.¹⁰ When your case is approved, your new EAD arrives by mail and the approval notice posts to your online account.

Updating Social Security and Your Employer

Once your new EAD arrives, update your Social Security record. You can start online by applying for a replacement Social Security card, then bring proof of identity and your updated status to a scheduled appointment.¹¹

You are not required to tell your employer you have DACA, and employers should not ask about specific immigration status.¹² You will need to show the new EAD for Form I-9 purposes. If your old card expired before the new one came in, your employer must reverify your work authorization once you present the renewed card.

If Your Case Is Delayed

Once 105 days have passed with no decision, you can call USCIS at 1-800-375-5283 or submit an inquiry through the e-Request tool using your receipt number.¹³ If that does not move the case, the DHS Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman can help. You must have contacted USCIS in the past 90 days and waited at least 60 days for a response before asking the Ombudsman, and requests go through DHS Form 7001. A case assistance request does not extend USCIS deadlines.¹⁴

Do Not Travel Without Advance Parole

One boundary worth being explicit about: renewing DACA does not give you permission to leave the country. If you depart the United States without an approved advance parole document (Form I-131), you are no longer in a period of deferred action, and you risk being unable to reenter. Unauthorized reentry can trigger termination of your DACA and is treated as a significant negative border-security factor.² Advance parole is generally considered for humanitarian, employment, or educational reasons, but approval is discretionary and current policy on which categories are being approved can change. Talk to an immigration attorney before planning any trip.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Important Reminders Regarding the DACA Renewal Process
4
eCFR. 8 CFR 236.22 – Discretionary Determination
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Tips for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Tips for Filing Forms Online
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Biometrics Collection
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
11
Social Security Administration. Update Citizenship or Immigration Status
12
U.S. Department of Justice. Reminders for DACA Recipients and Employers
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. e-Request – Check Case Processing
14
Homeland Security. How to Submit a Case Assistance Request