When Did DACA Start? Creation, Eligibility, and Current Status

DACA started on June 15, 2012, when Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano issued a memorandum directing immigration agencies to defer removal of certain people brought to the United States as children. The Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications two months later, on August 15, 2012. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is not a legal status and not a path to citizenship; it is a discretionary, two-year reprieve from deportation paired with a work permit for people who meet the program’s criteria.¹

How the Program Was Created

The Napolitano memorandum told immigration enforcement agencies to use prosecutorial discretion toward young people who posed no threat to national security or public safety and who met specific criteria on age, arrival date, and education. The framework was announced on June 15, 2012, but DHS needed time to build the forms and processing systems for what it expected to be a large volume of filings. The official window for submitting initial requests opened on August 15, 2012.¹

For its first decade, DACA ran on that memorandum alone rather than a formal regulation. On August 30, 2022, DHS published the DACA Final Rule, placing the program’s guidelines into federal regulations at 8 CFR 236.21 through 236.25. The rule was meant to preserve and strengthen DACA by replacing the original memo with a codified regulatory framework.¹

What DACA Provides

A granted DACA request gives you two things: deferred action, meaning the government agrees not to pursue your removal for a set period, and eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which is a work permit. Each grant lasts two years, after which you can apply for renewal.¹ With a valid EAD, you can apply for a Social Security number, which you need for lawful employment and tax filing.²

DACA does not grant lawful immigration status, provide a green card, or create any path to citizenship. It is a temporary measure that can be terminated or modified. Current grants remain valid until they expire unless individually terminated by USCIS.³

Who Qualified When the Program Launched

The eligibility criteria were tied to the June 15, 2012 announcement date and remain anchored there today. They are now codified at 8 CFR 236.22.⁴ To qualify, you must:

Have been under age 31 as of June 15, 2012.
Have first come to the United States before your 16th birthday.
Have lived in the United States continuously since June 15, 2007, through the time you file.
Have been physically in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of filing.
Have either entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or had a lawful immigration status that expired by that date.
Be currently enrolled in school, have graduated from high school, have earned a GED, or have been honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces or Coast Guard.⁵

Because the anchor dates never moved forward, the pool of people who can meet the original age and arrival criteria has not grown since 2012.

Certain criminal convictions disqualify an applicant regardless of everything else. A single felony conviction, or a single conviction for a “significant misdemeanor” (including domestic violence, sexual abuse, burglary, unlawful firearm possession, drug trafficking, or driving under the influence), makes a person ineligible. Any other misdemeanor with a sentence of more than 90 days in custody also counts as significant. Three or more lesser misdemeanor convictions, if not arising from the same incident, also disqualify. Minor traffic offenses like driving without a license are not counted, but DUI is always disqualifying.⁶

Legal Challenges Since 2012

The program has been fought over in court for most of its life. In September 2017, the administration announced it would wind DACA down, ending new applications and setting a phased termination for renewals. Multiple federal courts blocked the full rescission, and the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In June 2020, the Court ruled in DHS v. Regents of the University of California that the rescission had been carried out improperly, letting the program continue.

A separate challenge brought by the State of Texas produced a different result. In July 2021, a federal district court in the Southern District of Texas found that the DACA program as established by the 2012 memorandum was unlawful. The court barred DHS from approving any new initial DACA requests but allowed renewals for existing beneficiaries to continue. That order stayed in effect even after DHS issued the 2022 Final Rule.⁷

On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the 2022 DACA Final Rule was unlawful. The court stayed part of its ruling as applied to current DACA beneficiaries, so USCIS continues to accept and process renewal requests and related work-authorization applications. Initial requests are still accepted for filing, but USCIS will not approve them while the court orders remain in effect.³

Where the Program Stands Today

Renewals are still being processed. First-time applications are not. If you file an initial DACA request, USCIS will accept it and take your payment, but the request will sit on hold indefinitely.⁷ Existing grants remain valid until they expire unless individually terminated.

For current beneficiaries, USCIS recommends submitting renewal requests 150 to 120 days (about four to five months) before the expiration date shown on the approval notice and EAD. Filing inside that window reduces the risk of a gap between your current grant ending and a renewal decision. Filing earlier than 150 days out will not speed things up.⁸

What happens next depends on further court rulings or action by Congress. More than a decade after the June 2012 memorandum, DACA remains what it was designed to be at the start: a temporary, discretionary measure that shields a defined group from removal without giving them any permanent place in the immigration system.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
2
Social Security Administration. Social Security Number and Card – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
4
eCFR. 8 CFR 236.22 – Discretionary Determination
5
whitehouse.gov. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Who Can Be Considered?
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions – Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. DACA Litigation Information and Frequently Asked Questions
8
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Renew Your DACA as Early as Possible