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Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity

DACA Frequently Asked Questions

Campus Resources

This web site and accompanying PDF provide members of our campus community with information on the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in the United States.

Every attempt has been made to have accurate and up-to-date information.  However, the information in this FAQ is not legal advice. Every person’s situation is different. We want to encourage those directly impacted by the decision to consult with a legal professional for additional information on legal options.

University of Washington Commitment to DACA and Undocumented Students

The university and its leadership across our three campuses remain steadfastly committed to the educational success of DACA enrollees and undocumented students. This commitment was articulated by President Ana Mari Cauce on Sept. 5, 2017 in a message to the community and was echoed by statements from the Vice President for Minority Affairs & Diversity, and the leadership of UW Bothell and UW Tacoma. President Cauce reaffirmed this commitment in a blog post on March 5, 2018

Frequently Asked Questions on DACA Termination – Update as of March 29, 2018 – Renewals are now being accepted

I thought DACA was rescinded? What happened in court?

On January 9, 2018, a federal judge in Northern California ordered the U.S. government to temporarily resume accepting DACA renewal applications for anyone who has ever been granted DACA. This court order temporarily blocks the U.S. government’s decision to terminate the DACA program, which happened on September 5, 2017. The order applies nationwide. On February 13, 2018, another federal judge in New York made a similar order that also required the U.S. government to temporarily continue accepting DACA renewal applications.

On February 26, 2018 the Supreme Court denied the U.S. government’s request to make a decision on the legality of the first temporary order allowing DACA renewals to continue. This means that the U.S. government will continue accepting and processing DACA renewal applications until a court decides to lift the injunction in either the California or New York lawsuits.

On March 5, 2018, another federal judge in Maryland ruled that the Trump Administration has the authority to rescind DACA. However, the two injunctions from the California and New York cases remain in effect nationwide despite this Maryland decision. This means that, as of this writing, the Maryland decision should not affect the ability to apply for DACA renewal.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government’s request to speed up parts of the hearing process for the California DACA case and the hearing is scheduled for May 15, 2018. It is not clear how long after this oral argument a decision will be made about whether or not DACA Renewals will continue to be accepted. Even if there is a decision in May that stops DACA Renewals from being accepted, the nationwide injunction in the New York case should stay in effect and allow USCIS to continue accepting Renewals.

Although USCIS recommends that recipients mail their applications during the 120-150 days before their expiration date, they will accept applications outside of that timeframe. Be mindful however, that this would result in an overlap between your current DACA and renewal. For example, if your DACA expires in September 2018, and you receive your renewal in May 2018, your DACA would expire in May 2020, not September 2018. Even if there is an overlap, this does however, grant deferred action for two more years.

Information on renewals is available here. Please also see the latest guidance from USCIS.

The following answers are meant to explain the status of DACA and how it affects various aspects of your life.

We will be updating this FAQ as we learn more about these changes. We encourage you to refer back to this document periodically to have the most up-to-date information