On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced an expansion of DACA, which among other things, extended the DACA work permit to three (instead of two) years.  Thus, USCIS began to issue three-year DACA work permits after the announcement.  In total, USCIS approved 108,000 three-year DACA work permits.

However, on February 16, 2015, Andrew Hanen, a Texas federal court judge, issued a hold on expanded DACA claiming that the actions by the President were unconstitutional.  While DAPA and expanded DACA await a decision from the Supreme Court, USCIS is recalling three-year work permits that were issued AFTER February 16, 2015 (2,000 out of the 108,000 work permits were issued after February 16, 2015 and these 2,000 are being recalled).

USCIS has already retrieved 1,100 out of these 2,000 work permits.  However, 900 work permits still need to be retrieved.  
USCIS mailed a letter to these individuals requesting that they must mail back their three-year work permits (Employment Authorization Documents; EAD).  They will be granted new EADs for a two-year period.  USCIS has also called individuals to inform them of this.

USCIS is considering taking more serious steps to collect these three-year EADs and has sent new letters informing people that their deferred action and EAD might be terminated if they don’t return their three-year EADs.

If you received a three-year work permit under DACA AFTER February 16, 2015, what should you do?

If you meet the criteria and have already sent back their three-year EAD, you can call the USCIS National Customer Service Center (1-800-375-5283) to confirm your receipt of the EAD.

If you have not returned your EAD, you can follow the instructions directed on the last letter sent by USCIS.  If you are able to, you can return their three-year EAD by hand to their local USCIS office.  You can call the USCIS National Customer Service Center to find the office closest to you (1-800-375-5283).  You can also contact United We Dream (1-844-343-1623) on this issue and if you have questions or concerns.

Note- Individuals who are required to return three-year EADs and have not done so will be contacted by USCIS by phone or in-person. For the purpose of retrieving these three-year EADs, USCIS may visit the homes of those individuals who have not yet returned their invalid 3-year EAD or responded to USCIS.  When contacting individuals in person, the USCIS employees will show the individuals their credentials.  USCIS will make every attempt to call the individual in advance of the visit.

Recommended resources:

USCIS “Important Information for Some DACA Recipients Who Received Three-Year* Work Authorization: Fact Sheet”

NILC “The Obama Administration’s DAPA and Expanded DACA Programs”

UWD “Alert: USCIS Retracts Some Three-Year DACA Work Permits What to Do if USCIS has Contacted Your Clients and Members”

UndocuMedia “DACA Recipients with Three-Year EADs Issued After the Injunction Must Return EAD by July 17”

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Categories: Renewing DACA

Tags: DACA, DACA renewal, undocumented