When Joe Biden assumed the presidency, he issued an executive order on his first day in office that pledged to reinstate and expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. In the first quarter of 2021 following that executive action, over 50,000 people have applied for DACA for the first time.

However, data from the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) from January through March of 2021 show that only 763 new applications for DACA were approved in the first quarter of 2021, with a backlog of 55,000 applications that are pending.

A spokesperson for USCIS explained that the delay is caused by a surge in applications and limited administrative capacity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The administration is taking steps to process the backlog of initial DACA petitions as quickly as possible, and expand capacity to improve processing speed in the future.

DACA provides eligible individuals several benefits, such as protection against deportation, work permits that can be renewed every two years, and the ability to travel abroad through the advanced parole process. Once a DACA petitioner is approved, they must then go through a fingerprint screening process before receiving their two-year work permit, which adds additional delays to the process.

The latest data from USCIS shows active DACA recipients and new petitions as of March 31, 2021. California leads all other states with over 28% of all active DACA recipients, and the San Francisco Bay Area is ranked 9th of all metro areas, with over 12,000 recipients. The Los Angeles metropolitan area boasts the largest number of recipients in the United States, with nearly 6x as many recipients as the Bay Area. The overwhelming majority of DACA recipients were originally born in Latin American countries, with Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras being the top origin countries and together accounting for nearly 90% of all recipients.

The Law Office of Spojmie Nasiri, PC has helped many DREAMers successfully apply for DACA, and the team is closely monitoring updates and processing times with USCIS. If you are considering applying for DACA for the first time or renewing your DACA petition, our compassionate and detail-oriented team can guide you through the process and help ensure that no mistake or error puts your application at risk. Our immigration law firm is passionate about helping you secure your DACA approval, so that you can support your family and travel abroad without fear of being deported.