DACA Reinstated and Order Prevents IFR

By Attorney: Rick La Trace

USCIS officially announces reinstated DACA. USCIS announced on Monday that, as a result of an order from a federal judge in NY, it is reinstating the DACA program effective Dec. 7. As a result, USCIS is now accepting first-time DACA applications, DACA renewals, applications for advance parole, extending one-year grants of deferred action under DACA to two years, and extending one-year EADs under DACA to two years. DHS may still seek relief under the judicial order.

California federal court vacates interim final rule strengthening H-1B program. On Friday, USCIS announced that an order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California vacated the “Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program Interim Final Rule” (IFR). The Dec. 1 order prevents the IFR from taking effect and also prevents DHS and USCIS from implementing the IFR. USCIS announced it will fully comply with the court’s decision. The IFR was originally scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 7 with the intent to “protect U.S. workers, improve the integrity of the H-1B program, and better ensure that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners.”