The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has advised how they will handle and process Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) requests. AILA has listed these advisories below:
• DHS has advised AILA that its current internal goals for processing of DACA requests are:
o One month from receipt issuance to biometric appointment (the first round of biometrics started on September 6, 2012)
o Four to six months average processing time for the initial group of DACA deferred action requests. DHS anticipates that this timing may slow down as the volume picks up.
• USCIS will first issue notices regarding the exercise of discretion to grant deferred action, then will process the EAD applications.
• DHS indicates that we can expect to start seeing adjudications of the requests for exercise of discretion in the next couple of weeks.
• USCIS is working on another round of FAQs to address some of the issues being raised as people are working with the actual process.
• Where requests are not approved on the initial submission, USCIS intends to send either a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). It will go straight to denial only where the individual is clearly ineligible (the example given was if the requester was born in 1972).
• USCIS will notify those whose requests are denied by using a checklist with the reason(s) for the denial checked off.
Source of Information: “AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12090747 (posted Sep. 7, 2012)”