Since your last renewal, have you had any arrest, citation, or contact with law enforcement — even a dismissed charge?
USCIS pulls your full criminal history from the FBI database every renewal, not just new convictions. A dismissed misdemeanor, an arrest with no charges filed, a deferred judgment, an expungement, or a juvenile adjudication can all trigger discretionary denial. The DACA standard is *not* the immigration consequences statute — it is a much stricter "good moral character + significant misdemeanor" review under 2012 USCIS guidance, including DUI, domestic violence, and any misdemeanor with sentence over 90 days.
Context & Examples
Horror story — Marco, Modesto. Marco renewed DACA pro se in 2023. He didn't disclose a 2019 wet-and-reckless plea (a reduced DUI charge) because his criminal attorney told him it "wasn't a real DUI." USCIS denied the renewal under the significant-misdemeanor bar, his EAD expired the same week, his employer terminated him under E-Verify, and he received an NTA placing him in removal proceedings. We took the case after termination and rebuilt: a Lozada-compliant motion against prior counsel, a sentencing transcript showing the DUI factual basis, and a § 1182(h) waiver argument. Reinstatement took 14 months and cost five times what disclosing it would have.
The pattern: Pro se filers underreport because they are afraid. The Department's data-sharing agreements catch every omission within weeks.
What we do: Pull the actual court records before filing. Write a disclosure narrative that mitigates rather than triggers. Get the criminal attorney to amend the plea where possible before the renewal goes in.
Sources