DACA & TPS

DACA renewals

We file DACA renewals 120–150 days before expiration. The intake covers:

• The five eligibility prongs (continuous residence since June 15, 2007, in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, under 31 on that date, education or honorable-discharge requirement, and no disqualifying convictions)
• Every encounter with law enforcement since the last renewal — even citations that did not result in a conviction
• Tax filings, address history, and DHS biometric appointments

Advance parole strategy

Traveling on DACA advance parole for humanitarian, employment, or educational purposes can transform a Dreamer's case. Re-entry on advance parole is generally an "inspection and admission" that erases the entry-without-inspection bar to adjustment of status under INA § 245(a). Many DACA holders married to U.S. citizens become eligible for a green card only after a properly timed advance-parole trip.

The risk side matters too: traveling abroad while accruing unlawful presence can trigger the three- or ten-year bars on the way back in. The current (2026) BIA and AAO guidance is unsettled, and timing is everything.

TPS

We track each country's designation and re-registration windows (currently active for El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Venezuela, Ukraine, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Nepal, Nicaragua, and others as of 2026), and counsel TPS holders on combining TPS with other forms of relief — VAWA, U-visa, family-based adjustment, asylum.

The admissibility caution

Both DACA and TPS are temporary and discretionary. Neither cures inadmissibility. A renewal that surfaces a previously undisclosed arrest, a driving offense, or a misrepresentation on a prior immigration form can trigger a Notice to Appear in immigration court. We screen every renewal against the full INA § 212 grid before submission.

Pathways from temporary to permanent

• Advance parole + I-130 + I-485 — the most common Dreamer-to-LPR path.
• TPS + travel authorization + adjustment — Matter of Z-R-Z-C- successor guidance allowing some TPS holders to adjust after authorized travel.
• U visa, T visa, VAWA — humanitarian alternatives often available concurrently.
• Cancellation of removal in court — sometimes the best path for long-residence DACA recipients with strong equities.