USCIS Resumes Non-Military Deferred Action Requests

Following the public and legislative outcry of US Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS) abrupt announcement in August that it would stop accepting and adjudicating applications for deferred action for non-military applicants, USCIS has now reversed course. 

As reported in previous newsletters, non-military "deferred action" is a form of temporary relief from deportation for immigrants facing special and often life-threatening circumstances. The August shift in the long-standing policy put lives in danger, including the lives of children facing serious medical conditions like cancer, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, and HIV. USCIS' actions threatened such individuals with deportation and loss of access to essential treatment.

However, on September 19, 2019,  the Department of Homeland Security alerted members of the Oversight & Reform Committee that at the discretion of Acting Secretary McAleenan it would resume “consideration of non-military deferred action requests on a discretionary, case-by-case basis, except as otherwise required by an applicable statute, regulation, or court order.”

From the first reports of this change in policy, the national American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), including Iandoli Desai & Cronin’s own Madeline Cronin, has played a  role in shedding important light on this issue and those impacted, taking action by encouraging members of Congress to hold USCIS accountable, and sharing stories of the change’s implications on their clients. These collective efforts have been crucial to the reversal of this policy.