Criminal Defense Lawyers

Staten Island DACA Lawyers

You’ve had DACA for years. You renew every two years, work legally, pay taxes, and have built a life in Staten Island. Maybe you’re getting married to a US citizen, and everyone tells you that’s your ticket to a green card. Just file the paperwork, adjust your status, and you’re done. But something doesn’t feel right about that advice, and you’re wondering if it’s really that simple.

It’s not. For most DACA holders, getting a green card through marriage isn’t as straightforward as people think. The problem comes down to one critical question: how did you enter the United States? If you were brought across the border as a child without going through a port of entry – which is how most DACA recipients arrived – you can’t simply “adjust status” inside the country. You’d have to leave, apply at a US consulate abroad, and that departure triggers immigration bars that could keep you out for three to ten years.

This article explains the DACA renewal process in 2025, why the path to a green card is more complicated than most people realize, how Advance Parole created a workaround that may no longer be safe, what the 2025 landscape looks like for DACA holders, and what options actually exist for moving from DACA to permanent residence. Understanding these realities is essential before making decisions that could have permanent consequences.

Most information about DACA focuses on renewals and basic elegibility. Thats important, but its not the whole picture. What happens when you want to move beyond DACA? Thats were the complications begin, and thats were having accurate legal guidance becomes absolutly critical.

The 2025 DACA Renewal Process

If you currently have DACA, or your DACA expired less then one year ago, you can apply to renew. Submit your renewal 120 to 150 days before your current DACA expires to avoid any gap in coverage. Processing times in 2025 are running between 2.5 and 3 months, which is longer then in previous years.

You’ll need to file Form I-821D (the DACA form itself), Form I-765 (for employment authorization), and Form I-765WS (the worksheet). The total fee is $495 if you file online, or $555 if you file by mail. These fees must be paid together – you cant split them up or pay in installments.

USCIS has started requesting biometrics again for some DACA renewals. If you recieve a biometrics appointment notice, you must attend. Missing your appointment without rescheduling beforehand can result in denial of your renewal. If you need to reschedule, call USCIS before the appointment date – dont just skip it and hope for the best.

Heres what catches people: if your DACA has expired for more then one year, your renewal request is treated as an initial application. And as of 2025, USCIS is not processing initial DACA applications due to ongoing court challenges. That means if you let your DACA lapse for too long, you may lose the ability to renew at all.

Why Most DACA Holders Cant Simply “Adjust Status”

This is were the real confusion lies. To adjust status to permanent residence inside the United States, immigration law requires that you were “inspected and admitted or paroled” into the country. That means you entered through an official port of entry – an airport, border crossing, or seaport – were you were processed by immigration officials.

Most DACA recipients were brought to the US as children without going through official ports of entry. Your parents carried you across the border or you crossed with family in a way that avoided immigration inspection. Under the law, you were never “admitted” – you “entered without inspection” (EWI).

If you enterd without inspection, you generaly cannot adjust status inside the United States, even if your married to a US citizen. This is the trap that catches so many DACA holders. They assume marriage automatically fixes there immigration status, but the law dosnt work that way for people who enterd illegaly.

The alternative is consular processing – leaving the US to apply for your green card at an American embassy or consulate in your home country. But heres the problem: leaving the United States after being here unlawfuly for more then 180 days triggers the “unlawful presence bars” under immigration law.

The Three and Ten Year Bars

These bars are among the harshest provisions in immigration law, and they affect most DACA holders who try to leave the country to get there green cards.

If you accumulated between 180 days and one year of unlawful presence in the US after age 18, and then leave, your barred from returning for three years. If you accumulated more then one year of unlawful presence and leave, the bar is ten years. These bars apply automaticaly when you depart – its not a punishment that USCIS imposes, its built into the law itself.

For most DACA holders, the unlawful presence they accumulated before DACA was granted – and during any gaps between DACA periods – adds up to far more then one year. So if you leave to apply for your green card at a consulate, your facing a ten-year bar from re-entering the United States.

This is why marriage to a US citizen dosnt automaticaly solve the problem. Yes, your spouse can petition for you. But to complete the process, you’d have to leave – and leaving triggers a decade-long ban. You’d be married to an American citizen but unable to return to the US for ten years.

How Advance Parole Created a Workaround

For several years, Advance Parole offered DACA holders a way around the entry problem. Advance Parole is travel authorization that allows you to leave the US for specific purposes – humanitarian reasons, educational purposes, or employment – and return.

The key was the return. When you came back to the US after traveling on Advance Parole, you were “paroled” into the country at a port of entry. That parole satisfied the legal requirment of being “inspected and admitted or paroled.” Suddenly, you had a lawful entry that you didnt have before.

With that lawful entry through parole, a DACA holder married to a US citizen could potentially adjust status inside the United States without having to leave for consular processing – and without triggering the three or ten year bars. The Advance Parole trip effectivley “cured” the entry problem.

Many DACA holders used this strategy. They applied for Advance Parole, traveled abroad briefly for an approved purpose, returned through a US port of entry, and then filed for adjustment of status based on there marriage to a US citizen. It worked – for awhile.

Why Advance Parole Is Risky in 2025

The 2025 reality is that Advance Parole no longer offers the same security it once did. DACA holders planning international travel need to understand that having an approved Advance Parole document does NOT gaurantee re-entry to the United States.

Officals have stated clearly that DACA “does not confer any form of legal status” and that even DACA recipients with approved travel documents could face additional screening, questioning, detention, or even removal when attempting to re-enter. The political and enforcement landscape has changed dramaticaly.

What was once a reliable pathway – travel on AP, return with a parole entry, adjust status – now carries significant risk. If your denied re-entry at the border, your stuck outside the United States with no status. Your job, your home, your family in Staten Island – all of it becomes inaccessable.

Immigration attorneys are now advising extreme caution about Advance Parole travel. Some recommend against it entirely in the current enviornment. If your considering using AP as part of a green card strategy, you need to understand that the stakes have never been higher.

The I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver

For DACA holders who cant safely use Advance Parole, there may be another option: the I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver. This waiver allows certain individuals to apply for forgiveness of the three or ten year bars before they leave the United States.

The waiver is available if your the spouse or child of a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, and you can demonstrate that your qualifying relative would suffer “extreme hardship” if you were barred from the country. Extreme hardship is a high standard – ordinary emotional or financial difficulty dosnt qualify.

Heres how it works: you file the I-601A waiver while your still in the US. USCIS evaluates your case and decides weather the hardship to your US citizen or LPR relative justifies approving the waiver. If approved, you can then leave for your consular interview knowing that the unlawful presence bars have already been waived.

The advantage is that you find out weather the waiver is approved before you leave. If its denied, you havent triggered the bars yet because you havent departed. You can explore other options or try to strengthen your case. Its a safer approach then leaving first and hoping for a waiver approval at the consulate.

Criminal Issues That Can End Your DACA

Beyond the green card complications, DACA holders need to understand that criminal issues can terminate your DACA entirely. The criminal bars are strict, and even minor legal trouble can have major consequenses.

One felony conviction automaticaly bars you from DACA. A felony is defined as any crime punishable by more then one year in prison – it dosnt matter weather you actualy served time. The potential sentance is what counts.

One “significant misdemeanor” also bars you. Significant misdemeanors include crimes involving violence, threats, physical harm to a person, domestic violence, sexual abuse, burglary, unlawful firearm possession, drug distribution or trafficking, and DUI. Any misdemeanor were the actual sentance exceeded 90 days in jail also qualifies.

Three or more misdemeanors – even “minor” ones that arent individually significant – can result in denial if USCIS determines there part of a pattern. And any arrest or conviction that USCIS believes makes you a threat to national security or public safety can end your DACA, even if it dosnt fit neatly into these categorys.

What About Arrests Without Convictions

Arrests that dont result in convictions can still create problems for DACA renewals. USCIS will see arrest records in your background check, and they may request additional information about what happened.

Even if charges were dropped or you were acquitted, you’ll need to explain the circumstances. Gather all documentation – dismissal orders, court records, police reports – before you file your renewal. Be prepared to provide a detailed explanation of what occured and why there was no conviction.

If your case resulted in diversion, deferred adjudication, or a similar disposition were you completed some requirment and then charges were dropped, understand that USCIS may still treat this as a conviction for immigration purposes. The definition of “conviction” under immigration law is broader then under criminal law.

The safest approach is to consult with an immigration attorney before your renewal if you’ve had any contact with law enforcement since your last DACA approval. Even traffic tickets that resulted in court appearances can complicate your case.

Employment-Based Pathways for DACA Holders

Marriage isnt the only potential path to a green card. Some DACA holders may be eligable for employment-based immigration, though this path has its own complications.

If you can obtain an H-1B visa through employer sponsorship, that visa allows “dual intent” – meaning you can pursue permanent residence while on the visa. After working on an H-1B, your employer might sponsor you for an employment-based green card.

The H-1B requirments include having a bachelors degree or higher and a job offer from an employer willing to sponsor you. The H-1B lottery makes this competative, and not all employers are willing to sponsor. But for DACA holders with professional degrees and in-demand skills, its a potential pathway.

The same entry problems apply here, though. If you enterd without inspection, you may still face barriers to adjusting status even with an employment-based petition. However, Section 245(k) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides some relief for employment-based applicants who havent been out of status for more then 180 days since there last lawful admission – which could apply to DACA holders who obtained a lawful entry through Advance Parole.

U-Visa and T-Visa Options

DACA holders who have been victims of serious crimes or human trafficking may qualify for U-Visas or T-Visas, which provide there own pathways to permanent residence.

The U-Visa is available to victims of qualifying crimes who have suffered substantial abuse and who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. After three years in U-Visa status, you can apply to adjust to permanent residence.

The T-Visa is for victims of severe forms of human trafficking. Like the U-Visa, it can lead to permanent residence after meeting certain requirments.

These visas dont have the same entry barriers that affect other green card pathways. If you qualify based on victimization, the entry problem may be overcome. Consult with a lawyer experienced in these visa categorys if you think they might apply to your situation.

What Happens If Your DACA Expires or Is Terminated

If your DACA expires and you dont renew in time, or if its terminated due to criminal issues, you lose both your protection from deportation and your work authorization. Your employer will have to terminate you because your no longer authorized to work. You become deportable.

If your DACA simply expired and less then one year has passed, you can still apply to renew – but there will be a gap in coverage. Any work you do during that gap is unauthorized. Any time you spend in the US during that gap may count as unlawful presence. These gaps can create problems for future immigration applications.

If your DACA was terminated for cause – such as a criminal conviction – renewal is generaly not an option. Your back to square one in terms of immigration status. You may need to explore entirely different immigration options, or you may be facing removal proceedings. Consult with a lawyer immediatly if this happens.

The Uncertain Future of DACA

DACA has faced legal challenges since its creation. Courts have ruled on various aspects of the program, and the current situation – were renewals continue but new applications are not being processed – reflects ongoing litigation.

No one knows how long DACA will continue to exist in its current form. Legislative efforts to create a permanent solution for Dreamers have repeatedly stalled in Congress. The program could be terminated entirely, or it could be replaced with something different, or it could continue indefinitly in legal limbo.

This uncertainity is another reason why DACA holders who have options to move toward permanent residence should explore them seriously. DACA provides temporary protection, but its not a guarenteed long-term solution. Permanent residence through whatever pathway is available offers security that DACA cannot.

Working With an Immigration Lawyer

Given the complexity of these issues – the entry problems, the bars, the waivers, the criminal considerations, the changing enforcement landscape – DACA holders should consult with experienced immigration attorneys before making major decisions.

Look for lawyers with specific experiance in DACA cases and in the green card pathways that might apply to your situation. Ask about there familiarity with I-601A waivers, Advance Parole risks, and the current enforcement enviornment. An attorney who handled these cases five years ago may not be current on the 2025 realities.

Community organizations on Staten Island can help connect you with legal resources. Catholic Charities, legal aid organizations, and immigrant advocacy groups often provide referrals or direct legal services for DACA holders. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center maintains resources specifically for DACA issues.

Protecting What You Have

While your exploring options for permanent residence, dont neglect your current DACA status. Keep your renewals current – remember to file 120 to 150 days before expiration. Avoid any criminal issues that could terminate your status. Maintain the documentation that supports your DACA elegibility.

If your considering marriage, understand the full picture before filing any applications. The I-130 petition from your US citizen spouse dosnt automaticaly lead to adjustment of status if you have entry problems. Get legal advice specific to your situation before taking steps that might create complications.

Dont make assumptions about what you can or cant do. Every DACA holders situation is different based on there entry, there criminal history, there family relationships, and there employment. What worked for someone else may not work for you, and what would disqualify one person might not affect another.

The path from DACA to permanent residence exists for many people, but its rarely as simple as “just get married” or “just apply for Advance Parole.” Understanding the real legal landscape helps you make informed decisions about your future in Staten Island and in the United States.