Bay Area Democrats Press USCIS for Action on 100,000-Case DACA Renewal Backlog

(BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA) — Bay Area Democrats pressed USCIS for answers on a DACA renewal backlog, saying delayed decisions are leaving recipients unable to work and exposed to deportation risk when employment authorization expires before a renewal is approved.

The lawmakers said the delays are hitting people who remain eligible to renew but cannot keep their work authorization active if the agency does not act before an existing permit runs out. In some cases, the lapse also affects access to a driver’s license and other state benefits tied to DACA status.

The dispute centers on timing. DACA renewals are supposed to be filed about 120 to 150 days before expiration, but USCIS has had cases pending well past that window, with some renewals taking several months.

That gap has turned a filing schedule into a point of political pressure. Bay Area Democrats and other California lawmakers have described the pace as an “unacceptable slow rate” of processing.

USCIS processes DACA renewals. Senator Alex Padilla of California has publicly pushed the agency for a fix, and Representative Scott Peters of California also highlighted the issue, citing DACA recipients in San Diego whose renewals were stuck in processing.

The agency has defended its handling of the cases while acknowledging the pressure. USCIS said it is “working hard to process applications in a timely manner.”

In earlier congressional correspondence, USCIS said it was assigning more immigration officers to DACA adjudications and increasing outreach to prospective and renewing applicants. Those steps have become part of the agency’s response as lawmakers demand to know why cases have remained pending beyond the normal filing window.

The practical effect is straightforward and immediate. If a renewal is not approved before the prior work permit expires, a DACA recipient can lose lawful employment authorization even while still waiting for a decision.

That can pull people out of jobs with little warning. It can also disrupt daily life outside the workplace because some state benefits depend on active DACA status, including, in some cases, a driver’s license.

The DACA renewal backlog matters on a national scale as well as in California. More than 500,000 DACA recipients live in the United States, and the program’s renewal system reaches far beyond the lawmakers now pressing USCIS from the Bay Area.

Processing delays have affected renewals and, at times, first-time DACA applications. Federal court litigation has also shaped whether USCIS can grant first-time requests, while current recipients have generally remained able to seek renewals.

That distinction has left renewals as the central lifeline for current recipients. When the renewal system slows, the consequences fall on people who already hold DACA and are trying to keep work authorization and related benefits from expiring.

Padilla and Peters are among the California Democrats who have pushed that point in public. Their argument is not about whether current recipients can file. It is about what happens after they file and the case sits long enough for an existing permit to expire.

The filing guidance itself is clear. Recipients are supposed to submit renewal requests about 120 to 150 days before expiration, a window meant to give USCIS enough time to decide the case before work authorization ends.

What lawmakers are challenging is the mismatch between that expectation and actual processing times. If cases remain pending well beyond that period, filing within the recommended window does not prevent a lapse.

That has sharpened criticism from Bay Area Democrats, who say the system is failing people who followed the rules set out for renewal timing. California lawmakers have framed the delay not as an isolated paperwork problem but as a breakdown with consequences for jobs, legal status, and state-issued benefits.

USCIS has not disputed that it handles the renewals. Its public position is that the agency is “working hard to process applications in a timely manner,” while earlier correspondence pointed to staffing changes and outreach efforts intended to improve DACA adjudications.

Those administrative steps matter because DACA cases do not exist in a vacuum. They move through an immigration system that has also been shaped by litigation over first-time applications, leaving renewals generally available even as other parts of the program have faced legal limits.

The result is a system in which current recipients can usually apply to extend protection, but still face a damaging gap if USCIS does not finish the case before an existing permit expires. Eligibility to renew does not by itself preserve work authorization during a long delay.

Lawmakers’ criticism has focused on that point. A delayed adjudication can interrupt employment even when the recipient did everything expected, filed within the recommended window, and remained otherwise eligible for renewal.

The pressure from California also reflects where the burden falls first. A recipient waiting on a late renewal does not experience the delay as an abstract processing issue. The pending case can determine whether a person keeps a job, can continue driving legally in some situations, and can maintain benefits linked to active DACA status.

USCIS has said it increased outreach to prospective and renewing applicants as part of its response. It also said it assigned more immigration officers to DACA adjudications, a step aimed at speeding decisions in a part of the system now under scrutiny from Congress.

Whether those efforts are enough remains the question driving the current push for answers. Bay Area Democrats are pressing USCIS because the backlog has continued to produce cases that stretch beyond the filing window the agency itself expects people to use.

Recipients facing that risk have little room for error. Filing as early as allowed and watching expiration dates closely remain the most immediate steps available while cases are pending.

If a work permit expires before a renewal is approved, case-specific legal advice becomes urgent. The lapse can affect employment authorization at once and can reach beyond the workplace into state benefits tied to DACA status.

The political pressure is likely to continue as long as those cases remain stuck. More than 500,000 DACA recipients nationwide depend on renewals remaining not just available on paper, but timely enough to keep their work permits and daily lives from falling into a gap between expiration and approval.