DACA, TPS and parole: temporary protections that require precision

These programs share something: they are temporary, they depend on strict deadlines, and their availability changes. A renewal filed late can leave someone without a work permit and without protection. And because the rules shift frequently, what was true last year may not be true today.

Our job is to tell you clearly what is available right now for your situation, and to file what applies on time.

What we do

• DACA renewals, tracking deadlines so your permit doesn't lapse.
• TPS applications and renewals, according to current designations.
• Parole in the forms available for your case.
• Work permits associated with these programs.
• Assessment of more permanent alternatives: many people with DACA or TPS qualify for something better and don't know it — a family petition, SIJS, a humanitarian visa. We always review this.

The point that matters most to us

DACA and TPS do not lead to permanent residence on their own. They are protections that renew indefinitely. That's why, every time we handle a renewal, we check whether a more stable path exists — because depending on a temporary program for fifteen years is a risk that can sometimes be avoided.

Before you travel: the rule changed on August 13, 2026

If you are holding an approved advance parole document and a plane ticket, talk to a lawyer before you fly.

On August 13, 2026 the Board of Immigration Appeals decided Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), and overruled Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012) — a precedent immigrants and their attorneys had relied on for fourteen years.

Under the old rule, leaving the country on advance parole was not a "departure" that triggered the unlawful presence bars. Under the new rule, it is. The respondent in that case was a DACA recipient pursuing a green card through her U.S.-citizen husband.

What this does not mean. It is not automatic, and being told otherwise causes real harm. The bars under INA section 212(a)(9)(B) require accrued unlawful presence: more than 180 days for the three-year bar, more than one year for the ten-year bar. Many people with DACA never accrued it, because unlawful presence generally does not accumulate before age 18 or during a grant of deferred action. For those people the analysis is different.

What it does mean. Whether travel is safe now depends entirely on your individual immigration history, and that history has to be reviewed before you book anything. A trip that was safe last month may not be safe this month. If you already traveled and returned on advance parole before August 13, 2026, there are legal arguments to be made and you should have a lawyer ready to make them.

If your TPS was terminated

This is now the most common call we get on this practice area, and the honest answer is that the landscape has changed enormously. In March 2025 there were 17 country designations covering roughly 1.3 million people. As of late August 2026, four remain, and all four expire in the second half of this year.

The Supreme Court held in June 2026 that the Secretary's termination decisions are not reviewable in court, which closed off the main avenue that had been slowing several of these terminations down.

The mistake is waiting. People hold on for an extension that has already been cancelled, and let the work permit run out while doing nothing. What we do instead is look for whether another path exists before the permit expires:

• A family petition that was never filed, or one that was filed years ago and forgotten.
• Eligibility for a humanitarian visa — VAWA, U visa or T visa — that nobody ever screened for.
• SIJS, for a young person who suffered abuse, neglect or abandonment.
• Defense in immigration court, if proceedings have already started.

Which of these applies depends on facts nobody has looked at yet. That review is worth doing while you still have status rather than after.

If your CHNV parole was revoked

The parole process for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela was terminated by Federal Register notice on March 25, 2025, and the Supreme Court allowed the cancellation to stand on May 30, 2025. DHS has been issuing revocation notices and taking the position that work authorization obtained through CHNV parole can no longer be relied on.

The mistake is assuming you are entitled to finish the original two years. That is not the government's position. If you received a revocation notice, the question is what other relief you may qualify for, and how quickly it can be filed. Keep every government document you have, including any Form I-797C showing a pending application — those receipts matter.

Mistakes we see often

• Treating an approved advance parole as a guarantee of reentry. It never was one. Advance parole gives you the right to appear at a port of entry and ask for admission. The decision belongs to the CBP officer standing in front of you.
• Traveling with an open criminal matter. A DUI arrest, accumulated traffic offenses, a domestic violence charge without final disposition — any of these can mean being denied entry and taken into custody at the airport rather than going home.
• Changing the itinerary. Advance parole is requested for a stated purpose and destination. Going to a third country that was not listed, or staying past the authorized time, creates discrepancies in the passport and in the officer's questions that damage the whole filing.
• Filing renewals too late. Sending the packet a few weeks before expiration is a gamble on USCIS processing times. If protection and work authorization lapse before the new approval arrives, unlawful presence begins to accrue, the right to work ends, and the employer has no choice but to act. Renewals should be filed 120 to 150 days ahead.

A note on DACA: we handle renewals. Initial DACA applications are not something we file.

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