As DACA Renewals Stall, Dreamers Lose Work Permits — and Paychecks

The entrance to 26 Federal Plaza, home to USCIS’s New York office. (Credit: Jonny Peña)

On Aug. 27, Olivia lost her job as a transactional attorney at a top corporate law firm in New York City. Her work authorization had expired, and her application to renew her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, known as DACA, had been pending for five months.

Olivia is one of three DACA recipients that Columbia News Service spoke to on condition their full names not be used for fear of immigration consequences. She was born in South Korea and was brought to the U.S. at age 9, she said. Olivia has lived in the United States for 25 years and has renewed her DACA status every two years since 2013. Her status protects her from deportation and allows her to work legally. “[DACA renewals] always took about a month or two,” she said.

Despite losing her job, Olivia has kept her apartment in Queens and is using her savings to pay rent and cover other necessities. Still, she knows that living off her savings isn’t sustainable and she worries she might have to move or cut expenses if she doesn’t return to work soon.

Nationwide, processing times for DACA renewals have grown sharply. Some Dreamers, as DACA recipients are known, have lost their jobs while they wait.

The program was created by the Obama administration in 2012 and protects immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation and gives them work permits that must be renewed every two years. The first Trump administration tried to end it in 2017, but the Supreme Court blocked the move.

Nora, who was brought to the United States from Colombia at age 7, filed her renewal application last November. Her work authorization expired in May, before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, approved her application, she said.

She then took a leave of absence from her job at a special education services agency, which agreed to rehire her once her new permit arrived. For three months, she got by on savings, occasional babysitting and her partner’s income.

Her approval came in August, and she went back to work. The process used to be quick, she said. “We would apply, we would get our letter maybe within a month or so,” Nora said. “And then my card would arrive in the mail.”

The latest quarterly USCIS data for DACA renewal applications show a dramatic increase in processing times. Between October 2025 and June 2026, times rose from a few days to around four months.

Delays appear to have increased further since June. As of Oct. 22, the USCIS website indicated an estimated seven-month wait, about three months longer than the June figure.

“We have seen processing times in the last year to be anywhere from about three weeks to nearly eight months,” said Andrea Barrientos, an attorney at the City Bar Justice Center’s Immigrant Justice Project.

One of her clients, Rafael — brought to the United States from the Dominican Republic at age 4 — had renewed his DACA status without issue for the last 10 years.

In November, he filed his renewal application. But in May, when his work authorization expired, the NoHo bridal dress boutique where he works placed him on unpaid administrative leave. Like Olivia, he used his savings to cover rent and other necessities. He returned to work in June, once his renewal was approved, but not before spending over $3,000 of his savings.

In addition to delays, the most recent USCIS data for renewals nationwide show a growing backlog. Between October 2025 and June 2026, USCIS received 230,053 renewal applications and completed 131,258. During that same period, pending renewals grew from 130,064 to 228,969, a 76% increase.

“About 30% of those applicants experience a lapse in their DACA and work authorization,” Barrientos said. “There’s no rhyme or reason as to why some applications are taking longer than others if they’re filed the same day.”

Asked about the causes of the backlog and ways to address it, USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a statement, “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has placed a renewed emphasis on robust alien screening and vetting, eliminating policies the former administration implemented that prioritized aliens’ convenience ahead of Americans’ safety and security. It’s a commonsense measure to ensure appropriate vetting and screening has been completed before an alien’s employment authorization or documentation is extended. Working in the United States is a privilege, not a right … DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.”

Some Dreamers are turning to their elected officials for help. Before being let go, Olivia said that she contacted Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office. She’s grateful but doesn’t think it has helped her application. “[It’s] essentially the same as me checking the case status online or putting in a case inquiry [myself] … no benefit,” she said.

Nora’s experience was similar. She reached out to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office in late March and to Schumer’s office in April. “It was really frustrating. I felt like there was no [way] out … I got depressed because even the help that was out there was not really helpful,” she said.

Rafael had a different experience. In May, he emailed Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s office, and staffers agreed to look into his case. Within a few weeks, his renewal was approved. He believes the help from Espaillat’s office made the difference.

Olivia, however, is still waiting. “The uncertainty has been incredibly difficult, but I’m holding onto hope my renewal will be approved soon,” she said.