USCIS resumes considering requests from immigrants seeking deferred action for medical treatment

Original Date Announced
September 2, 2019
Briefly suspended in August 2019, USCIS reopens consideration of deferred action requests by non-citizens facing removal and seeking to remain in the U.S. while they or an immediate family member received medical treatment. USCIS annnounced it would send letters reopening cases that were pending on August 7, 2019 when the program was terminated. [ID #111]
USCIS Re-Opens Previously Pending Deferral Requests
Effective Date
September 2, 2019
Subsequent Trump-Era and Court Action(s)
- September 19, 2019
  AILA | Update: USCIS Resumes Accepting and Adjudicating Deferred Action Applications for Non-Military Applicants
  
  On September 19, 2019, Acting DHS Secretary stated USCIS 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.”
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Fully in Effect

Trump Administration Action: Change in Practice

Subject Matter: Humanitarian

Agencies Affected: ICE USCIS

Pre Trump-Era Policies

Deferred action, in one form or another, dates back to at least the 1960s. Deferred action guidance was previously contained in the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service, Operation Instructions § 103.l(a)(l)(ii) (1975).

NYT | Faced With Criticism, Trump Administration Reverses Abrupt End to Humanitarian Relief
Go to article
USCIS’s Elimination of Non-Military Deferred Action at Local USCIS Offices
Go to article on aila.org