CRITERIA FOR DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS (DACA)

The legal online site www.nolo.com gives the following criteria to becoming a DACA member. ( Also see www.immigrationequality.org*) (Quotes are in italics.):*

• had not yet turned age 16 when you came to the U.S. to live
• have continuously lived (“resided”) in the U.S. since June 15, 2010 up to when you apply (excluding any brief, casual, and innocent departures)
• [Wikipedia says the date is June 15, 2007]**
• were physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, and also at the time you apply for deferred action
• either entered the U.S. without inspection before June 15, 2012, or if you entered with inspection, your lawful immigration status (such as a visa or Temporary Protected Status (TPS)) had expired as of June 15, 2012
• are either in school now (unless absent for emergency reasons), have graduated or earned a certificate of completion from an accredited high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States, and
• have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors; and do not otherwise present a threat to U.S. national security or public safety (such as by being a member of a gang).

[ Also had to be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012]

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Eligibility depends on meeting each and every criterion listed above. If, for example, you fit all the criteria but were already 17 when you came to the U.S. to live, you will not qualify. The same goes if you haven’t lived in the U.S. “continuously” for the required period but, for example, spent a few years in the U.S., a few years in your home country, and so forth. USCIS looks closely at whether the schools from which applicants claim to have graduated are in fact recognized, accredited (in most cases, public) schools.

The criminal grounds of ineligibility are especially challenging for some applicants; especially because the term “significant misdemeanor” is not one that has a long history in the immigration law, and thus has not often been applied to particular fact patterns by USCIS or the courts.

Here’s what USCIS has said about significant misdemeanors: They include any misdemeanor, regardless of the prison or other sentence imposed, that involved burglary, domestic violence, sexual abuse or exploitation, unlawful possession or use of a firearm; driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (DUI or DWI); and drug distribution or trafficking.

But that’s not all. They may also include any other misdemeanor for which the applicant was sentenced to more than 90 days in prison, not including suspended sentences, pretrial detention, or time held on an immigration detainer. (And again, three or more misdemeanors of any sort are a disqualifier for deferred action status.)

USCIS has also explained a “non-significant misdemeanor,” as including any misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of more than five days and less than a year that is not on the USCIS list of significant misdemeanors.

For more on misdeamers, see: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/significant-misdemeanors-affect-daca-eligibility.html

On June 16, 2017, the United States Department of Homeland Security announced that it would rescind the executive order by the Barack Obama administration that expanded the DACA program, though the DACA program's overall existence would continue to be reviewed.^[15][16] 
On September 5, 2017, the Trump Administration formally rescinded the program, but delayed implementation for six months to give Congress time to act.^[17]**
It would be better if congress codified DACA.

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Note added September 7, 2017: It is not clear how many
scientists, engineers, and students in related fields are 
facing similar uncertainties. Based on the DACA guidelines,
the oldest beneficiaries are now 36 years old, and many
of the recipients are in their 20s. Aguilar says she knew
of just two other DACA students during her doctoral studies.
The Association of American Medical Colleges says 113
students with DACA status applied to medical school in
2016;overall, it estimates thereare 65 DACA student
 amongthe 83,000 medical students in the United States.***

The University of Washington (UW) in Seattle says 50 to
75 of the roughly 12,000 students in its graduate and
professional schools self-identify as undocumented.
Fifteen to 20 of those are in science and engineering
fields, says Gabriel Gallardo, UW’s associate vice
president for minority affairs and diversity. At the
undergraduate level, the university had 336 students
who self-identified as undocumented status in the last
school year, Gallardo says, and he estimates that
one-third are in science and engineering fields.***

* http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/applying-deferred-action-dream-act-student.html

http://www.immigrationequality.org/get-legal-help/our-legal-resources/path-to-status-in-the-u-s/daca-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals/
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_Action_for_Childhood_Arrivals
*** http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/young-immigrant-scientists-anxiously-await-trump-s-daca-decision