DACA Renewal Processing Times Increase Sharply

“This did not happen in the first Trump term,” Schulte said. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, stated that the current pace is necessary for proper vetting. “The fact that applications were being processed more quickly in the past is more of an indictment of how superficial the process was,” Krikorian said.

He was scheduled for an in-person biometrics appointment in January that was delayed by a snowstorm. Without income from the residency he said he cannot repay more than $100,000 in student loans. Maria Fuentes, a registered nurse in Kentucky who has held DACA status since 2012, lost nearly two months of wages, about $9,000, after her work permit lapsed.

Her employer, TJ Samson Community Hospital, held her position open and wrote to USCIS that her absence affected safe staffing levels. An aide to Sen. Alex Padilla of California said the senator’s office has seen more requests for assistance with renewal delays and lapsed permits since late 2025.

California is home to nearly 150,000 DACA recipients. More than 90 percent of DACA recipients over age 25 are employed. They generate about $27.9 billion in annual earnings, pay more than $2 billion in state and local taxes, and contribute $2 billion to Social Security and Medicare, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

DACA households pay over $6 billion in federal taxes, the Center for American Progress estimates. The Coalition for the American Dream estimates that 37,000 health-care workers could lose authorization if DACA work permits lapse. Removing those workers would eliminate up to $32 billion in projected lifetime earnings in health care alone and between $25 billion and $28 billion in other sectors such as manufacturing, retail, construction and business services.

Businesses could face more than $8 billion in added recruitment and training costs if replacements are hired. Some employers have placed workers on unpaid leave. One retail banking professional who has held DACA for 14 years was given unpaid leave and faces termination on June 30 if her renewal is not approved.

Several other workers in nursing, information technology and retail reported being terminated after periods of unpaid leave while awaiting renewals.