On January 9, 2018, U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California granted an injunction that resulted in provisional relief for current DACA recipients by allowing them to renew their DACA benefits which include employment authorization and deferred action from removal. USCIS recently posted on its website that due to the federal court order, the agency has resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA. USCIS indicates that as of now, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on September 5, 2017.
Individuals previously granted deferred action under DACA may file for renewal. USCIS is not accepting requests from individuals who were never granted DACA before. USCIS also announced that the government will not accept or approve advance parole requests from DACA recipients.
In the FAQ previously generated by USCIS, applicants were strongly encouraged to file a renewal request within the recommended 150-120 day filing period. Many individuals have already entered this period and were previously unable to file the renewal based on the September 5, 2017 rescission. USCIS indicates in this guidance that requests received sooner than 150 days in advance will be accepted, however, this may cause less time for an extension.
If your DACA is up for renewal, an application must be filed promptly. Given the concern over whether additional court action will result in DACA being rescinded again, consideration should be made to file an application for renewal pre-emptively based on USCIS guidance for renewal. If your status runs out in more than 150 days it would be worth discussing renewal with an immigration attorney.
UPDATE: The Department of Justice has appealed the decision. Keep posted for further information.