Burlington, NC asked in Immigration Law for North Carolina

Q: Can former DACA recipients apply for a tourist visa?

I am a DACA beneficiary since 2012. If I leave the US voluntarily renouncing all DACA benefits, how easy (or how hard) would it be to apply and be granted a tourist visa to visit the US in the future as a simple tourist?

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2 Lawyer Answers
Mario Musil
PREMIUM
Mario Musil
Answered
  • Immigration Law Lawyer
  • Clackamas, OR

A: If you leave the US, you will trigger the 10 year ban, preventing you from returning to the US with or without a visa for 10 years.

Allen C. Ladd
Allen C. Ladd
Answered
  • Immigration Law Lawyer
  • Greenville, SC

A: Very unlikely that it would be approved. Best case would be if you were granted DACA before age 18 ... that means you have been lawfully present as an adult and may, eventually, apply for an immigrant visa through a permanent resident process.

But even so, you have presumably spent a number of years in the United States and this would make it difficult if not impossible to prove that you truly have the intention to return to your home country if a visitor visa were granted.

And, you MUST leave the USA in order to apply for the visa. Visas are processed at US consulates abroad, and you will attend a live interview for the visa there.

My advice is to wait for the results of the presidential election. If Biden is elected, there will likely be a measure of immigration reform, perhaps a road to legal status ... a new law. Good luck.

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