USCIS Updates Guidance on Deferred Action as Extraordinary Use of Prosecutorial Discretion

On May 8, 2026, USCIS issued a Policy Alert stating that deferred action should only be accorded in extraordinary circumstances based on case-by-case scrutiny. The update clarifies that deferred action is not for groups, but for individual, compelling circumstances. We will have to wait and see how this impacts beneficiaries of certain forms relief, like DACA, but it does not bode well.