A family unity plan has been announced for undocumented immigrants who are spouses or children of U.S. citizens and whom would normally have to exit the U.S. to finalize their cases. This parole program may shield undocumented spouses, who have lived many years in the U.S., from having to exit the U.S. for their consular green card interview. It may also allow them access to work permits while they wait for their case decision, according to sources in the Biden administration. See our video here for more info.
On June 18, DHS provided the following information:
DHS will establish a new process to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for certain noncitizen spouses and children of U.S. citizens:
who have lived in the United States for 10 years or more.
do not pose a threat to public safety or national security.
are otherwise eligible to apply for adjustment of status.
and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.
If eligible, these noncitizens will be able to apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the United States.
DHS estimates that approximately 500,000 noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens could be eligible to access this process.
Note that noncitizens with certain criminal records or who pose a threat to national security or public safety will not be eligible for this process. If a noncitizen poses a threat to national security or public safety, DHS will detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting, investigation, or prosecution as appropriate.
Attorney Acosta commented: “The program is not yet accepting applications, and we have to wait to have this officially published on the Federal Register with more details before filing anything with USCIS.”
This program is expected to launch by the end of the summer after a Federal Register notice detailing the application process and other information is published. Applications submitted prior to the start date listed in the notice will be rejected.
For people who already have pending cases with their U.S. citizen spouses and are in the midst of the long wait for their decision, it may still be possible to apply for this parole program at the same time and see which option leads to the green card decision faster. This would have to be a legal strategy determine for each specific case by an attorney.
At Mundo Legal, we will keep a close eye on any new policy changes and we will also help announce if and when any changes are published. It’s important to work with an experienced immigration attorney in all process relating to immigration law.
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