Executive Action on Undocumented Spouses of U.S. Citizens (June 18, 2024)
As multiple news outlets have already reported, today President Biden announced that his White House will issue an executive order to provide a streamlined path to temporary work authorization and permanent residence for certain immigrants.
According to the White House’s fact sheet, the Department of Homeland Security will take action to “help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence – status that they are already eligible for – without leaving the country.”
Currently, noncitizens who are married to a U.S. citizen may seek lawful permanent residence through their marriage, but many noncitizens must first leave the United States and wait to be processed abroad at a U.S. consulate in their home country or a safe third country alternative. This creates a lot of administrative waste for the government, which must coordinate across the Departments of Homeland Security, State, and sometimes even the Justice Department. This system also creates a lot of uncertainty and unnecessary cost for American families who must wait nearly a decade in many instances, and must also deal with the noncitizen leaving the U.S. for an indefinite period of time, which could range from weeks to months to years.
Put simply, the current system is broken, and the Biden Administration has instructed DHS to create a new case-by-case process to consider parole-in-place for applicants, which will permit them to apply for lawful permanent residence (a green card) without leaving the U.S. Additionally, children of applicants may also be considered for if they are physically present in the United States without admission or parole and have a qualifying “stepchild” relationship to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.
DHS estimates that approximately 500,000 spouses and 50,000 children of U.S. citizens could be eligible.
To be considered for this form of parole-in-place, the noncitizen spouse must:
Be present in the U.S. without admission or parole (entered unlawfully without a visa);
Have been continuously present in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024;
Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024;
Have no disqualifying criminal history;
Not constitute a threat to national security or public safety; and
Merit a favorable exercise of discretion.
There are a multitude of safeguards to ensure that deserving applicants are approved, while violent criminals are barred. Nevertheless, republicans will no doubt sue the Biden Administration to stop this. If Donald Trump is elected in November, he will almost certainly end the program. But this would be a shame, because this is the kind of reform that we need.
If you wish to talk with an experienced immigration attorney about eligibility, please schedule an appointment (online or in person) with Eric Adams to discuss and prepare.
