On June 18, 2024, the Biden Administration announced a new policy to be launched later this summer that will benefit many U.S. citizens who wish to have their spouses and stepchildren permanently remain with them in the U.S. Under the new parole in place program, spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens who meet certain requirements will be eligible for temporary parole in the U.S. and be able to apply for lawful permanent residence without needing to leave the country.
To be eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence in the U.S. (also known as "adjusting status"), an applicant must meet a number of requirements, including: 1) they must have been inspected at a U.S. port of entry by an immigration officer and admitted or paroled into the U.S.; 2) they must properly file an adjustment of status application; 3) they must be physically present in the U.S.; 4) they must be eligible to receive an immigrant visa (all spouses and minor, unmarried stepchildren are eligible under the family-based category); 5) an immigrant visa must be immediately available when they file their adjustment of status application (an immigrant visa is always available to spouses of U.S. citizens, and their minor, unmarried step children); 6) they must be admissible to the U.S. for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other forms of relief (i.e. they do not face inadmissibility due to fraud or misrepresentations, criminal history or other bars to admissibility); and 7) they merit the favorable exercise of discretion.
U.S. citizen spouses and stepchildren are eligible for lawful permanent residence in the U.S. as immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen but were barred from doing so if they entered the U.S. without inspection (meaning they entered the U.S. without being inspected by an immigration officer at a U.S. port of entry for either admission or parole into the U.S.). This threshold requirement for legalization through their citizen spouse or parent has caused emotional and financial strain to many U.S. citizens and their families because their foreign national spouse or stepchild, if they entered the U.S. without inspection, are required to leave the U.S. and wait abroad until they are processed at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. Because leaving the country triggers statutory bars of up to ten years to return to the U.S. for individuals who have accrued unlawful presence since entering the U.S. without inspection, many of these individuals remain here in uncertainty and instability without status, employment authorization, or a path to lawful permanent residency in the U.S.
The Biden administration's new program will carve out a path for certain spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens, to be eligible for temporary parole (which allows them to stay in the U.S. for a period of time despite entering the U.S. without inspection), work authorization, and the ability to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the U.S. However, they must still show they meet the other requirements to adjust status in the U.S.
To be eligible to apply for adjustment of status under the new policy program, spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens must meet the following requirements: 1) spouses need to have been legally married to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024 (stepchildren need to have a qualifying stepchild relationship with a U.S. citizen parent as of June 17, 2024); 2) they need to have lived in the U.S. at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024; 3) they are physically present in the U.S. and entered the U.S. without admission or parole (this does not apply to those who were admitted under a visa but overstayed); 4) they do not have a disqualifying criminal history or otherwise pose a threat to public safety or national security; and 4) they are otherwise eligible to apply for adjustment of status (i.e. that they are not subject to any of the inadmissibility bars).
Immigration laws currently carve out many exceptions for U.S. citizen spouses and their accompanying children, and other immediate relatives of U.S. citizens including parents of U.S. citizens over 21 years of age and children (unmarried and under 21 years of age). For example, immediate relatives are exempted from bars to adjustment of status for individuals who are currently in the U.S. who are either currently not in any legal status, failed to maintain lawful status since entering the U.S., or worked without authorization, or otherwise violated the terms of their nonimmigrant status. Additionally, immediate relatives do not face statutory limits to the number of immigrant visas available that the majority of foreign nationals face. As such, the Biden administration's policy program is in spirit with immigration laws that exempt immediate relatives from many of the legal restrictions to adjusting status that apply to other foreign nationals.
Qualifying U.S. citizen spouses and stepchildren must file an adjustment of status application within 3 years of the program implementation. When they submit an application, USCIS will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a grant of parole and adjustment of status is warranted.
Some details about the program have not yet been confirmed– for example, the date of implementation is still unclear. For now, it has been announced that the program is expected to launch by the end of summer after a Federal Register notice is published. Additionally, the process to apply has not been announced yet. This policy is an expansion of the already existing parole in place program for family members of U.S. military service members who entered without inspection and is in line with the Biden administration's objectives for family unity and stability within the immigration process.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.