BIDEN Announces NEW ACTIONS to Keep Families Together
President Biden and the White House announced two new immigration actions to keep families together. These new actions are easily the most significant and consequential actions for families since the DACA program. The full details of the actions have not been released yet, but the two new actions are summarized below per the White House Press Release.
- Individuals married to U.S. citizens and who have resided in the U.S. for ten years will be allowed to apply for permanent residency within the United States. This is a HUGE CHANGE. Currently, a person married to a U.S. citizen who was not admitted and inspected when they entered the U.S. are eligible for residency, but the process is extremely long and challenging. Due to government processing times, this current process, commonly called the I-601A process, takes 6 years or more. The current process culminates with an interview abroad at a U.S. consulate. The immigrant spouse does not obtain work permission until the very end of the process. This lengthy process is incredible hard on families and places an undue and unnecessary burden on them when the immigrant spouse is legally eligible for permanent residency.
- THE NEW PROCESS will circumvent most of the current bureaucratic process. The immigrant spouse will be eligible for work permission from the start of the process and be able to obtain their permanent residency in the U.S. (Please note that those who entered with a visa are currently able to finish the process in the U.S. under existing law).
- We anticipate the mechanism to allow for adjustment of status in the U.S. to be something called “parole-in-place”. Parole-in-place grants a person the necessary status to adjust status (complete the permanent residency process in the U.S.).
Again, this change is monumental, much needed and a very fair and just change to existing practices. It simply streamlines a process for immigrants that are eligible for permanent residency. It enables them to obtain work permission much faster and stabilize their situation and their family much faster, and fully integrate into U.S. society where they have been making positive contributions for years.
The second new action will allow faster work permission for immigrants who have earned a college degree. It will also apply to individuals with DACA. While there are some mechanisms to obtain work permission for college graduates, the new action will streamline and hopefully broaden this process. More details to come on this new action as well.
Stay tuned! We will be closely monitoring these new actions and announce the full details, timelines and required eligibility and evidence when this information is released. Feel free to call us now to learn more at 303-872-6985 or email us here.