President Biden announces a new initiative to foster family unity and stability
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced actions to promote family unity in the immigration process, in line with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to keeping families together. This announcement uses existing authorities to promote family unity, but only Congress can systematically reform our deficient immigration system.
Under current law, non-citizens married to a U.S. citizen can apply for legal permanent residence through their marriage to a U.S. citizen. However, to apply for legal permanent residence, many non-citizens must first leave the United States and wait to be processed abroad to apply for legal permanent residence, resulting in a prolonged, potentially indefinite, separation from their U.S. citizen relatives and causing great hardship to all involved. As a result, these families live in fear and face profound uncertainty about their future.
To address this challenge, DHS will establish a new process to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for temporary permission to remain for certain non-citizen spouses 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 eligible to apply for adjustment of status; and merit a favorable exercise of discretion. If granted temporary permission to remain, these non-citizens will be able to apply for legal permanent residence without having to leave the United States. DHS estimates that approximately 500,000 non-citizen spouses of U.S. citizens may be eligible to access this process; on average, these non-citizens have resided in the United States for 23 years. Approximately 50,000 children of these spouses will also be eligible under this process.
Non-citizens who pose a threat to national security or public safety will not be eligible for this process, consistent with our immigration enforcement priorities. If a non-citizen poses a threat to national security or public safety, DHS will detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further verification, investigation, or prosecution, as appropriate.
Today’s actions build on unprecedented measures by the Biden-Harris Administration to strengthen family unity, including implementing family reunification processes for citizens of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador; updating and modernizing Cuban and Haitian family reunification processes; directing the Family Reunification Task Force to reunite nearly 800 children who had been separated from their families; and establishing country-specific temporary permission to remain processes for certain citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) with a supporter in the U.S.
Eligibility and Process
To be considered, on a case-by-case basis, for a discretionary grant of temporary permission to remain under this process, an individual must:
- Be present in the United States without admission or temporary permission to remain;
- Have been continuously present in the United States for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024; and
- Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.
Additionally, individuals must not have disqualifying criminal history or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety; and must otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion.
Disqualifying criminal history includes criminal convictions that make the individual legally ineligible for adjustment of status, as well as convictions that do not make the non-citizen legally ineligible for adjustment of status but justify their disqualification from this process in the exercise of discretion.
Non-citizen children of potential applicants may also be considered for temporary permission to remain under this process if they are physically present in the United States without admission or temporary permission to remain and have a qualified stepchild relationship with a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.
To be considered for temporary permission to remain, an individual must submit a form to USCIS along with supporting documentation to demonstrate that they meet the requirements and pay a fee. More information about eligibility and the application process, including a notice, will be published in the Federal Register. USCIS will reject any individual submission or application received before the application period begins, expected to be later this summer.
Upon receiving a properly filed application for temporary permission to remain, USCIS will determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether the grant of temporary permission to remain is justified and whether the applicant merits a favorable exercise of discretion. All applications will consider the applicant’s prior immigration history, criminal history, background check results, national security and public safety investigation, and any other relevant information available or requested by USCIS. USCIS has robust processes to identify and address potential fraud, which will be applied here to ensure the integrity of this program.
Other actions
DHS will join the Department of State in an effort to facilitate certain employment-based non-immigrant visas more efficiently for eligible individuals, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and undocumented non-citizens who have graduated from an accredited U.S. higher education institution. By clarifying and improving the existing process, the Department of State’s policy will give U.S. employers the certainty that they can hire the talent they need and that they will be able to start working quickly. DHS will implement the update to the Department of State’s policy.
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