The Biden administration is gearing up to launch the new “Parole in Place” program later this month, offering an opportunity for certain eligible undocumented spouses of United States Citizens to secure legal status in the United States without having to leave the country.
On June 18, 2024, the Biden Administration announced that it would implement a Parole in Place program for spouses and children of United States citizens who may currently be present in the United States without authorization, with an estimated half a million people potentially eligible to benefit.
Though the specifics of the program have yet to be announced, the expectation is that candidates will have to prove continuous physical presence in the United States dating back ten years (June 2014), have entered the United States without authorization and not currently hold any lawful immigration status, have not been convicted of a felony or significant misdemeanor, not be a threat to the national security or public safety of the United States, and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.
The procedure for obtaining a grant of Parole in Place will be to file an application with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, pay a fee, and include documentation to prove that the applicant meets these eligibility requirements. If approved, the person will be granted “parole” into the United States, which would treat that person as someone who was “inspected and admitted” to the United States rather than having entered without authorization. This distinction is not a mere technicality, but would then allow the person to apply for lawful permanent residency (green card) status, and eventually become a US citizen, without having to depart the United States. The ability to pursue lawful immigration status while remaining in the United States is a critical element of this new program, as current U.S. immigration law requires someone who initially entered without authorization to depart the United States, and in many cases pay a penalty in the form of a 3 or 10 year bar to readmission, prior to gaining lawful immigration status and returning to the country. The purpose of this program is one of empathy, compassion, reason, and family unity- themes that a majority of us Americans can and should support!
More details on this program to come as they are made available.
Link to announcement: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/reminders-on-the-process-to-promote-the-unity-and-stability-of-families
