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President Biden’s Executive Action to Promote Family Unity

On Behalf of | Jul 31, 2024 | Immigration

Lord only knows what the elections will bring in November.  For sure, a new president.  What about the House?  The Senate?  I have no idea.  What I do know, however, is that not much is happening in Congress right now, and in the world of immigration, the not-so-new “third rail” of politics, there’s little (if any) agreement across the political spectrum as to how to enact comprehensive immigration reform, notwithstanding the obvious need for it.  So, with that, President Biden has, appropriately I would say, once again turned to Executive Action (as his predecessors have repeatedly done before him).

According to the American Immigration Council, since 1956, there have been dozens of instances where a president has exercised his executive authority to protect thousand and sometimes millions of immigrants, in the United States at the time without status, usually in the humanitarian interest of simply keeping families together.

On June 18, 2024, the Biden Administration added to this tradition when it announced a new process for certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residence (i.e., a green card) without first having to leave the United States.  In addition, the Administration announced that there would be new guidance forthcoming from the State Department that will facilitate the issuance of employment-based nonimmigrant work visas to certain college graduates.

We are informed that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will begin accepting applications for the family-unity portion of this program on August 19, 2024.  So, what do we actually know?

The details are not out yet, but on a high level, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) will consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens to become permanent residents: (a) who have lived in the United States for ten (10) years or more; (b) who USCIS believes do not pose a threat to public safety or national security; (c) who are otherwise eligible to apply for adjustment of status; and (d) who merit a favorable exercise of discretion.

Again, although the details are still to be published in the Federal Register, what we do know is that, to be eligible, a potential applicant must: (a) be present in the United States without admission or parole; (b) have been continuously present in the United States for at least ten (10) years as of June 17, 2024; and (c) have a legally valid (and presumably bona fide) marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024. Also implied from the announcement is that potential applicants must not have a disqualifying criminal history or otherwise constitute a threat to national security or public safety and should otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion by USCIS.

According to DHS, approximately 500,000 noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens could be eligible for this program, as well as approximately 50,000 children of these spouses.

Also announced as part of this program (although details are quite sketchy but will apparently be forthcoming from the Department of State) are new opportunities for eligible individuals, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) recipients and other DREAMers, who have graduated from an accredited U.S. institution of higher education and who have received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer, to more efficiently receive certain employment-based nonimmigrant visas.  So, hopefully we’ll see soon the extent of what this all actually means.

Candidly, and in the context of a conversation I had with a colleague literally moments before I wrote this piece, there is such a need by U.S. employers for skilled (and yes, professional and other) workers, for jobs that all too often U.S. workers simply do not wish to do, it is dumbfounding to me that Congress cannot get its act together to make our immigration system more accessible.  And, as to family unity, that’s a no brainer.

Programs such as these achieve family unity, economic prosperity, and yes, even border security.  They also provide critical humanitarian relief.  Why can’t Congress see that?

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