When Immigration Matters

On June 18, 2024, the Biden administration announced one of the largest immigration relief programs in recent history that will offer legal status to hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the country without proper documents.

The first program announced is the “Parole in Place Program”.  This program will offer work permits and deportation protection to unauthorized immigrants married to U.S. citizens and their children.  In order to be eligible, noncitizens must – as of June 17, 2024 – have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen, while satisfying all applicable legal requirements.  This will include the ability to obtain green cards in the USA without first having to leave the USA to process their permanent residency applications overseas at a US. Consulate. 

Those who are approved after Department of Homeland Security’s case-by-case assessment of their application will be afforded a three-year period to apply for permanent residency. They will be allowed to remain with their families in the United States and be eligible for work authorization for up to three years. This will apply to all married couples who are eligible.  

The second program will streamline the process for so-called DREAMers and other undocumented immigrants to request D-3 waivers that would make it easier for them to obtain temporary visas, such as H-1B visas for high-skilled workers if they have earned a degree from an accredited institution in the United states, and who have received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree.  This relief program could possibly also make it easier for DREAMERS to apply for employment based green cards after successfully obtaining a temporary visa in the United States. 

Please note that these programs are not accepting applications yet and are only expected to become active by the end of the summer after a Federal Register notice detailing the application process and other information is published. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will reject any filings or individual requests received before the application period begins later this summer.  We will keep you updated on any announcements regarding any new policies that are announced and/or implemented.  As of writing this alert, there is no new policies in place so please be careful of scammers and Notarios trying to take advantage of these rumors.