Christmas comes early for undocumented U.S. spouses

A Christmas present in June. That must have been what roughly half a million people in the US were thinking upon learning of the White House announcement regarding an election-year executive action that would provide temporary legal status and work permit eligibility to certain undocumented spouses of US citizens in the country.

According to official pronouncements from the Biden administration, undocumented people living in the US for at least 10 years who are married to a US citizen and meeting certain eligibility criteria as of 17 June 2024 would be allowed to apply for a “parole-in-place” document, which would give them temporary legal status and work authorization in the US.

Parole-in-place has been used mostly in the past to allow undocumented spouses and minor dependents of US military members and veterans to stay legally in the US.

The new program will also benefit the undocumented spouses’ minor children and provides a three-year period within which qualified beneficiaries can apply to become legal US permanent residents and eventual US citizens, assuming all eligibility criteria are met.

While a substantial majority of US citizens’ alien spouses are allowed to obtain a green card or adjust status to permanent resident in the US, including those with prior immigration violations, those who entered unlawfully or without being formally admitted, e.g., border crossing or entry without inspection, are prohibited from adjusting status or getting a green card in the US.

Instead, this group is required to depart from the US and apply for an immigrant visa through a lengthy process called “consular processing” in their native country.

And because current immigration laws bar those who have been out of status for over a year from returning to the US until after a minimum of 10 years have passed (unless a “high-bar” unlawful presence or extreme hardship waiver is obtained beforehand), many spouses of US citizens prefer to remain illegally in the US rather than face the risk of being stuck in another country and be separated from their families for prolonged periods of time.

Given the fact that most “entry without inspection” violations are committed by people crossing the border from Latin American countries, experts predict that this “parole-in-place” program will benefit mostly the Hispanic community, although a few groups from the Asian and African communities will benefit as well.

At this time, it is not certain if the program will also benefit those hindered by other disqualifying circumstances, such as people who previously entered under a crewman’s visa, those who used fictitious entry documents, or those who came in under a fiancé/fiancée visa who did not marry the original petitioner.

These classes of immigrants are also barred from adjusting status in the US and are required to leave the country to apply for an immigrant visa.

According to people with knowledge of the White House plans, the program is set to become fully operational by the end of summer (around September in the US).

Political observers believe this astute immigration maneuver may have a positive impact on the Democrats’ chance of getting back the White House, considering the heavy Hispanic populations in the swing states of Arizona, Nevada and Virginia.

Whether or not the program — an unconventional exercise of executive fiat by a Democratic president facing tough reelection — will survive political and legal challenges is the burning question.

Already, the “tough-on-immigration” Republican presidential frontrunner is mouthing scathing remarks that portend of a potential program recall if the GOP captures back the White House.

If that happens, it will be a gloomy post-Christmas winter early next year for a lot of people.