President Bidens Program To Support Spouses Of Citizens And Some Daca Dreamers Finally Appears

IT'S CALLED "AFFIRMATIVE RELIEF"

Finally after so much anguish and waiting President Biden announced last Tuesday, 12 years after the DACA program, a new executive action program for spouses of U.S. citizens who have been living in this country for more than 10 years and certain DACA recipients or Dreamers who qualify by having certain professions with high technical requirements.

It is important to clarify that we still do not know all the details of the requirements, the process or how it will work and when it starts, the little we know for now is that it benefits people who meet the following requirements:
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• Be married to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.
• Have been continuously residing in the U.S. for at least 10 years after entering without documentation.
  
  

Upon meeting these two requirements, they may qualify to apply for temporary residence (special parol) and subsequently obtain legal permanent residency (green card) within the United States without having to go to the consulate of their country of origin, something similar to the program for immediate relatives of military personnel who, upon obtaining the parol and if they meet the other requirements, may apply for legal permanent residency within the United States.

Also President Biden announced a new program for DACA or dreamers, we do not know all the details but basically it is for those who have a specialization, such as a registered nurse, and have an employer that offers them a job, they can obtain a work visa. This is basically for people who are not necessarily now in DACA because they could not apply because the program was closed.

In the coming days we will have more information, for now we do not know important details such as what will happen with people who have had a criminal record or what kind of record can disqualify a person to apply for this program. A good thing is that apparently people who are waiting for the approval of an I-601A waiver will be able to make the change to obtain their legal permanent residency without having to leave the United States.

Another detail is that there will be a 3 year period to apply so if you have a case in process either I-130 or I-601A you should talk to me or another immigration attorney to find out how you can apply for this program.

POTENTIAL CHALLENGE IN THE COURTS

Also as always there is a risk, we know that the Republicans are going to try to challenge this new program by filing a lawsuit in court claiming that the program not being authorized by congress makes it not legal, similar to what has happened for years with the DACA program and we have to be prepared to know that the program can start and then stop for a long time depending on the courts. Biden obviously will support the program in the courts but we don't know what will happen and what the final decision will be.

In the coming weeks I will have more information on how the program will work but in the meantime you can start gathering documents especially those that prove your stay in the country for the last 10 years and that you are married to a U.S. citizen (either by birth or naturalization), but we have to wait to know exactly what the forms will be and how much the cost will be among other details.

Be careful! Do not be fooled by notaries and other non-lawyers who promise you immediate results or tell you that you can get a green card even if you do not meet the requirements or obtain false documents.

This is very good news, we are glad that President Biden is finally doing something, although late, and we know he is doing it because the presidential election is coming up, but we must go ahead and take advantage of this opportunity that so many families need.