Biden Administration Launches Keeping Families Together Program

The Biden administration filed new rules Monday that would allow some immigrant spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to remain in the United States while applying for permanent resident status.

The new policy, under a program called Keeping Families Together, will allow those who meet the criteria to be granted parole that will allow them to stay with their families and work. The government began accepting applications Monday.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association said spouses of U.S. citizens who have lived in the United States for more than a decade or stepchildren of U.S. citizens are eligible.

The group said these individuals are already eligible for green cards under U.S. immigration law but face hurdles in the bureaucratic process, which the new program aims to cut.

In a Notice of Implementation to be published Tuesday in the Federal Register, DHS said there are an estimated 765,000 noncitizens in the United States who are married to U.S. citizens and lack lawful immigration status, and about two-thirds of them would be eligible for relief under the new initiative.

Without the program, DHS said, spouses would have to leave the United States and apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. However, they may not be certain whether the visa will be granted and whether they will be allowed to return to the United States.

Kelli Stump, president of AILA, in a statement called the legislation a positive step toward modernizing the nation’s immigration system.

“As immigration lawyers, we see every day how outdated laws keep U.S. citizen families in long-term legal limbo, forcing them through the arduous bureaucratic process of obtaining legal residence,” Stump said. “In taking this action, the administration is using its congressionally mandated authority to put families first and implement sensible solutions.”

Stump added that the new initiative is “long overdue” but said more is needed and encouraged the U.S. government to “expand the scope of this program and identify other lawful paths that will strengthen American families, our communities and our nation’s economy.”

As part of the process of filing an updated Form I-131F, applicants must pay a $580 fee and complete a background check to ensure they meet requirements and do not pose a threat to national security or public safety.

“Granting parole to eligible non-U.S. citizens through this process, on a case-by-case basis, will provide significant public benefits by promoting family unity and stability, increasing the economic prosperity of U.S. communities, strengthening diplomatic relations with partner countries in the region, reducing the burden on limited U.S. Government resources, and furthering national security, public safety, and border security objectives,” the order stated.

The Biden administration announced in June that it would pursue a new policy for spouses of noncitizens, as well as a policy to speed up the issuance of work visas for college graduates, amid concerns from immigration advocates about new rules that would limit migrants’ eligibility for asylum.

The spouse issue appears to be an exception to the contentious immigration policy, with little to no opposition to the change. A conservative legal group, America First Legal, has promised legal action to counter Biden’s policy, but the statement that day focused solely on the policy affecting college graduates.