The Biden administration has announced a new policy that will open a pathway to citizenship for undocumented spouses of American citizens, potentially affecting more than 500,000 individuals.
The White House disclosed on Tuesday that this initiative will allow certain spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually, citizenship.
The eligibility criteria require that applicants must have lived in the United States for at least ten years and be married to a US citizen, although there is no specific duration for how long they must have been married.
According to the White House, spouses eligible to apply for this scheme have been residing in the US for an average of 23 years. If their application is approved, they will receive a temporary work permit and protection from deportation while having three years to apply for a green card. Additionally, an estimated 50,000 children who are not citizens but have a parent married to a US citizen could also qualify for this process, senior officials stated.
This announcement follows closely on the heels of President Biden’s recent border policy change that limits asylum processing at the US-Mexico border to 2,500 cases per day, down from current figures of around 4,000 daily.
This previous move was met with significant backlash from advocacy groups and Democratic politicians.
The new initiative is expected to balance this by demonstrating a commitment to a more humane immigration system.
