Month: June 2024

On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, the Biden Administration announced that DACA Recipients and other Dreamers who have earned a degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education and have an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree will have an easier path to a U.S. work visa.  

The Biden administration stated, “Recognizing that it is in our national interest to ensure that individuals who are educated in the U.S. are able to use their skills and education to benefit our country, the Administration is taking action to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers.”

Stay tuned!  There will be more information soon about these opportunities for Dreamers!

On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, the Biden Administration announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will allow certain noncitizen spouses & children of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card without having to leave the U.S.  if they have lived in the U.S. for 10 years or longer, do not pose a threat to public safety or national security, are otherwise eligible to obtain a green card in the U.S. and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.  DHS estimates that approximately 500,000 people who, on average, have lived in the U.S. for 23 years, could benefit from this process. 

To be considered on a case-by-case basis for this process, an individual must:  

• Be present in the United States without admission or parole;

• Have been continuously present in the United States for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024; and

• Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.

In addition, individuals must have no disqualifying criminal history or otherwise constitute a threat to national security or public safety and should otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion. Noncitizen children of potential requestors may also be considered for parole under this process if they are physically present in the United States without admission or parole and have a qualifying stepchild relationship with a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.

Upon receipt of a properly filed parole-in-place request, USCIS will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a grant of parole is warranted and whether the applicant merits a favorable exercise of discretion. All requests will take into consideration the potential requestor’s previous immigration history, criminal history, the results of background checks and national security and public safety vetting, and any other relevant information available to or requested by USCIS. USCIS has strong processes in place to identify and address potential fraud, which will be applied here to ensure the integrity of this program.

Stay tuned!  There will be more information soon about this new process!

On June 4, 2024, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation that went into immediate effect at the border.  The order severely limits an individual’s ability to claim asylum at the border.  Asylum grants individuals the right to stay in the U.S. based on fear of persecution at home because of one’s race, nationality, political opinion, membership in a particular social group, or religious beliefs. The Presidential Proclamation allows the U.S. government to refuse to accept asylum claims from people arriving at the border during any period of time when there has been an average of more than 2,500 people encountered at the border over a 7-day period.  The asylum ban remains in place until 14 days after another 7-day period in which the average number of encounters at the border falls below 1,500.   Given these metrics, it is likely that the ban on applying for asylum at the border will last for a long time and possibly be an indefinite ban.  There will be legal challenges asserting that this Proclamation violates U.S. and international asylum law.