The Biden-Harris Administration has addressed our broken immigration system time and time again, reflecting on the need to secure our southern border and provide protection for the long-term undocumented. On June 18, 2024, President Joe Biden announced a new executive action to provide stability to Americans living in mixed-status families and young people educated in the country, including Dreamers. Please keep reading to discover more about the newest action to ensure families stay together and how our experienced Essex County Family Immigration Attorneys can help you better understand what this could mean for you and your family.
What is the Biden-Harris Administration’s New Executive Action to Keep Families Together?
The Biden-Harris Administration’s newest action will bar migrants who cross the Southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum. While the Administration believes securing the border is essential, it also recognizes the need to expand lawful pathways to keep families together. Introducing these initiatives aims to enhance the integrity of our legal immigration system by employing new programs for reunification, thereby enabling families to stay together while completing the immigration process.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must begin taking action to ensure that U.S. citizen spouses and children can keep their families together. This can be accomplished by facilitating the lawful permanent residence process. While they may already be eligible for lawful permanent residence, this initiative will allow them to remain in the country during the application process. To be eligible, as of June 17, 2024, noncitizens must have resided in the U.S. for ten or more years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen while meeting all applicable legal criteria. Further, those approved will be granted three years to apply for permanent residency, enabling them to remain with their families in the U.S. and be eligible for work authorization.
How Does This New Action Help College Graduates and Dreamers?
Along with keeping American families together, this new action will ease the visa process for U.S. college graduates, including Dreamers. Essentially, the second portion of this executive action will allow young individuals raised as children to contribute to our country. It will enable individuals, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other Dreamers, who have earned a degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education and have received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree to receive a work visa at an expedited pace. The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that the indivduals who receive an education in the U.S. should be able to use their skills to benefit the country.
If you are thinking about applying for lawful permanent residence or work authorization in the U.S., please don’t hesitate to contact a knowledgeable attorney from the Law Offices of Christopher T. Howell, Esq., who can help guide you through every step of this complex legal process.
