WASHINGTON- The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this Tuesday several actions aimed at “promoting family unity in the immigration process, in line with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to keeping families together.” “.
With regard to Cuba, these measures aim to “modernize the permit processes for Cuban family reunification”, as well as “the establishment of specific temporary stay permit processes for certain citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who have a supporter in the US”.
This ad “uses existing authorities to promote family unity, but only Congress can systematically reform our broken immigration system.”
“Permanent residence”
The measures are aimed at addressing requests for legal permanent residence from non-citizens who are married to a US citizen. Currently, to carry out this process, “many non-citizens must first leave the United States and wait to be processed abroad to apply for legal permanent residence, resulting in a prolonged, potentially indefinite period of separation from their family members ( …) Consequently, these families live in fear and face deep uncertainty about their future,” the statement said.
DHS will establish a new process to consider, on a case-by-case basis, applications for temporary parole for certain spouses of US citizens who have lived in the US for ten years or more and do not yet have US citizenship.
As long as the person does not have a criminal record and “does not pose a threat to public safety or national security; they are eligible to apply for adjustment of status,” the DHS said, detailing that “if they are granted temporary parole , these citizens will be able to apply for legal permanent residence without having to leave the United States.
The US Department of Homeland Security estimates that approximately 500,000 non-citizen spouses of US citizens may be eligible to access this process.
The agency estimates that, on average, “these noncitizens have resided in the United States for 23 years.” Additionally, “approximately 50,000 children of these spouses will also be eligible under this process.” In this sense, the new measures aim to “lead the Family Reunification Task Force to reunite almost 800 children who had been separated with their families,” as well as strengthen family unity, including the implementation of family reunification permit processes. for citizens of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Ecuador.
Requirements
The DHS highlighted that “to be considered for temporary residence permit, a person must submit a form to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services), along with supporting documentation to demonstrate that they meet the requirements and pay a fee.
More information about eligibility and the application process, including a notice, will be published soon in the Federal Register. OR“SCIS will reject any individual submissions or applications received prior to the date the application period begins later this summer.”
Likewise, the authorities clarified that “all applications will take into consideration the applicant’s prior immigration history, criminal history, results of background checks and national security and public safety investigation, and any other relevant information available or requested by USCIS”.
“DHS will join the Department of State in an effort to more efficiently facilitate certain employment-based nonimmigrant visas for eligible individuals, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and undocumented noncitizens.” , who have graduated from an accredited US higher education institution,” the statement concluded.
