Listen to this note:
Less than 5 months before the presidential elections in the United States take place, the president Joseph Biden will announce new actions on immigration matters, such as legal status for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and work visas for beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA.
On Monday, President Biden announced that the Department of Homeland Security will take steps to ensure that U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together.
This new process, he said, will help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residency - a status to which they are already entitled - without leaving the country. This, he said, is intended to promote family unity and strengthen the economy, providing a significant benefit to the country and helping U.S. citizens and their noncitizen family members stay together.
To be eligible, non-citizens must have resided in the United States for 10 years or more as of June 17, 2024, and be legally married to a U.S. citizen, meeting all applicable legal requirements. On average, those eligible for this process have resided in the U.S. for 23 years.
Those who are approved, after a case-by-case evaluation of their application by DHS, will have a period of three years to apply for permanent residence. They will be allowed to remain with their families in the United States and will be eligible for a work authorization for up to three years. This will apply to all married couples who meet the requirements.
This measure, Biden said, will protect approximately half a million spouses of US citizens and some 50,000 non-citizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a US citizen.
In addition, the president announced that he would facilitate the visa process for American university graduates, including Dreamers.
The announcement will allow individuals, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers, who have earned a degree from an accredited U.S. higher education institution in the United States, and who have received a job offer from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree, to more quickly receive work visas.
This, he stressed, was acknowledged by the national interest to ensure that people who are educated in the US can use their skills and education to benefit the country.
In that regard, Biden explained, “the Administration is taking steps to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a highly qualified job offer, including DACA beneficiaries and other Dreamers.”
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