U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced further details about the Biden administration policy offering parole in place for certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens.

Key Points:

  • The Department of Homeland Security continues establishing a process to evaluate case-by-case requests for parole in place for certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens.
  • USCIS will begin accepting applications for this program on Aug. 19. Applications submitted before that date will be rejected.
  • Eligibility requirements include that an applicant must:
    • Be present in the U.S. without admission or parole.
    • Have been continuously present in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024.
    • Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.
    • Not have any disqualifying criminal history or otherwise constitute a threat to national security or public safety.
    • Otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion.
  • USCIS may also consider parole in place for certain noncitizen children of requestors if they were physically present in the U.S. without admission or parole as of June 17, 2024, and have a qualifying stepchild relationship to a U.S. citizen.

Additional Information: Prospective applicants can begin preparing to file a parole application by gathering evidence of eligibility listed under “What You Can Do Now” on this webpage. More information about eligibility criteria and the application process will be published in a forthcoming Federal Register notice. BAL will continue to provide updates on this program as they become available.

 This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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