Back to Resources

Biden Administration Announces New Green Card Opportunities for Spouses of US Citizens

The Biden Administration announced that the Department of Homeland Security will take action to grant permanent residency to some spouses of US citizens who are not lawfully present in the United States. The program will begin accepting applications on August 19th after publication of a Federal Register Notice.

To qualify for permanent residence, the noncitizen spouse of a US citizen 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;
  • Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024;
  • Not pose a threat to public safety or national security;
  • Individuals must have no disqualifying criminal history; 
  • Be otherwise eligible to apply for adjustment of status;
  • And merit a favorable exercise of discretion.

If eligible, these noncitizens will be able to apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the United States. They will be granted parole in place. This means that the spouse of a US citizen would not need to leave the US and apply for a waiver to be granted permanent residence.

DHS estimates that approximately 500,000 noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens could be eligible to access this process; on average, these noncitizens have resided in the United States for 23 years. Approximately 50,000 children of these spouses may also be eligible for this process. 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.

Meltzer Hellrung Guidance 

Employers should be aware that employees who may have presented facially valid documents for work authorization and I-9 verification in the past may in the future submit new documents with a new name or social security number after completing this process. An employer should complete a new I-9 in this situation. Terminating an employee for presenting false documents in the past is a legally fraught decision. Please speak to your attorney if you face this scenario.