Biden Family Unity Program Begins

Posted by cbrownlaw

The Biden Administration’s new Family Unity Program begins Monday August 19, 2024, called Keeping Families Together. The official notice takes place Monday August 19th, but the Biden Administration has already provided filing guidelines on Friday August 16, 2024.

Eligibility

The program announced in June will allow undocumented spouses and stepchildren of US citizens to obtain a legal pathway to filing their permanent resident (aka green card) process completely inside the United States, and avoid having to step outside the country and deal with 4-year waiver delays. The typical process for them was taking 8 years and the undocumented spouse/child would have no status in the mean time and no ability to work or get a social security number. Now, with the Parole-in-Place process – referred to as PIP, the processing time could be reduced dramatically – perhaps wrapping things up in one year.

These are the criteria:

  • Married to a US Citizen as of June 17, 2024 or Became a StepChild of a US Citizen as of June 17, 2024
  • Show physical presence from June 17, 2014 to present time
  • Did not Enter the US with a visa or parole document
  • No issues that would otherwise prevent the person from obtaining a green card (example, criminal or drug issues)
  • Equities in favor of the undocumented person versus negative factors (pays taxes, supports dependents, has US citizen kids )

Process

The undocumented person will file a Form I-131 ONLINE only. To do this, the applicant must set up a USCIS online account. Fortunately, a Colorado attorney can assist you with filing online and must complete the preparer’s section. The fee is $580 and there is NO waiver based on income status.

You will file Form I-131 to obtain Parole-in-Place. Once that is approved, then the undocumented person files the green card applications inside the United States – also referred to as a OneStep Application. Boulder Colorado lawyer, Catherine Brown, can assist with filing for these Family Unity applications!

Want More Information?

Call Boulder attorney Catherine Brown to schedule an appointment to see if you qualify for this new Family Unity program. You also may want to clearly understand the pros and cons of filing this application. 303-322-2117.