On June 18th, 2024, President Biden hosted an event at the White House marking the 12th Anniversary of DACA where he and the First Lady announced an executive action that would shield about 500,000 immigrant spouses and 50,000 immigrant children from deportation.
To qualify for Biden’s actions, an immigrant must have lived in the United States for 10 years and be married to a U.S. citizen, both as of June 17, 2024. If a qualifying immigrant’s application is approved, he or she would have three years to apply for a green card and in the meantime, receive a temporary work permit and be shielded from deportation. It is believed that about 50,000 noncitizen children with parents who are married to U.S. citizen could also potentially qualify for the process. There is no requirement on how long the couple must have been married, but no one becomes eligible after Monday, June 17. That means immigrants who reach that 10-year mark after Monday will not qualify for the program, according to the officials.
The President’s action uses the parole-in-place process, which allows qualifying immigrants to get on the path to U.S. permanent residency without leaving the country. The policy would expand on this authority used by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama to allow “parole in place” for family members of military members.