Reminders on the Process to Promote the Unity and Stability of Families

Key changes

On June 18, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced actions to promote family unity in the immigration process. This announcement is consistent with the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to keep families together. DHS is establishing a process to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for parole in place from certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens who have been in the U.S. for at least a decade. If parole is granted, noncitizens who are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence based on their marriage to a U.S. citizen will be able to do so without having to leave the United States.

USCIS is not currently accepting applications under this process. We will begin accepting applications on Aug. 19. If you apply before Aug. 19, we will reject your application. More information about eligibility and the application process will be published in a forthcoming Federal Register notice.

To be considered for a discretionary grant of parole, on a case-by-case basis, under this process, you 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 have any disqualifying criminal history or otherwise constitute a threat to national security or public safety; and

Otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion.

More information about these eligibility criteria will be available in the forthcoming Federal Register notice.

We may also consider certain noncitizen children of requestors under this process if, as of June 17, 2024, they were physically present in the United States without admission or parole, and have a qualifying stepchild relationship to a U.S. citizen.

You cannot apply for this process yet. We will publish a Federal Register notice that will further explain eligibility and the application process, including the form to use, and the associated filing fees. If you apply before the implementation date in the Federal Register notice, we will reject your application.

We will provide additional information on the Process to Promote the Unity and Stability of Families webpage as it becomes available.

Although we are not currently accepting applications, you can begin to prepare to file a parole application by gathering evidence of your eligibility, such as:

Evidence of a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024, such as a marriage certificate;

Valid state or country driver’s license or identification;

Birth certificate with photo identification;

Any government issued document bearing the requestor’s name, date of birth, and photo.

Evidence of your spouse’s U.S. citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate or Certificate of Naturalization;

Rent receipts or utility bills;

School records (letters, report cards, etc.);

Hospital or medical records;

Attestations to your residence by religious entities, unions, or other organizations, identifying you by name;

Official records from a religious entity confirming participation in a religious ceremony;

Money order receipts for money sent into or out of the United States;

Birth certificates of children born in the United States

Automobile license receipts, title, or registration;

Deeds, mortgages, or rental agreement contracts;

Tax returns or tax receipts.

For noncitizen children of requestors, evidence of eligibility could include:

Evidence of the child’s relationship to the noncitizen parent, such as a birth certificate or adoption decree;

Evidence of the noncitizen parent’s legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024, such as a marriage certificate; and

Evidence of the child’s presence in the United States as of June 17, 2024.

If you are interested in this process, you should consider creating or updating your myUSCIS account at my.uscis.gov .

We want to remind you that immigration scams are pervasive.

Remember, you cannot apply for this process yet. If you see someone selling their services to file an application before we publish the Federal Register notice or open the process, please see our Report Immigration Scams webpage.