Proposal from government regarding immigration gives new hope for U.S. Citizens and their undocumented spouses and children

The U.S. Government announced a new proposal to reduce, in some circumstances, the separation time for U.S. Citizens and their undocumented spouses or children while they normalize their situation.

Specifically, the change will benefit those families with dual status where a father, mother, or spouse with U.S. citizenship can prove that the prolonged absence of their partner or child to process their resident visa while living in a foreign country would entail “extreme hardship” for the citizen.

As explained by the spokesperson for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Alejandro Mayorkas, “This proposed regulatory change will significantly reduce the time U.S. Citizens are separated from their spouses and children under specific circumstances while those relatives go through the process of receiving visas to become legal immigrants in the U.S.”

Currently, spouses and children of U.S. Citizens who must leave the country to process a resident permit are banned by law from returning to the U.S. if they have violated immigration laws. If they have violated the law for more than 180 days, but less than a year, they are forbidden from returning to the U.S. for a period of three years. If the violation has been longer than a year, the ban goes up to ten years.

The law provides, however, an exception in those cases where the American relative can prove the absence of their child or spouse would entail “extreme hardship,” for either financially, health-related or humanitarian reasons. In these cases, the relative -once in their country of origin- can request a waiver to be allowed to return to the U.S. without waiting the required period under current rules. However, even under these circumstances the wait is at least six months or even more than a year.

The proposed change states that these people can request the waiver while in U.S. territory before they return to their country of origin. USCIS will review their case, and if valid, will grant a provisional waiver. Once in their country, the relative with an irregular situation will be interviewed at the consulate. If no problems are detected, the permit will be ratified and the individual will be allowed to return the U.S. within weeks.
The new measure only applies to relatives of U.S. Citizens, not permanent residents. The requirements to receive the waiver ...