President Joe Biden announced new legal protections for nearly a half million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and potential pathways to citizenship for them. Biden unveiled the new policy during a press conference Tuesday.
The program will allow undocumented spouses to apply for permanent residency, remain in the country and work for up to three years while their case is handled. To be eligible for this program, the spouse must have lived in the United States and been married for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024. Presented as a family unification effort, the program will also protect about 50,000 children of undocumented immigrants married to a U.S. citizen.
The new program will also affect DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients and “Dreamers” who earned degrees in higher education and receive a job offer from a U.S. employer that’s related to their degree.
