Current:Home > ContactBiden’s offer of a path to US citizenship for spouses leaves some out -WealthMindset Learning
Biden’s offer of a path to US citizenship for spouses leaves some out
View
Date:2025-04-12 10:02:54
MIAMI (AP) — As registration opened Monday for an estimated 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens to gain legal status without having to first leave the country, Karen and Xavier Chavarria had nothing to celebrate.
Like many others, Karen left the United States voluntarily — in her case, for Nicaragua — as the price of living in the country illegally, planning to accumulate enough time away to be able reenter and reunite with her husband, Xavier, on a path to citizenship.
Joe Biden’s offer of a path to citizenship without having to first leave the country for up to 10 years is one of the biggest presidential orders to ease entry for immigrants since 2012, when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program allowed temporary but renewable stays for hundreds of thousands of people who came to the United States as young children with their parents.
To be eligible, spouses must have lived in the United States continuously for 10 years as of June 17, 2024, and been married by then. The Biden administration estimates 500,000 spouses could benefit, plus 50,000 stepchildren of U.S. citizens.
“Without this process, hundreds of thousands of noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens are likely to instead remain in the United States without lawful status, causing these families to live in fear and with uncertainty about their futures,” the Homeland Security Department said Monday in a document that details the policy. Forcing spouses to leave the country “is disruptive to the family’s economic and emotional wellbeing.”
Spouses who fall outside the prescribed dates and other eligibility criteria face an agonizing choice: leave the country voluntarily for years for the right to reenter or remain in the United States without legal status.
Karen Chavarria returned to Nicaragua in 2017 and reported to a U.S. consulate for an interview as part of her petition to reunite with her husband in the United States. She crossed the border from Mexico in 2002 and applied for legal status after marrying Xavier, 57, who works a building maintenance job in New York and lives in Garfield, New Jersey. They have two children, both U.S. citizens.
Xavier travels at least twice a year to see Karen, 41, and their 12-year-old son, who live in Jinotega, north of Nicaragua’s capital city of Managua. Xavier said he can’t live in Nicaragua because he can’t find work there, lacks treatment options for diabetes and fears for his safety because his family has been in the political opposition there for years. Their 20-year-old daughter lives in the U.S.
Karen has missed big moments, including her daughter’s high school graduation and birthdays. The Biden administration’s offer to spouses who chose to remain in the U.S. filled her with despair.
“It is something that we have been fighting for and after so much struggle, to get here without giving ourselves any hope,” she said while crying in a video interview from Nicaragua.
It is unclear how many spouses left the U.S. voluntarily. But Eric Lee, an immigration attorney with offices in Michigan and California, said it is a “massive” number. Immigrants and advocacy groups have urged the White House to include them in the new policy.
“The only reason why so many are being punished is because they tried to step out of the shadow, they tried to follow the law,” Lee said.
Homeland Security did not respond to questions about whether people who left the country voluntarily will qualify, saying only that they “may be eligible for continued processing abroad.”
Groups favoring restrictions on immigration consider the policy overly generous. The Federation for American Immigration Reform said Monday that it is a disservice to those waiting to legally immigrate and that Biden is “clearly in a hurry” to enroll people before he leaves office, making it harder for a court to overturn their benefits once they are granted.
The department said Monday that 64% of potential beneficiaries are from Mexico and 20% are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They become eligible to remain in the United States for three years under presidential authority known as parole for a $580 fee, which includes ability to apply for work authorization, a green card and, eventually, citizenship.
People deemed national security or public safety threats and those convicted of what are considered serious crimes, including felonies for driving under the influence, are disqualified, as are those found to belong to a gang.
Juan Enrique Sauceda 47, is biding time in Piedras Negras, Mexico, across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. He was deported in 2019 while married to a U.S. citizen and applied to reenter. His wife and two children live in Houston.
“I want to return to the United States because I grew up there, I have my wife, my children, everything,” Saucedo said. “I don’t fit in here.”
___
Spagat reported from San Diego. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana in Rocklin, California, contributed.
___
The headline has been rewritten to clarify that the policy puts people on path to citizenship but does not grant citizenship.
veryGood! (6643)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Chelsea Houska Reveals How Daughter Aubree Found True Confidence On and Off Camera
- How Riley Keough's Husband Ben Smith-Petersen Played a Role in Daisy Jones and The Six
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Have Been Requested to Vacate Frogmore Cottage Home
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Man accused of streaming castrations, other extreme body modifications for eunuch maker website faces court
- Matthew Lawrence and Chilli's PDA-Filled Outing Proves They're Diggin' on Each Other
- Matthew Lawrence and Chilli's PDA-Filled Outing Proves They're Diggin' on Each Other
- British swimmer Adam Peaty: There are worms in the food at Paris Olympic Village
- Kandi Burruss Explains How the Drama on SWV & Xscape Differs From Real Housewives
Ranking
- Immigration issues sorted, Guatemala runner Luis Grijalva can now focus solely on sports
- Australia reptile catcher finds 6-foot-long, highly venomous snake lying in bed looking at me
- Jeff Perry Reveals How Alaska Daily With Hilary Swank Honors Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
- Hoda Kotb Returns to Today After 3-Year-Old Daughter Hope Is Discharged From Hospital
- NCAA hands former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh a 4-year show cause order for recruiting violations
- The Moving Trailer for Netflix's Emergency NYC Shows the Intense World of the City's Medical Pros
- Allison Holker Shares Moving Message to Her 3 Kids After Stephen tWitch Boss' Death
- Senior Israeli official blasted as racist for saying there's no such thing as a Palestinian nation
Recommendation
Mega Millions winning numbers for August 6 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $398 million
North Korea says latest missile test was nuclear counterstrike simulation
Keke Palmer Gets Real About Motherhood Struggles After Welcoming Baby Boy
See Meghan Markle's Royally Chic Black Leather Look for Her Date Night With Prince Harry
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes Are Rolling Out the Welcome Mat on Their New Romance
China's tech giant Baidu unveils Ernie, the Chinese answer to AI chatbot technology like ChatGPT and GPT4
Why Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa’s New Show is Not a Flip or Flop Redux