Surprising immigration tactics continue with announcement of an additional lawful immigration pathway

The Biden Administration continues to surprise us with its Immigration Policy. While on the one hand it’s cracking down on asylum seekers through the reinstatement of Trump-era restrictive immigration policies, the other hand is making “special deals” for certain nationals from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

On Friday, July 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the implementation of new family reunification parole (FRP) processes for nationals of the Central and South American countries – furthering its combination of expanded lawful pathways to enter the US, together with its strengthened enforcement to reduce irregular immigration.

So far, the new processes are only for nationals from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – whose immediate family members are U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents, and are beneficiaries of an approved I-130 petition. This process allows them to join their family in the United States. In addition, nationals of Cuba and Haiti who were already part of a family reunification process will also be included. Specifically, nationals of these countries can be considered for parole into the U.S. on a case by case basis for a period of up to three years, while they are waiting for their visa to become available to become a permanent resident, instead of being forced to wait in their home countries for years until their visa becomes available.

Significantly, those individuals will be able to apply for temporary employment authorization while they are in the U.S. waiting for their green cards.

In order to qualify for parole under this program, the persons from those designated countries must be: 1) beneficiaries of an approved I-130 petition (i.e. the spouse, child or sibling of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident); 2) outside of the U.S. (the FRP does not apply to persons already in the U.S.); 3) meet all requirements, including screening and vetting; 4) meet all medical requirements; and 5) have the Petitioner file an I-134 A, Affidavit of Support on their behalf.

The process begins with the Department of State issuing an invitation to the Petitioning family member whose I-130 Petition has already been approved. Beneficiaries can include certain children and siblings of U.S. citizens and certain spouses, and children of lawful permanent residents. The invited Petitioner can then initiate the process by filing a request on behalf of a beneficiary and eligible family members to be considered for parole, which is determined on a “case-by-case” basis on humanitarian grounds. Approval is not guaranteed.

The future of the family reunification process is unclear

It is unclear whether or not this program will continue for I-130 petition holders into the future, or whether the Family Reunification Process will be expanded to other countries. Since we are entering the 2024 Presidential Election cycle, the future of immigration, which is always a hot-button issue, is fluid.

Conclusion

Because Biden is seen as “soft” on immigration by many Republicans and moderates, we can expect to see harsher crackdowns on migrants seeking asylum. But, in order to appeal to Democrats and Independents, we can expect Biden to create more lawful pathways for Immigration, through the just announced Family Reunification Process – where he is not actually issuing more immigrant visas, but rather is merely allowing the beneficiaries to come to the U.S. sooner. Further, Biden will continue with the special parole processes announced earlier this year for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela; the “Uniting for Ukraine” parole process; and the special parole process for certain Afghan refugees.

As Immigration Law continues to change, stay tuned for the latest developments.