Opinion

Are you eligible for ‘keeping families together?’

IMMIGRATION CORNER - Michael J. Gurfinkel - The Philippine Star

August 25, 2024 | 12:00am

On Aug. 20, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice detailing the eligibility requirements for the “Keeping Families Together” parole in place (PIP) process and began accepting applications. But not everyone is eligible. In this article, I will discuss who is eligible and how PIP could benefit them.

If you are the noncitizen spouse of a US citizen, the basic requirements for PIP are that you must:

• Be present in the United States without admission or parole. This would typically mean you entered the US without “inspection” or snuck across the border (EWI). If you presented a visa to an immigration officer, then you were inspected and would not be eligible for PIP. This would include crewmen, as they presented a visa when they entered the US and thus may require a provisional waiver. On the other hand, if a person presented other types of visas, such as visitor, student, etc. and is out of status, they could nevertheless be eligible to adjust status in the US without the need for PIP.

• Have been continuously physically present in the United States since at least June 17, 2014, through the date of filing your request. You must prove or document that you have been in the US for at least 10 years, or before June 17, 2014. While you are not required to prove physical presence for every single month, there should be enough documentation to demonstrate you have been in the US for at least 10 years, including any immigration documents or receipts, apartment leases, utility bills, school records, hospital or medical records, birth certificates of children born in the US, bank records, insurance policies, etc.

• Have a legally valid marriage to a US citizen on or before June 17, 2024. This would include making sure any previous marriages for either spouse were terminated by divorce, annulment, death, etc. If you were still married to someone else when you married your US citizen spouse, the marriage to the US citizen would be void as bigamous. You could still be eligible for PIP even if your US citizen spouse is deceased, if the marriage occurred on or before June 17, 2024 and you have not remarried someone else.

• Have no disqualifying criminal history and are otherwise not deemed to be a threat to public safety, national security or border security. If you have any kind of criminal issues, you should definitely consult with an attorney before thinking of filing for PIP. Under the guidelines, all “pending” criminal charges are disqualifying until they are resolved, along with all felony charges, including felony DUIs. In fact, all criminal convictions, except minor traffic offenses, will result in a rebuttable presumption of ineligibility for PIP.

• Submit biometrics and undergo required background checks and national security and public safety vetting.

PIP could also be available for EWI stepchildren of US citizens. While stepchildren are not required to have been physically present in the US for at least 10 years, they must have been in the US as of June 17, 2024, and their parent should have married the US citizen stepparent before the child’s 18th birthday and before June 17, 2024.

PIP could greatly benefit spouses and stepchildren of US citizens who entered the US without inspection. They could avoid having to pursue a provisional waiver, which would require departing the US and being processed at the US embassy. In fact, in one of our cases, the person had entered the US without a visa and already had an approved provisional waiver and an embassy interview scheduled. Now that PIP is coming out, we are going to pursue his green card in the US.

If you believe you are eligible for PIP, you should consult with an attorney who can confirm your eligibility and help gather the necessary documentation establishing eligibility, file for PIP and adjustment of status in the US.

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