In a historic decision, United States President Joe Biden will announce today an executive action that will allow certain undocumented spouses and children of US citizens to apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the country.
According to experts, all of this is seeking to win votes from the Latino sector heading into the November elections.
Joe Biden will provide citizenship to Mexican immigrants
According to a CNN report, Joe Biden’s initiative will provide legal status and protections to approximately 500,000 American families and approximately 50,000 non-citizen children of immigrants under the age of 21 whose father or mother is married to a US citizen.
It is one of the federal government’s largest such programs in history for undocumented immigrants since former President Barack Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the famous DACA, in 2012.
The information indicates that Joe Biden’s main objective is to win the Latino vote in undecided states that could define the presidential election on November 5. For example, according to the latest polls, Arizona is a key place for this.
How to obtain citizenship in the USA?
Joe Biden will make the official announcement of the proposal during an event at the White House to commemorate the anniversary of the DACA program. Under current federal law, an undocumented person who enters the United States and marries a U.S. citizen must first apply for a permit before applying for legal residency.
The big problem is that, to achieve this, thousands of people have to leave the country waiting to be allowed to re-enter with legal protection. Now, spouses could apply for residency without having to leave the United States. That is a crucial point of the new law.
To be eligible for the program, a person must have lived in the United States for at least ten years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen. The application process will open by the end of summer. Legal permanent residence, also called a ‘green card’, allows immigrants to live and work legally in the United States.
Several experts explained in the CNN report that people affected by the change are already eligible for green cards due to their marital status, but can now apply from within the United States. Previously, people had to apply from outside the United States and, if they had been in the country illegally, stay outside the United States for 10 years. The benefit would be for at least half a million people.
