Thu | Oct 16, 2025

Get your paperwork in order - attorneys advise

New immigration initiative offers legal status to undocumented spouses of US citizens

Published:Saturday | August 10, 2024 | 12:06 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
FILE - President Joe Biden.
FILE - President Joe Biden.

A programme unveiled by President Joe Biden, to regularise undocumented spouses of United States citizens, is set to open up on August 19.

The Department of Homeland Security says Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting applications on that date and begin assessments thereafter.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that roughly 500,000 persons could be eligible for the programme – which allows undocumented spouses who have lived in the US for at least 10 years to apply for legal status, and even a pathway to citizenship.

Under the new policy, spouses may apply for a temporary status called parole-in-place. If approved, they’d be able to later apply for permanent residency and potentially, US citizenship. The White House announced the new initiative in June after months of calls from advocates.

Immigration attorneys and consultants in the Jamaican community are now urging Jamaicans who may be eligible for the programme to get their paperwork in order, consult attorneys to find out whether they are eligible for the programme, and to seek more than one legal opinion before submitting applications.

“Do not pay money to anyone until it has been determined that you are eligible for the programme,” Winston Tucker, a New York-based immigration attorney advised. The attorney also warned against Jamaicans completing the applications themselves, pointing out that if the applications are rejected the persons could be subject to deportation orders.

SPECIFIC APPLICATION FORMS

While immigration attorneys in the diaspora were unable to give an exact number of Jamaicans who would qualify for the initiative, they estimate that between 5000 to 7000 Jamaicans could see relief under the programme.

Tucker says he has already had discussions with several Jamaicans about accessing the provision.

He warned that although he has advised that Jamaicans get their paperwork in order, persons should not expect a quick solution as he believes that legal challenges will be filed against the initiative.

Irwine Clare, head of the Queens-based Caribbean Immigration Service, meanwhile offered a profile of persons who will possibly benefit from the programme. They include; those who came into the United States without status, were married to a United States citizen for more than 10 years, and did not have their spouse file for them. He said that the marriage must be a bona fide marriage, and persons have not divorced.

“Several hundred Jamaicans will benefit under this programme and it will move them out of the shadows,” he said.

He told The Gleaner that the specific application forms as well as all other documents and fees to be submitted will become available in the coming days.

Michelle Fanger from Fanger’s law firm in Florida, shared further that Jamaicans who qualify for the programmes are those who have crossed a United States border such as the southern border and were not vetted by immigration.

She stressed that persons who arrived in the United States at an airport but overstayed their time in the US would not qualify under the programme.

Fanger said that some individuals with minor marijuana convictions may qualify to have their status adjusted, but strongly suggested that applicants speak with an attorney or an immigration official to determine whether they qualify for the programme.

The attorneys stressed that persons should not attempt to submit applications on their own, nor should they rush to pay fees to anyone.