The new immigration measures presented this Wednesday by the Biden Administration, which aim to facilitate legal status for foreign spouses of US citizens and “promote family unity in the immigration process”, would not benefit the thousands of Cubans who entered that country through the I-220A documentbecause this is a “relatively new” procedure, he told Martí News the lawyer specialized in immigration issues Ángel Leal.
“People who have been in the country for more than ten years and the sons and daughters under 21 years of age of the undocumented husband or wife of the American citizen qualify,” he said, so Cubans with I-220A, whose use came into force less than three years ago, would not be eligible for the new procedure approved, which reaffirms the limbo in which these people live.
To Cubans who live undocumented in the United States, the expert said: “If you are the spouse of a husband or wife, an American citizen, and have been in the country for more than ten years and all this occurred no later than June 17, 2024, you will be able request this parole which they will give him for three years. This will allow you apply for a work permit and will then have that three-year period to present residency.”
Leal added that “it is important to understand that the majority of people who find themselves in that situation They have not been able to adjust to residency because they did not enter the country legally.“, something that could be solved with the new measures.
Approximately 200,000 Cubans who entered through the southern border of the United States and received an I-220A They remain in said country in an irregular immigration situation. Several of them have demonstrated more than once in the vicinity of the White House to attract the attention of the authorities, something that until now they have achieved in a very limited way.
In January, a group of congresswomen, led by Cuban-American María Elvira Salazar, wrote a letter to the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, to request that he grant “Parole in Place” status to all Cubans who received the I-220A form after entering the US. This request has not translated into concrete actions so far, despite the fact that, slowly, arbitrarily and discreetly, some of these Cubans have received letters approving the parole.
In relation to the new measures of the US Government, those responsible declared that “it uses existing authorities to promote family unity, but only Congress can systematically reform our poor immigration system“.
As long as the person does not have a criminal record and “does not pose a threat to public safety or national security; they are eligible to apply for adjustment of status,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement and detailed that ” If they are granted temporary residence permit, these citizens will be able to apply for legal permanent residence without having to leave the United States. DHS estimates that. Approximately 500,000 non-citizen spouses of U.S. citizens may be eligible to access this process.”
