These are the policies we need to protect families.
FLORIDA – Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting applications for the Biden Administration’s Keeping Families Together program. On June 17th, the Biden Administration announced the Keeping Families Together program, formally known as Parole in Place for Undocumented Spouses. This initiative will affect an estimated 500,000 families, including 50,000 non-citizen stepchildren. In Florida, 27,000 people will benefit.
Applications will be accepted starting on Monday, August 19th, 2024. The filing fee is $580, and there is no fee waiver. The process is completely online, and there is no paper application. USCIS has stated that if a person mails their application, it will not be approved or received.
As always, we warn our communities against notario fraud and others who seek to exploit vulnerable families.
Federal Campaign Lead for The Florida Immigrant Coalition, Yareliz Mendez-Zamora says, “Approximately 27,000 Floridian families will benefit from this new program. This is a much needed relief, and we encourage the Biden Administration to continue to use their executive powers to protect family unity, and to ensure that our long-term neighbors who have been caught in the traps of immigration bureaucracy have the opportunity to finally complete their formal residency application.”
The guidelines state that to be eligible for this program, spouses must:
- Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024.
- be present in the United States without admission or parole. This means that the spouse must have entered the U.S. through an irregular manner.
- Have been continuously physically present in the United States since at least June 17, 2014, through the date of filing the application for parole.
- Not present a threat to public safety, national security, or border security.
- Meet certain other eligibility criteria, as well as demonstrate on a case-by-case. basis urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit to be considered for a discretionary grant of parole in place.
The guidelines state that to be eligible for this program, non-citizen stepchildren are defined as unmarried, under the age of 21 as of June 17, 2024. They must:
- Be present in the United States without admission or parole.
- Have been continuously physically present in the United States since at least June 17, 2024, through the date of filing the application for parole.
- Meet the statutory definition of a stepchild of a U.S. citizen based on their parent’s legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024 (and before the child’s 18th birthday).
- Not present a threat to public safety or national security; and meet certain other eligibility criteria to be considered for a discretionary grant of parole in place on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
Tessa Petit, Executive Director for The Florida Immigrant Coalition says, “To those who are interested in the program: do not fall victim to scams. FLIC is the premiere immigrant rights organization in Florida and we’re here to help. If you have questions about the program or your eligibility please contact our free Hotline at 1-888-600-5762. In the coming weeks, we will be putting out a lot of educational materials and embarking on a statewide campaign to help identify those 27,000 Floridians who qualify. While this is a win for our movement and we are ready to do our part to safeguard those individuals, we urge the Biden administration to widen the eligibility scope to make it available to more impacted new Americans.”
We urge the Biden Administration to continue to use their executive powers to deliver on the promises they made to our communities. There are still thousands of families in Florida who are counting on this administration to do the right thing.
