Biden will open path for illegal immigrants married to US citizens to gain citizenship

President Joe Biden is expected to unveil a new program that will give a path to citizenship for people who are illegally in the United States but are married to Americans.

A source familiar with Biden’s plans said the president will announce the new program at a White House event on Tuesday to mark the 12-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The program shields some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children from deportation and provides them with legal work authorization.

The spouses of Americans have always been eligible to become US citizens themselves, but people who did not enter the US legally but later married a US national have long had roadblocks that make it more difficult compared to those who entered legally.

Anyone who enters the country illegally, absent other relief, must leave the US and remain abroad for a full decade before they are eligible for a legal pathway to residency and citizenship - even if they married an American after entering the country.

But the Biden plan would make use of an executive authority known as parole, which allows the government to set aside an illegal entry and grant work permits and residency status.

Eventually, undocumented immigrants married to Americans who receive relief through parole would be able to apply for permenant resident status, and later, US citizenship, by virtue of their marriage to a US citizen who would serve as their sponsor.