Even as President Biden has exited the 2025 race, his signature family-unity initiative quietly opened for filing on 6 November. The parole-in-place programme lets undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens—and their minor children—apply for permanent residence without leaving the country, waiving the multi-year bars that usually apply after unlawful presence.
USCIS estimates 500,000 spouses and 50,000 children qualify if they have lived in the United States continuously for ten years and pass criminal and security checks. Applicants must file Form I-131F plus concurrent I-485 adjustment packages and will receive work authorisation within 90 days. The agency warns of possible fee hikes if Congress does not lift the shutdown.
![Biden-era ‘Keeping Families Together’ programme formally opens to half-million spouses]()
Corporate immigration counsel say the policy is a game-changer for companies that have long employed mixed-status families on Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers. Spouses who gain green cards can enter the labour market or accept international assignments previously off-limits due to re-entry risks.
Yet Republican-led states vow to sue, arguing the programme is an overreach that encourages illegal entry. Employers should move quickly: if courts enjoin filings, only submitted applications will be grandfathered. The window could mirror DACA’s brief 2017 reopening—a few days that saved thousands of careers.
USCIS estimates 500,000 spouses and 50,000 children qualify if they have lived in the United States continuously for ten years and pass criminal and security checks. Applicants must file Form I-131F plus concurrent I-485 adjustment packages and will receive work authorisation within 90 days. The agency warns of possible fee hikes if Congress does not lift the shutdown.
Corporate immigration counsel say the policy is a game-changer for companies that have long employed mixed-status families on Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers. Spouses who gain green cards can enter the labour market or accept international assignments previously off-limits due to re-entry risks.
Yet Republican-led states vow to sue, arguing the programme is an overreach that encourages illegal entry. Employers should move quickly: if courts enjoin filings, only submitted applications will be grandfathered. The window could mirror DACA’s brief 2017 reopening—a few days that saved thousands of careers.
