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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Feds to Ease Immigrants’ Legal Return to US

WASHINGTON (CN) - The United States Department of Homeland Security plans to expand the waiver process that allows certain undocumented immigrants to leave the country and then enter again, legally.

Without the waiver, the immigrant's leaving the United States could trigger their inadmissibility to ever come into the country legally, according to the proposal.

Also, previously, the waiver was sought from outside of the United States - a process that could keep families apart for months. The process also involved action from various agencies, the proposal states.

The DHS claims it plans to expand the provisional waiver process "in the interests of encouraging eligible aliens to complete the visa process abroad, promoting family unity, and improving administrative efficiency."

The DHS proposes to expand its current provisional waiver process in two principal ways, according to the proposed regulation.

First, limitations on the provisional waiver process that restrict eligibility to certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens will be lifted. Under this proposed rule, the process would be made available to all aliens who are statutorily eligible for waivers of inadmissibility based on unlawful presence and meet certain other conditions.

Second, in relation to the statutory requirement that the waiver applicant demonstrate that denial of the waiver would result in "extreme hardship" to certain family members, DHS proposes to expand the class of family members to parents or spouses that are lawful permanent residents, not just parents or spouses that are U.S. citizens.

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