SAN DIEGO — This week, the Biden Administration announced a plan that will offer spouses married to American citizens to apply for permanent resident status. Eligible applicants must have lived in the United States for at least 10 years.
Alliance San Diego Immigration Attorney Michelle Celleri said this will allow immigrants to be treated as if they have entered the U.S. with authorization.
“It provides them protection from deportation for three years, work authorization for three years until they are able to actually apply for their lawful permanent residency status,” she said.
Celleri told CBS 8 thousands of people who live in San Diego without legal status could be impacted by this program.
“Here in San Diego we're thinking about 5,000 people will be impacted by this program,” Celleri said.
The recent announcement raises questions and uncertainty. Alliance San Diego hosted an informational webinar Saturday to inform the community about the program and alert them of any potential scams.
“We know that people will want to apply for it right away but this regulatory process is going to take at least 60 days," Celleri said. "It's not going to happen for at least two months so be wary of anybody that says that they can help you right now or put you ahead of the line or expedite the process because that's just not the case."
Michelle recommends eligible applicants seek an attorney or DOJ representative so they can receive the guidance they need through the process.
“Just because you qualify for the program doesn't mean there is not other parts of your case that could put you at risk for deportation so we want to make sure that you are thoroughly screened to make sure you're not putting yourself at risk,” Celleri said.
Some of the things eligible applicants can do now is gather documents to prove they were in the states for the past 10 years.
“We have to wait for two months until we know exactly what people need to do but that doesn't mean they can't get their documents together and get prepared to meet with somebody to fully evaluate their case,” Celleri said.
Alliance San Diego plans to host free mass workshops in the coming months for the community to get the help they need during this process. For more information on the organization visit alliancesd.org.
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