SAN DIEGO — Biden Administration officials are faced with a lawsuit over a new program making it easier for undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to get green cards while staying in the U.S.
Immigration attorney Jacob Sapochnick said before the Parole in Place program, an undocumented immigrant married to a U.S. citizen would have to leave the country to attend a green card interview at the U.S. Embassy overseas. He said wait times for interviews can be three or four years and don't guarantee entry back into the U.S.
"With this new program, once you get a parole, which will take less than a month, you can apply for Adjustment of Status inside the United States and get your green card in less than a year," Sapochnick said. "So it's a huge, huge difference."
To qualify, you must have been married to a U.S. citizen before June 17, have lived in the United States for at least ten years and have no criminal record. About half a million people in the U.S. are eligible, including many in San Diego.
"We're border towns, so we have a lot of families that have parents who maybe are stuck in Tijuana, maybe they are partially here," Sapochnick said.
16 Republican-led states filed a lawsuit Friday against the Department of Homeland Security and other Biden Administration officials. It said the administration bypassed Congress and the program is for "political purposes" and worsens the immigration crisis.
Sapochnick said Parole in Place is an executive order which doesn't need Congress approval. He said it is similar to the DACA program.
"DACA was never passed by Congress, and it's a similar thing," he said. "Any government has the authority to enact executive action if they feel it can benefit its citizens, and in this case, it's done for family unity."
He also said its similar to DACA because he thinks Republican leaders behind the lawsuit will be granted an injunction to halt applications in the program. However, this means people accepted into Parole in Place before the injunction will get to stay in the program.
"Anyone that was already in the program, they'll continue to receive those benefits, they can't just erase it," Sapochnick said.
Online applications opened Monday and cost $580. Approval into the program can take as little as 24 hours.
Sapochnick said there will likely be a hearing on the injunction sometime this week. He thinks it will be granted, but the government will likely reverse it in the future.
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