A new executive order from the Biden administration starts to provide immigrants with protection from deportation

Under present legislation, noncitizen spouses are already eligible for legal status, but they frequently have to apply from their home countries and risk having their ability to return to the United States banned for up to ten years. On June 18, President Joe Biden announced an executive action. In order to qualify for the program, applicants must be in the country unlawfully and pass background checks. They also have to prove they’ve lived in the country for at least a decade and must be married to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024. A recent applicant Cecilia sat in front of her computer repeatedly refreshing the USCIS webpage on Monday, waiting for the application for the “Keeping Families Together” program to show up on her screen. Minutes later, she clicked it open and submitted the form. She received the email with the news she had been waiting for for the past twenty years around a day or so later. According to a USCIS official who spoke with ABC News, applicants who have accurately filed their biographical information and already have other pending applications may be given priority by the agency.