In a significant move aimed at balancing tougher immigration enforcement with more humane policies, President Joe Biden announced new rules that could positively impact many Nigerian families seeking visas to the United States.
The announcement is particularly beneficial for Nigerians
married to U.S. citizens, offering them a streamlined path to citizenship and
providing relief to thousands who have been waiting for a chance to regularize
their status.
The new rules will not expand eligibility for permanent
residency but rather streamline the process for those who already qualify.
That includes removing a requirement they leave the country
as part of the application process.
The new rules would apply to those present in the country
for at least 10 years and married to a US citizen before June 17, 2024 — which
the administration estimates to include some 500,000 people.
In addition, some 50,000 stepchildren of US citizens would
be eligible.
Those approved would be granted work authorization and the
right to stay in the United States for up to three years while they apply for
permanent residency.
Once someone has permanent residency — also known as a green
card — that person could in theory later apply for citizenship.
“What we are announcing are potentially streamlined
processes… (to) minimize the bureaucracy, minimize the hardship that having to
leave the country creates,” a senior administration official told reporters
ahead of the announcement.
However, “only Congress can deliver… comprehensive reform of
our immigration and asylum laws,” another official added.
A previous bipartisan immigration package pushed by Biden in
Congress would have introduced the strictest policies in decades, but fell
apart when Republicans walked away from the deal.
More recently, Biden signed an executive order shutting down
the border to asylum seekers after certain daily limits are hit — a move that
immediately drew criticism from the left and a legal challenge from rights
groups.
The administration has defended its asylum order and
characterized the congressional push as “the toughest and fairest set of
reforms in decades.”
Trump, meanwhile, has referred to immigrants as “poisoning
the blood of the country” and promised mass deportations of those in the
country illegally.
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