Immigration is at the forefront of this year’s presidential election, and the candidates are expected to debate how the country should handle the large number of undocumented immigrants. Since 1996, while the number of undocumented immigrants has grown considerably, the opportunities to regularize one’s status have narrowed, even for those who have a U.S. citizen spouse. In fact, in our daily practice of representing U.S. employers who sponsor foreign workers, we often find that there is a misconception that an undocumented person who is married to a U.S. citizen can “fix” his/her immigration status in a relatively straightforward manner.
While this may be true in some circumstances, in most cases the reality is that immigration has become more and more difficult over the past 20 years as Congress has passed laws that have made the “path to citizenship” more difficult and complicated than ever before. This article will explain some key changes that occurred in 1996 and created “mixed status” families (where one spouse is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, i.e., green card holder, and the other is undocumented), along with recent regulations that provide some relief.
Background
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
