The White House yesterday gave lawmakers a framework for legislation that would give Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) a pathway to citizenship—one that President Trump would support.

However, the proposal also calls for ending green cards for all family members except spouses and children under the age of 18. That means naturalized U.S. citizens and permanent residents could no longer sponsor:

• Parents
• Unmarried adult children of naturalized U.S. citizens
• Unmarried adult children of permanent residents (green-card holders)
• Married adult children
• Siblings

Whether Congress can enact legislation in line with the White House proposal remains to be seen. Still, we recommend that U.S. citizens and green card holders waste no time in petitioning for green cards for family members while they still can.

Act Now

U.S. immigration law allows family migration—or chain migration. As such, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents can petition the government to allow close relatives to immigrate to the United States. 

Anyone who wants to sponsor family members for a green card should:

• Become a U.S. citizen as soon as possible, if not already one.
• Start the paperwork for their parents, siblings, or adult children right away so that the petitions will be grandfathered in if this proposal takes effect.

Currently, green cards for parents of U.S. citizens are available. This is the only category without a wait. However, if Congress adopts Trump’s proposal, wait times for green cards for the other family categories would be sped up.

White House Proposal

In addition to phasing out the ability of U.S. citizens and green-card holders to sponsor non-immediate family members for green cards, the White House proposal calls for:

• Giving undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children—or Dreamers—a pathway to citizenship.
• Creating a $25 billion trust fund for a border wall.
• Increasing funding for retaining and hiring more immigration law enforcement personnel, attorneys, judges, and prosecutors.
• Eliminating the Diversity Immigrant Visa program also known as the visa lottery.

We Can Help

The Alcorn Immigration Law team is closely monitoring the latest immigration developments. For a consultation about immigration options available to you or your family, contact us. We can help you find the best strategy.