There are many different types of relatives that a U.S. permanent resident or a U.S. citizen with foreign relatives may wish to have come live with them in America. Also, there are all different kinds of circumstances that can be present when it comes to such families. So, the range of different kinds of family immigration matters that can come up is extensive indeed.
When U.S. immigration issues arise for family, handling the issues in the right way given the specifics connected to them can be vital. So, when a family is seeking to have a relative admitted into the U.S. or dealing with other U.S. immigration matters, they may want the guidance and help of a skilled immigration lawyer.
Among the things the family immigration process can involve is a lot of waiting. Due to visa caps, it can sometimes take a long time for an eligible relative that a U.S. citizen or permanent resident is petitioning to have allowed to come live in the U.S. to get a visa. For some types of family immigration, this wait time can go on for years.
Generally, during this wait time, the relative the petition is for has to stay living outside the country and is not allowed to come to the U.S. until their visa is ready. However, there are some programs that the government has that create narrow exceptions to this.
One new such program is just about to start. The program is called the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program. Under this program, certain relatives of Filipino World War II veteran U.S. citizens/permanent residents who are waiting for a visa in relation to a family immigration petition may qualify to be allowed to come into and stay in the U.S. on parole status during the wait period for their visa. Whether requests for such parole status will be granted when the general eligibility requirements are met will be a discretionary decision for the government and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
The program is scheduled to become active in early June.
As this soon-to-start program illustrates, there are a range of different special circumstances that could have impacts on what sorts of immigration-related options are available for a family when it comes to family immigration matters.
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “USCIS to Implement Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program,” May 9, 2016