The House’s bill, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, qualifies a Dreamer as someone who was 18 or younger when they entered the country undocumented. To be a Dreamer, a person must also have been continuously physically present in the United States since January 1, 2021. If this applies, a Dreamer can obtain conditional permanent residence status for 10 years before they receive their green card. Being convicted of felonies, domestic violence, three or more misdemeanors, drug crimes, or crimes of moral turpitude will disqualify a person from this process. Exceptions of crimes include being the victim of certain domestic violence cases, nonviolent civil disobedience, specific marijuana crimes, minor traffic offenses, and crimes related to immigration status.
If you or someone you know does not qualify as a Dreamer in accordance with either bill, you may be happy to hear that a third immigration bill is being headed by President Biden, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021. Undocumented immigrants, including spouses and children, would be eligible for Lawful Prospective Immigrant (LPI) status if they were in the country on or before January 1, 2021. This would allow them to stay in the country, have work authorization, have social security cards, and leave the United States temporarily (no more than 180 days per year). This status would be renewed after six years, but after only five, people with LPI status would be eligible to be lawful permanent residents and get their green cards, assuming they pass security and criminal background checks. It would then take three years to become naturalized citizens, not the usual five. Others are eligible for this process too. The Center for Migration Studies reports, “Immigrants who engaged in ‘essential critical labor or services’ during the COVID-19 public health emergency, H-2A non-immigrants (temporary agricultural workers), and [temporary protected status] recipients would be eligible for LPI status.” Many more specific qualities might qualify a person for this process, so to check for yourself, visit https://cmsny.org/citizenship-act-2021-explainer/. This bill would also make changes to several different visas, labor protections, and other procedures, which may be of interest.