Family Reunification - Family Reunification in The United States - Immigration of Parents

Immigration of Parents

Under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

Under existing law, parents of United States citizens may be sponsored for immigration by their adult citizen children (those at least 21 years of age) under certain conditions. The child must demonstrate the financial ability to provide for the parents. In addition to this under current law and USCS policy individuals who entered illegally (EWI or Entry without Inspection) may not adjust in the country. However, leaving the United States triggers a ban on entering the U.S. If the parent was present in the U.S. for only between 180–364 days, the parent will receive a three-year ban. However, as is more common if the parent was present for 365 days or more, the parent will receive a ten-year ban on entering the United States. Unless, the parent is willing to live out the ban outside the country, the parent may not regularize their status through the child. Parents who enter legally will not have to leave the U.S. to adjust their status unless they entered on K visas or entered on J visas and did not obtain a waiver for the foreign-stay period

Having US-citizen minor children has been mischaracterized as being beneficial in deportation proceedings: such benefits do not exist except in the very rare case of extreme and profound hardship on the child. The number of such hardship waivers is capped at 5000 per year. Federal appellate courts have upheld the refusal by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to stay the deportation of illegal immigrants merely on the grounds that they have U.S.-citizen, minor children.

There are some 3.1 million United-States-citizen children with at least one illegal immigrant parent as of 2005. At least 13,000 American children had one or both parents deported in the years 2005-2007.