Parole in place to get 'green card' for family

Photo By Keith Hayes | Members of the U.S. military who have married undocumented immigrants can apply for a permanent resident card to keep their spouses in the country legally under the "parole in place" program.  

BARSTOW, CA, UNITED STATES

10.22.2015

Story by Keith Hayes 

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

Members of the U.S. military who have married undocumented immigrants can apply for a permanent resident card to keep their spouses in the country legally under the “parole in place” program.

Gena Moreno, legal aide with Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton legal assistance office, said the parole in place program has officially been in existence since 2013. However, the laws allowing granting of so-called 'green cards' to the spouses of active-duty military members and veterans have been on the books for more than a decade.

“The law is designed to make sure that the active-duty military member doesn’t have to worry about their spouse or step-children being deported because they were in the country illegally,” Moreno said.

“The program does not grant the person American citizenship, but does allow them to stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation,” she said.

To successfully apply for the legal status of “paroled in place,” the military member must have married someone already in the country. Moreno said they also have to prove that extreme hardship would occur to the point where they would be unable to complete their mission as a Marine, Soldier, Sailor or Airman if their spouse were deported.

Moreno said if the undocumented immigrant has been married to the member of the military for less than two years, the program would clear the way to apply for a two-year green card.

“If after two years the marriage proves to be legitimate, then the spouse could get a ten-year green card,” explained Moreno.

This is to prevent so-called sham marriages where a person marries a lawful resident of the country just to get a permanent resident card and then dissolves the marriage, Moreno said.

“Eighty-five percent of the active-duty military who apply for immigration help with my office do so through the parole in place program,” Moreno said, “and of the 175 people I have helped apply under the program there has not been one case of sham marriage.”

Moreno pointed out that her office aboard Camp Pendleton helps out any branch of the military on the West Coast, not just Marines.

Although there are immigration attorneys that can handle the filing for a fee, the service Moreno provides is free.

“Any active-duty member who wants help with the parole in place program needs to contact the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton legal assistance office,” Moreno said. “There is no charge to apply."

• Date Taken: 10.22.2015
• Date Posted: 10.23.2015 15:33
• Story ID: 179778
• Location: BARSTOW, CA, US