Sponsors (4)
The bill makes it substantially easier for spouses of U.S. citizens—especially military spouses and some removed applicants—to obtain or pursue lawful status and short-term entry, prioritizing family reunification and relief, while increasing administrative workload, raising fairness and enforcement concerns, and introducing some legal uncertainty.
Spouses of U.S. citizens (including those currently serving or who served in the military) can more easily obtain lawful permanent residence: treated as inspected and admitted, shielded from certain unlawful-presence bars, may enter temporarily as nonimmigrants while immigrant/adjustment applications are pending, and removed/voluntarily departed eligible applicants can apply from abroad.
Eligible spouses with certain prior immigration or criminal issues gain access to waivers (eliminating or permitting discretionary relief from specific inadmissibility grounds), creating a pathway to status for people who would otherwise be barred.
U.S. citizen families can reunite sooner because eligible immigrant spouses may be admitted temporarily as nonimmigrants while their immigrant-visa or adjustment applications are processed.
Immigrants and taxpayers may perceive unequal or preferential treatment because the bill reduces enforcement barriers specifically for spouses of U.S. citizens (notably military spouses), which could undermine public perceptions of fairness in immigration enforcement.
DHS, consulates, and applicants will face increased administrative and processing burdens: expanded waiver authority, new admission procedures, and added vetting will raise workload, complexity, potential delays, and administrative costs.
Broad discretionary waiver authority risks inconsistent decisionmaking and uncertainty for applicants across officers, offices, and consulates.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Permits certain spouses of U.S. citizen service members to adjust status or receive immigrant visas despite some inadmissibility grounds, and allows temporary nonimmigrant entry while cases are pending.
Introduced May 20, 2025 by Darren Michael Soto · Last progress May 20, 2025
Allows certain spouses of U.S. citizen service members (active duty or reserve, and those honorably discharged) who are beneficiaries of immediate-relative I-130 petitions to adjust to lawful permanent resident status despite some common grounds of inadmissibility. It treats eligible spouses as having been inspected and admitted for adjustment purposes and makes several inadmissibility grounds inapplicable or waivable at DHS discretion if the spouse is not a public threat and has no unrelated criminal offenses. Also directs the Departments of Homeland Security and State to let eligible spouses who were previously removed or who voluntarily departed apply abroad under the new rules and to create a program to allow eligible consular applicants with pending immigrant cases (and related adjustment applications) to enter the United States temporarily as nonimmigrants while their immigrant cases are pending, subject to security screening and DHS waivers of certain inadmissibility grounds.