If you are searching for a new green card law, two developments are worth knowing about, and neither offers an active application path right now. The Keeping Families Together parole in place program, announced in August 2024 for certain spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens, was vacated by a federal court in November 2024 and remains suspended. A separate bill in Congress would modernize the decades-old registry statute so that long-term residents could apply for permanent residency after seven years in the country, but it has not become law. Here is where each stands and what you can reasonably do in the meantime.
The Keeping Families Together Program
In August 2024, the Department of Homeland Security launched the Keeping Families Together (KFT) process using the federal parole authority in the Immigration and Nationality Act. That statute lets the Secretary of Homeland Security parole individuals into the country case by case for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens KFT extended that authority to people already living in the United States without formal admission, a concept known as parole in place.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Volume 3 – Part F – Chapter 1 – Purpose and Background
Parole in place is not itself a green card. It is a temporary authorization to remain in the country that also makes the recipient eligible to apply for permanent residency through adjustment of status, a process otherwise unavailable to someone who entered without inspection. That eligibility is what made the program significant for mixed-status families.
Why the Program Is Not Available Right Now
On November 7, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a final judgment vacating the entire Keeping Families Together process in State of Texas v. Department of Homeland Security, Case No. 24-cv-306. USCIS immediately stopped accepting new Form I-131F applications, halted adjudication of pending cases, and cancelled related biometrics appointments.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Keeping Families Together Applicants who had scheduled appointments at Application Support Centers were turned away.
As of mid-2026 the program is still suspended. USCIS is not accepting Form I-131F filings, and no court ruling has reversed the Texas decision. If you were planning to apply, or had a case pending when the court acted, there is currently no way to move forward under this program. It could potentially be revived through a successful appeal or new executive action, but nothing is guaranteed.
Who KFT Was Meant to Cover
The program had two tracks with different requirements. Understanding them still matters, because anyone who might have qualified should keep their documentation together in case the program returns in some form.
Noncitizen Spouses
To qualify, an applicant had to be present in the United States without admission or parole, continuously physically present since June 17, 2014 (a full 10 years before the program’s announcement), legally married to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024, and free of any disqualifying criminal history or public safety, national security, or border security concerns. Biometrics and background checks were required.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Keeping Families Together Marriages entered into after June 17, 2024 did not count.
Noncitizen Stepchildren
Stepchildren had a different set of rules. On June 17, 2024, they had to be under 21 and unmarried. They had to be present in the United States without admission or parole and continuously physically present since June 17, 2024, not the 10-year lookback used for spouses. Their noncitizen parent had to be married to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024, and that marriage had to occur before the stepchild’s 18th birthday. The same criminal history and security vetting rules applied.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Keeping Families Together
Each requestor, whether spouse or stepchild, would have filed a separate Form I-131F through their own USCIS online account.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens
How KFT Was Designed to Lead to a Green Card
Parole in place was a stepping stone, not a final status. If the program had continued, the U.S. citizen spouse or stepparent would file Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) to establish the qualifying family relationship. Once that petition was approved and a visa was available, the paroled individual could file Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) without leaving the country.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Keeping Families Together Because visas for spouses of U.S. citizens are considered immediately available, there is no years-long queue.
The I-485 process involves biometrics and, in many cases, an in-person interview at a USCIS field office where both the applicant and the petitioning spouse answer questions under oath. Applicants bring originals of previously submitted documents. Missing a biometrics appointment or interview can lead to denial.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
The Proposed Update to the Registry Law
Federal law already contains a green card path called registry. Under Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, someone can apply for a record of lawful admission for permanent residence if they entered the United States before January 1, 1972, and have lived here continuously ever since.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1259 – Record of Admission for Permanent Residence Congress last updated the entry date in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. The date has not been touched since, so the pool of people who still qualify has shrunk dramatically.
A bill in Congress would change that. The Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 was originally introduced as H.R. 1511 in the 118th Congress and expired without a vote.7Congress.gov. H.R. 1511 – Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 It was reintroduced in July 2025 as H.R. 4696 in the 119th Congress.8Congress.gov. H.R. 4696 – Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929
The key change is a rolling registry date. Instead of a fixed year that Congress must periodically update, anyone who has lived continuously in the United States for at least seven years would be eligible to apply for permanent residency through registry. The clock would advance automatically each year. If passed, the change could open a path to green cards for millions of long-term residents who have no other option.
The current moral character and security standards would remain. Applicants would still need to show continuous residence, good moral character, and no involvement in terrorism, Nazi persecution, genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killing, and would still face bars for smuggling, narcotics violations, and serious criminal conduct.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1259 – Record of Admission for Permanent Residence The bill widens who can apply by date; it does not loosen the conduct rules.
As of mid-2026, H.R. 4696 has not advanced out of committee. It is a proposal, not law.
The Existing Registry Path Is Still Open
If you entered the United States before January 1, 1972, and have lived here continuously since, the existing registry statute is still available. It leads directly to a green card, with no intermediate step. Very few people can use it because of the frozen date, but if you are one of them, it is a real pathway under current law.
What You Can Do Now
Neither program offers an application window today, so the useful work is preparation.
If you believe you would have qualified for Keeping Families Together, start assembling proof of continuous physical presence in the United States going back to at least June 2014. Rent receipts, utility bills, bank statements, children’s school records, and medical records from local providers all help build an unbroken timeline. Gaps were one of the most common weaknesses in KFT applications when the program was open, and applicants with organized evidence will be in a much stronger position than those reconstructing years of records against a filing deadline if the program is revived.
If a rolling registry becomes law, similar documentation, covering at least the past seven years, will matter for the same reason.
Filing an application, even in a suspended program, put personal information into government databases. If a future version of the KFT program launches, that is worth weighing against the benefit before deciding to apply, particularly for anyone whose only current immigration status is undocumented.