HR 3524119th CongressIn Committee

Protect Patriot Spouses Act

Introduced: May 20, 2025

Immigration

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Protect Patriot Spouses Act would make a narrow class of military spouses eligible for U.S. immigrant status with fewer barriers than currently required. Specifically, it creates a pathway for certain foreign spouses of U.S. citizens who are or were married to service members (active duty or reserve) and who have an eligible immediate-relative petition, to be treated as having been inspected and admitted into the United States for purposes of adjusting status. It also allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive several typical grounds of inadmissibility if the spouse does not pose a public- safety risk and has no relevant criminal history. The same waivers apply in determining admissibility under another part of the INA (for those being processed as immigrants). The bill further provides a process for spouses who were removed or who departed the U.S. before enactment to apply from abroad, and it creates a program to permit a limited nonimmigrant entry while their immigrant visa case or adjustment of status is pending, to reunite with their U.S. citizen spouse. In short, the act seeks to reduce some barriers to obtaining a green card for military spouses by deeming them admitted, allowing certain waivers, and creating a pathway for those already removed or departed to pursue immigration from abroad, with a temporary nonimmigrant option to stay near their spouse during processing.

Key Points

1Creates an eligible class: foreign spouses of U.S. citizens who are, or were, serving on active duty or in a reserve component and were discharged honorably; the spouse must be the beneficiary of an immediate-relative petition under section 204(a)(1)(A).
2Adjustment of status pathway: for those described, the bill would treat them as having been inspected and admitted for purposes of the adjustment process, and would bar certain traditional grounds of inadmissibility (6(A), 7(A), 9(B)) from applying.
3Waivers of additional grounds: the Secretary of Homeland Security could, at her/his discretion, waive other grounds (6(C), 9(A), 9(C)) if the spouse does not pose a public threat and has no unrelated criminal offenses.
4Parallel treatment under another provision: the same eligibility and waiver framework applies when determining immigrant admissibility under a different section of the INA (section 212) for these military spouses.
5Path for those already removed or departed: the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State would take steps to allow eligible spouses who were removed or left voluntarily before enactment to apply from abroad for an immigrant visa.
6Temporary nonimmigrant option during adjudication: the agencies would establish a program allowing a pending case to proceed with the nonimmigrant admission of the spouse to reunite with the U.S. citizen spouse while the immigrant visa or adjustment of status is pending, subject to ensuring no public-safety or national-security concerns, and allowing certain waivers of standard inadmissibility grounds for nonimmigrant entry.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected:- Foreign nationals who are or were married to U.S. citizens serving on active duty or in the reserve and who are eligible for an immediate-relative petition. These military spouses would have a streamlined path to lawful permanent residency (green card) and could be treated as having been admitted for purposes of adjustment.Secondary group/area affected:- U.S. service members and their families, who may experience faster or more predictable outcomes in stabilizing family status during or after service.- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) workloads, since processing would involve waivers of certain inadmissibility grounds and possibly more cases qualifying for adjustment.- U.S. Department of State (consular processing) and the foreign-born spouses who might apply from abroad or return with a nonimmigrant status during processing.Additional impacts:- Security and public-safety considerations: while waivers are allowed, they require the applicant to show no public threat and no related criminal offenses, potentially shifting some scrutiny to discretion exercised by DHS.- Administrative and legal clarity: the bill uses terms like “inspected and admitted” and specifies waivers across different INA provisions, which could affect how certain eligibility determinations are made and documented.- Potential changes in processing timelines and backlogs for military spouses, depending on how the waivers and new pathways interact with existing immigration queues.Adjustment of status: a process in which an eligible individual in the U.S. applies to become a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) without having to leave the country.Inspected and admitted: a term used in immigration law to indicate an individual has been formally checked at a point of entry and allowed to enter; this bill treats certain spouses as if they had been so inspected/admitted for purposes of adjustment.Grounds of inadmissibility (INA sections referenced): certain crimes, fraudulent entry, misrepresentation, or other issues that can bar someone from getting a green card. The bill allows the DHS Secretary to waive some of these when the applicant is a military spouse and does not pose a risk.Immediate relative (section 201(b), 204(a)(1)(A)): generally refers to spouses, unmarried children under 21, and certain other close relatives of U.S. citizens for immigration purposes. Here it applies to the spouse of a U.S. citizen service member who files the petition.

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