Undocumented may get a path to citizenship

Iwas born in April 1997 and came to the United States in August 2013 illegally. I don’t qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, but will Congress ever provide relief for young people like me?

Not yet, but proposed legislation may provide you a path to U.S. citizenship. The Dream Act of 2021 introduced in the U.S. Senate by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham grants undocumented youth conditional permanent residence. To qualify, an applicant must have come to the United States before age 18 and have been here four years before the bill becomes law.

Conditional residence could become permanent with college graduation, employment or military service. I’m optimistic that the Dream Act will become law this year and that Congress will provide a path to citizenship for those with Temporary Protected Status.

Whether DACA and TPS-holders get relief depends on successful advocacy by immigrants’ rights activists. In other words, you and me.

I am a U.S. citizen and married my husband in 2018. He has his green card and plans to apply to naturalize once he qualifies under the three-year rule for a spouse of a U.S. citizen. If we file separate tax returns, will he nevertheless qualify to become a U.S. citizen?

M. You and your husband can file separate returns as “married filing separately.” A married couple living together sometimes pays less in taxes this way. A problem arises only if one spouse files as head of household (as opposed to married filing separately) to save money on taxes.

Married individuals may file as head of household only if they and their spouse are living apart. People who earned so little money that tax filing isn’t required can naturalize without showing tax returns.

For those with more income, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services considers failure to file tax returns as a lack of the good moral character required to naturalize.

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