Congress·In Committee·H.R. 2366

House Committee Reviews American Families United Act to Shield U.S. Citizen Spouses from Deportation

American Families United Act

12 months ago·View on Congress.gov

⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

Lets immigration officials and judges more often stop deportation cases for spouses and children of U.S. citizens when separation would cause hardship.
Creates a starting assumption that separating a family is a hardship, which could make it easier to argue for staying in the U.S.
Allows extra flexibility for widows, widowers, and surviving children of a U.S. citizen who died, as long as they ask for help within 2 years (or show extraordinary reasons).
Adds options like waiving certain immigration barriers, pausing new removal charges, or letting someone apply again for admission in family-based cases.
Lets some people ask to reopen old denials or removal orders if they would likely have won under these new rules, usually within 2 years after the law takes effect.

Immigration

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(2)

Criminal Record

Neutral

Federal Employee

Neutral

Positive Impacts(5)

Child Tax Credit

Helps

Immigrant

Helps

Undocumented

Helps

Green Card

Helps

Visa Holder

Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Mar 26, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Mar 26, 2025

Introduced in House

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Immediately after the bill becomes law

Eligible families can start asking for case-by-case discretion to stop deportation or grant waivers (once the bill is enacted).

Some spouses/children of U.S. citizens may be able to stay in the U.S. while their situation is reviewed, instead of being pushed quickly toward deportation.

Soon after the bill becomes law

People with older denials or removal orders can file motions to reopen or reconsider under the new rules.

This creates a “second chance” window for some families—especially if separation hardship is the main issue in their case.

2 years after the bill becomes law

Two-year filing window closes for most motions to reopen/reconsider based on this bill (unless extraordinary circumstances are shown).

Families who wait too long may lose the easiest path to get an old case looked at again, even if they would have had a strong hardship argument.

Within 2 years after the U.S. citizen’s death (unless extraordinary circumstances)

Surviving spouses/children of a deceased U.S. citizen must generally request this specific discretion within two years of the citizen’s death (with limited exceptions).

If you’re grieving and also dealing with immigration paperwork, missing this deadline could make it much harder to stay or to fix status.

Related News

3 articles

Texas Standard·about 5 years ago

Couple Separated By A Border Hopes New Legislation Gives Them Another Chance At Love And Reunion

This report details the reintroduction of the American Families United Act, explaining how it would grant federal officials discretion to review immigration cases on a case-by-case basis to prevent the separation of U.S. citizen families.

Center for Public Integrity·about 7 years ago

Americans' immigration emergency: Their spouses could be deported, or exiled

An investigative look at the 1996 immigration law's 'permanent bars' and the American Families United Act, which seeks to restore judicial discretion to keep families together when a U.S. citizen spouse is involved.

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West Orlando News·2 months ago

Study Found Immigration Enforcement Hurting American Citizens, Dignity Act Solution

The article discusses a national study on the harms of immigration enforcement and points to the American Families United Act (as part of the Dignity Act) as a legislative fix to prevent family separation.