The path to obtaining a permanent resident card in the U.S. could become less burdensome for some parents, children and spouses of U.S. citizens after a change was announced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The recent change will cut the amount of time some undocumented immigrants have to be separated from immediate family members while on the road to legal status. Therefore, instead of having to spend a number of months or even years in their own country, a person might only face as few as a couple of weeks outside the United States.

The change could make a huge difference for the families who are dependent upon the undocumented relative for things such as raising children, healthcare, food and even paying other expenses. The USCIS statement by Alejandro Mayorkas the Director, said the law provides for less extreme hardship for citizens of the U.S.

The new amended process is available only to undocumented immigrants who are able to prove the immediate members of their family would suffer great hardship if they were absent for an extended period, as well as other criteria. The USCIS did not have an idea as to the number of people expected to apply, but a newspaper in Los Angeles reported that the new change would impact up to one million of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.

The new amending of the process is necessary because the current law requires that some of the undocumented immigrants, as part of their application process for their green card, leave the U.S. If a person entered U.S. soil illegally, then they are required to apply from their homeland. However, once that person is no longer in the U.S., they could be required to not re-enter for up to ten years, depending on how long of a time they had been in the U.S. without authorization.