8 CFR § 236.12 - Eligibility.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t8/s236.12"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "8 CFR § 236.12 - Eligibility."
title_number: 8
title_name: "Aliens and Nationality"
section_number: "236.12"
section_name: "Eligibility."
chapter_name: "DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS"
part_number: "236"
part_name: "APPREHENSION AND DETENTION OF INADMISSIBLE AND DEPORTABLE ALIENS; REMOVAL OF ALIENS ORDERED REMOVED"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a; 6 U.S.C. 112(a)(2), 112(a)(3), 112(b)(1), 112(e), 202, 251, 279, 291; 8 U.S.C. 1103, 1182, 1224, 1225, 1226, 1227, 1231, 1232, 1324a, 1357, 1362, 1611; 18 U.S.C. 4002, 4013(c)(4); 8 CFR part 2."
regulatory_source: "62 FR 10360, Mar. 6, 1997, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "236"
---


# 236.12 Eligibility.

(a) *General.* An alien who is not a lawful permanent resident is eligible to apply for benefits under the Family Unity Program if he or she establishes:

(1) That he or she entered the United States before May 5, 1988 (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2)(B) or (b)(2)(C) of section 301 of IMMACT 90), or as of December 1, 1988 (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2)(A) of section 301 of IMMACT 90), and has been continuously residing in the United States since that date; and

(2) That as of May 5, 1988, (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2)(B) or (b)(2) (C) of section 301 of IMMACT 90) or as of December 1, 1988, (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2) (A) of section 301 of IMMACT 90), he or she was the spouse or unmarried child of a legalized alien, and that he or she has been eligible continuously since that time for family-sponsored immigrant status under section 203(a) (1), (2), or (3) or as an immediate relative under section 201 (b)(2) of the Act based on the same relationship.

(b) *Legalization application pending as of May 5, 1988 or December 1, 1988.* An alien whose legalization application was filed on or before May 5, 1988 (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2)(B) or (b)(2)(C) of section 301 of IMMACT 90), or as of December 1, 1988 (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2)(A) of section 301 of IMMACT 90), but not approved until after that date will be treated as having been a legalized alien as of May 5, 1988 (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2)(B) or (b)(2)(C) of section 301 of IMMACT 90), or as of December 1, 1988 (in the case of a relationship to a legalized alien described in subsection (b)(2)(A) of section 301 of IMMACT 90), for purposes of the Family Unity Program.

[62 FR 10360, Mar. 6, 1997, as amended at 65 FR 43679, July 14, 2000]