It is not a simple process for these individuals to get legal status so easily. It involves a lot of policies and procedures to get through this. Some of the policies are even outdated which makes it difficult for these individuals to obtain legal status. To apply for a green card, they may have to go back to the country for consular processing where they get barred from entering into the country for a certain period as a penalty. Even after the restriction period comes to an end, there is no guarantee that they will be allowed or able to return to the United States to their family.