The Obama administration is planning to allow more illegal immigrants to stay in the US without penalty as they wait for their visas by expanding a waiver programme enacted by President Barack Obama in 2013.

In the original waiver programme, illegal immigrants could stay in the US if they have a spouse or parent who is a US citizen and if they could prove that leaving would result in an "extreme hardship" for their parent or spouse, according to the Washington Free Beacon

But this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposal that expands the criteria that illegal immigrants could use to stay in the US beyond spouses and parents who badly need them.

"DHS proposes to expand the class of aliens who may be eligible for a provisional waiver beyond immediate relatives of US citizens to aliens in all statutorily eligible immigrant visa categories," the proposal states.

If approved, the new rule would benefit family-sponsored immigrants, employment-based immigrants, certain special immigrants, and Diversity Visa program selectees and their derivative spouses and children.

The expanded waiver would protect illegal immigrants from being deported while they wait for their visas. The waiver would also protect them from being slapped with multiple-year ban from returning to the US.

Under current federal law, an illegal immigrant found to have stayed in the US for less than one year is banned from returning for three years. If the illegal immigrant is found to have stayed for longer than a year, he is barred from returning to the US for 10 years.

With the waiver programme, illegal immigrants can avoid these penalties.

However, the Center for Immigration Studies said the waiver policy will produce negative results.

"It makes it possible for illegal aliens to avoid the consequences established by Congress to deter people from settling here illegally and then laundering their status by adjusting to a green card," according to Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies.

She said the change would increase fraud.

"It is a slap in the face to the many legal immigrants who abide by the law, follow the process, and wait their turn. In addition, it will increase the likelihood of fraud in the marriage categories, which produce tens of thousands of new green cards each year," she said.

The public has until Sept. 21 to comment on the proposed rule.