There are a number of different ways the United States is able to limit immigration and over crowding. Our immigration law is very complex and there are complicated ways to obtain a visa in the United States to legally stay here. There are 7 principals the United States bases visas for Immigration on.
1. Family-Based Immigration (1)
The family-based immigration category allows U.S. citizens to bring certain family members to the United States. People under the immediate relative's category have to meet certain criteria such as a certain age or financial status. If they are not admitted under immediate relatives they ware through the family preference system.
Examples of Immediate relatives are:
-
spouses of a U.S. citizens
- unmarried minor children of U.S. citizens (under 21-years-old)
- parents of U.S. citizens (must be at least 21-years-old to petition for a parent).
The number of family preference visas given out each year is monitored by Congress.
2. Employment-Based Immigration (2 types)
A. Temporary Visa Classifications: This type of visa is when an employer wants to hire a foreign employee for a specific job for a limited period of time. There are more than 20 types of visas for temporary nonimmigrant workers, including L-1 for intracompany transfers, P visas for athletes, entertainers, and skilled performers, R-1 visas for religious workers, and more.
B. Permanent Immigration: There is a limit of 140,000 per year in this category. It includes the immigrants and their eligible spouses and minor unmarried children, so that the actual number of immigrants is less than 140,000 per year. This category has 5 preference categories:
1. Persons of extraordinary ability in arts, science, education, business or athletics, professors and researchers, multinational executives and managers. (40,000 yearly limit)
2. Members of the professions holding advanced degrees or exceptional abilities in the arts, science, or business. (40,000 yearly limit)
3. Skilled workers with at least 2 years of training or experience, professionals with college degrees or "other" workers for unskilled labor. (40,000 yearly limit but "other" category of 5,000 yearly limit).
4. Special immigrants including religious workers, employees of US foreign service posts, former US government employees and others. (10,000 yearly limit)
5. Persons who will invest $500,000 to $1,000,000 in a job-creating enterprise that employs at least 10 full-time US workers. (10,000 yearly limit).
3. Per-Country Ceilings
In addition to the numerical limits, the INA also places a limit on immigrants per country. No group of permanent immigrants from a single country can exceed 7% of the total amount of people immigrating to the US in a single year.
4. Refugees and Asylees
This category is for people who are fleeing persecution or are unable to return to their homeland due to life-threatening conditions. The admission of refugees is based on numerous factors such as the degree of risk they face, membership in a group that is of special concern to the US, and whether or not they have family members in the U.S. The numerical ceiling is determined yearly by the President with help from Congress. This also includes certain limits for each region of the world. For 2016 the worldwide refugee limit was 85,000. Asylum is for persons already in the US who are seeking protections based on the same grounds as refugees. There is no limit on the number of people who may be granted asylum per year, and there are no specific categories.
5. The Diversity Visa Program
This is a lottery for immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration in the United States. Every year 55,000 visas are given to the countries that have less than 50,000 immigrants to the United States. This visa program benefits Africans and Eastern Europeans the most.
To be eligible for a diversity visa:
- Must have high-school education
- Have a minimum of 2 years working in a profession/ 2 years of training or experience in that profession
6. Other Forms go Humanitarian Relief
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
These types of visas are for people who can't go back to their country because of a natural disaster or a government conflict that effects civilians. These are granted to immigrants for either 6, 12, or 18 months but can be granted for longer if the conditions don't change.
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
This type of visa is similar to a TPS because it provides protection from deportation for individuals whose home countries are unstable and if they return it could be dangerous. They only difference between a TSP and a DED is that DED's is at the discretion of the executive branch.
7. U.S. Citizenship
In order to gain citizenship through naturalization an immigrant must have a LPR status or in other words a green card for the last five years.
How hard It is to get a Visa:
Some people think immigration should be allowed but regulated in the United States through boarder control and building a wall. Presidents Trump has created a lot more security along the boarders by adding the most boarder patrol agents we've ever had. (2)
"We’ve got a leaking boat on our border and we’re all quibbling with how much water’s in the boat and how fast we’re bailing it out. I think at this point the president’s been pretty clear. Enough is enough, fix the actual problem and stop that leak," Bossert said on ABC's "This Week." (2)
(1)Information Sources:
1. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-works
2. http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/382178-trump-aide-on-border-security-weve-got-a-leaking-boat
Image Sources:
1. U.S. Boarder Patrol, U.S. Customs And Boarder Protection
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2017/08/24/do-immigrants-steal-jobs-from-american-workers/
No comments:
Post a Comment