Solutions

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Immigration Reform Now must be completed at the Federal level.  

Individual states are creating immigration laws that are immoral and unconstitutional as seen in Arizona, Georgia and Alabama.  

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We expect:

1. Protect National Security, any reform must take this into account border control and/or knowing who is here at any time. 

2. Safely and securely identify all persons inside our borders.  A path to lawful permanent residency (PTR) for undocumented immigrants without the full political rights of citizenship.  This ID passes muster for obtaining state drivers’ licenses, bank accounts.  Allow sponsorships by churches, families and individuals of undocumented individuals/families.

3. Activate section 245(i) creating a viable manner for spouses to obtain papers without undue hardship.

4. Pass the Dream Act.

The Politically Moderate Solution To Our Immigration Problems

Some ideas from contributors:

I’ve had a number of heated discussions with those who have family members who immigrated legally.   Admirers of legal immigrants argue that a path to citizenship is not fair to those who wait their turn. 

Now, there’s a flaw in this reasoning, because almost all undocumented immigrants came here after reaching the conclusion that their turn would never come, that there was no line to wait in.  In our very flawed legal immigration system, which should be liberalized, a Mexican high school graduate with a family will have to wait 120 years before immigrating legally.   Nobody can wait that long.  But some people who are fortunate enough to fall into favored immigration categories have shorter waits and do patiently cooperate for years before being allowed to come.  

A path to residency helps those who didn’t have a chance to immigrate legally, but still puts them behind legal immigrants in political status.  If legal immigrants become citizens, they get to vote and run for office.  Permanent residents won’t have those political rights; in fact, their political status will be the equivalent of convicted felons who can’t vote.  PTR can satisfy  liberals without scaring off moderate conservatives,  and it takes politics out of a deeply divisive issue.  It’s moderate, right down the political center, and I believe that it’s the answer to our immigration conundrum.  With lives hanging in the balance, we shouldn’t kick this can down the road any longer. 

1. National Security, any reform must take this into account- whether it’s border control or knowing who is here at any time.

2. Dealing with the 10-15 million illegals already present. 

Give them a way to earn their resident status, and then, 5 years later, their citizenship.

First, by letting them come out of the shadows, have biometrics taken to separate criminals from normal folks, letting them have work authorization and find a sponsor- either a family member or an employer willing to stand up for them and say this person is a valuable member of the community.

With employment, getting a tax payer id, paying taxes etc., the person can earn their place in line behind those who have done everything legally to become a permanent resident. They would not jump in ahead of people waiting 5 -10 years or more for their green card. (Of course Congress could authorize more visa numbers but that’s another story).

3. Dealing with future flows.

Part of the problem is that we have no way for most labor to come legally. Therefore when faced with starvation/low employment there (where ever there is) and opportunity here, they come illegally.

The ironic thing is that many used to come for a period of time, earn a nest egg, and go home. Now with the increased border controls, its made it harder for people to go home (possibly never being able to come back for future money earning opportunities), thus giving them a reason to stay and to bring their families here.

Something needs to be created, that is responsive to ECONOMIC push pull factors/free markets and makes sense for the employer and the potential employee.

The market does tend to self-regulate. With H1B’s (temporary work visas for people with a college degree or higher and an employer sponsor) there are 50,000 visas available per year. Before the economy crashed, there would be 150,000 application submitted on the first day USCIS accepted applications- making it a $15,000 lottery (between Government filing fees and attorney fees) for companies wanting to sponsor people. Since the crash, I don’t believe the quota has been reached once. Why would a company pay more for someone when there are plenty of people looking for work unless they really do want them?

245(i) was a great thing. To become a permanent resident is a 2-step process, if it is family-based sponsorship, and a 3-step process if employment based.

If family based, the spouse or parent or adult USC sibling files the family preference application, the I-130 petitioning for their relative. That is step one and is fairly straightforward for parents/siblings with birth certificates. Spouses can be tricky because people do enter into fraudulent marriages to obtain immigration benefits and immigration tries to catch that.

• Step 2 is for the alien to apply to become a permanent resident based on the USC/LPR’s I-130 petition. The alien must be in legal status (as a tourist, student, H1B etc.) to be able to adjust status based on some of the categories of sponsors. If the alien spouse of a USC made a legal entry and then overstayed their visa, it doesn’t matter, they can still adjust status to that of a permanent resident. If the alien spouse of a USC made an illegal entry, then they can’t adjust status. They can consular process their visa- go home and apply at the embassy. But if they have been in the US illegally for a year or longer, then there is a 10 year bar against them coming to the US. The bar MIGHT be waived at the discretion of the consular officer and depending on the extreme hardship to the USC relative if not allowed to return. But  that’s only a might.

  So 245(i) did a couple of things: 

It permitted more ready consular processing. Meaning, you didn’t need to file a waiver and if there were no criminal issues and all were convinced the marriage was legitimate, then the alien returned as a permanent resident.

It did other things that allowed people to adjust status if they qualified on other merits and had qualifying petitioners, but that is what your friend is talking about.

• Step 3 is that employers is really a first step. They have to file an application with the Department of Labor to certify that the business can have problems finding a qualified USC or permanent resident to do a particular job, Once that is certified, then the company files a preference application with USCIS to approve what the DOL Certified. Then, if a visa number is available, the alien can apply to become a permanent resident, assuming they have been in status the 2-10 years this takes and assuming the sponsoring company can show ability to pay the DOL wage the entire time and is still in business.

Priority date is the date the alien gets in line to become a permanent resident. That date is established when the petitioning family member files the I-130 or the company files the Labor Certificate with the DOL. Depending on the category or the country of origin, some of the waits are quite lengthy. The Department of State controls the visa numbers and they have a visa bulletin showing where the numbers are http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html.