U.S. Immigration Policy

Let me begin by stating: Immigration & the whole system behind it is completely foreign to me. Fortunately, all of my family is here in the United States, and my heart breaks for the families that are separated by borders. I found a really great website that gave some insight of how the U.S. immigration system practices, and to my belief it’s a lot more complicated than I thought it was. There are six different categories people can fall under.

1-      Family Based Immigration- This allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents bring certain family members to the United States. Unfortunately you must be an immediate family member, and there are different requirements the person in the United States must uphold. One thing I found interesting is that you must be 21 or older to petition for a parent to come to the U.S. What happens if the child came over legally, but the parents had to stay in their home country? That child is without parents until their 21^st birthday. That is a ton of milestones missed out on.

2-      Employment-Based Immigration- These types of visas are temporary, allowed for people to come to the U.S. on employment. There are various types of these employment-based visas, ranging from visas for athletes, to diplomatic employees to migrant workers. There are only 140,000 visas per year, and they are divided into five categories depended on the job you are providing. I thought it was weird that there is a cap on how many people can come into the country. I didn’t know that before, and I still find it odd.

3-      Refugees and Asylees- I thought this category was thought provoking. This allows legal admission for people who are fleeing persecution or are unable to return to their homeland due to life threatening conditions. The different ways you can define those conditions are persecution due to race, membership in a social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin. Each year, the president determines how many refugee admissions they will allow. It has seemed in the last 3 years refugees admitted in the U.S. have fallen dramatically.

4-      The Diversity Visa Program- This was created in 1990 by the Immigration Act which was a channel for immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. I found the way they choose who comes over with a diversity visa a bit strange; you must have a high school diploma or have a minimum of 2 years working in a profession requiring at least 2 years of training or experience. Then a computer generated random lottery drawing chooses selectees for the visas. They are split up into six geographic areas with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration.

5-      Other forms of Humanitarian Relief- Temporary protected status is granted to people who are in the United States, but cannot return to their home because of a natural disaster, extraordinary temporary conditions, or ongoing armed conflict. The visa is granted to a country for six, 12 or 18 months and has the ability to be extended.

6-      U.S. Citizenship- I think this is by far the hardest to get. You must be 18 years old, demonstrate continuous residency, demonstrate “good moral character”, pass English and U.S. history and civics exams, and pay an application fee, among other requirements. I don’t even think I would be able to pass a history exam, let alone display good moral character. (just joking, I’m a pretty good person)

 

Overall, I think the immigration policy is confusing, However, I see that it is necessary to have in this country. I can’t wait to dive deeper into this subject in class, and learn more about the people this effects all around the world.