Top 10 fixes No. 6 – Apply Child Status Protection Act to aged-out children as it was intended
This is about the Child Status Protection Act, and why our courts, consulates, and the US Citizenship & Immigration Service need to start applying the law as it was intended to protect certain children’s rights in the immigration process. This blog entry is NOT about the “Dream Act” or about creating new visa categories for undocumented children.
Stop blaming the recession on immigrants
As the economy struggles in recession, an old debate becomes new: the question of immigrants' impact on the U.S. economy.
Top Ten Immigration Fixes -- No. 7 End the distinction between someone who overstays and someone who enters without inspection.
One of the most illogical notions contained in our immigration laws is found within our “adjustment of status” statute. Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a), once an immigrant visa petition is approved and an immigrant visa is immediately available, any alien “inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States” is eligible to apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residency without leaving the United States. For example, if a man from Kenya enters the United States as a tourist and decides to overstay his visa, but later legitimately marries a United States citizen, he is eligible to apply for residency inside the United States. This is true no matter how long the person was here out of status. But, if a man from Mexico sneaks into the United States but later legitimately marries a United States citizen, he is ineligible to pursue legalization within the United States because he was not “inspected, admitted or paroled.” For purposes of legalizing one’s status within the United States, there should be no distinction between one who overstayed and one who entered without inspection. Each applicant has to go through a battery of security checks. The end result with each would be a documented alien and an intact family. President George H.W. Bush attempted to end the distinction when he signed into law 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i) -- also called § 245(i). The law allowed undocumented aliens otherwise eligible for residency the opportunity to apply within the United States upon payment of a fine. But the law had a sunset provision. The sunset date was extended three times through bills signed by President Clinton. But 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i) expired on April 30, 2001. President George W. Bush supported its renewal consistently, but the provision was never renewed. The result is more undocumented individuals in the United States who are otherwise eligible for residency but for the manner in which they entered out country. They cannot leave because of the unlawful presence bars (see our previous blogs) and cannot apply in the United States because of the manner in which our “adjustment of status” statute was drafted. So these individuals stay in our country illegally. This is another easy fix which continues to fails because opponents scream amnesty.
"Minor" Travel? Think Again!
One of the foundations of comprehensive immigration reform is fixing a problem that Congress created in 1996 - the creation of the 3 year, 10 year, and permanent bars. The bars have created a "Catch 22" where thousands of foreign nationals are ELIGIBLE for green cards but can't obtain the card in the USA due to unlawful presence and can't go home to obtain the card because our government won't let them back in. So they stay here and stay illegal. The U.S. Consulate in CD Juarez, Mexico and our Federal Courts have now made the problem worse by declaring that the permanent bar can apply to children!!
Top 10 Fixes --No.8 H-1B Visa Reform Needed
H-1B visas are granted each year to professional foreign workers, each of whom needs to be sponsored by a U.S. company that couldn't find an American worker who has the needed skills. But that quota for each year is typically filled before the fiscal year even begins, resulting in a computerized, random lottery with a 15-30% chance of an employer's petition for a worker being accepted for processing. The result is that small and large businesses can easily lose out, after going through all the paperwork requirements 6-8 months ahead of time, paying USCIS goverment application filing fees up to $3320 per worker, and exhausting human resources efforts to hire qualified talent for their businesses. Starting with the Immigration Act of 1990, Congress arbitrarily fixed the numerical limit, referred to as a cap, for the number of H-1Bs that would be available each year. The H-1B cap was set at 65,000 per year. Several exemptions from this H-1B cap have been added via subsequent legislation, the most important of which is 20,000 visas for persons holding a U.S. Master's degree. The cap was temporarily increased from 1999 to 2003, reaching a maximum of 195,000 per year. But since 2004, the cap was reduced back to the 65,000/20,000 limits.
Military Offers Path to Citizenship for Nonimmigrants
The NY Times reports that the military is now so in need of soldiers that they are opening spots to nonimmigrants. The bonus -- U.S. citizenship in as little as 6 months.
NY Times Exposes Myth of ICE Enforcement
In an article published Feb 3, 2009, the NY Times exposed what Immigration Attorneys and Advocates have been screaming for months -- that ICE is focusing primarily on the low hanging fruit -- immigrants here without authorization who have no criminal record and no past deportations.
Interactions with the Police
HOW TO DEAL WITH POLICE IF YOU ARE A SUSPECT
