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For donkey years I've been talking about this and posting here on this subject. I'm sure you guys have heard about this in the news, right?
So, seems like some of this stuff may come to pass. Certainly the proposed changes here below, if implemented wont happen overnight, but wow – this is huge. HUGE! If it comes to pass. Either way – SOMEthing's coming.
If u or ur peeps or any family or friend you know is thinking about filing for someone, I urge you – move forward now.
- get your citizenship asap; doing so doesn't force you to relinquish ur JA citizenship
- stay the hell on the good side of the law if you're not a ISC
- immigration fraud will always come back and clip u in the arse
- one day down the line, they're going to change how a greencard can be used
- one day down the line, if ur born to an unlawful alien or a greencard holder, just being born on US soil wont make u an automatic USC
- they'll soon start tightening the reins on how they're going to let in
Change in family visas might be in immigration deal
By David Nakamura
Washington Post
Posted: 03/14/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT
Updated: 03/14/2013 08:21:15 PM CDT
WASHINGTON -- Key senators are developing plans that would make it harder for U.S. citizens to get visas for their family members while easing the path for more highly skilled foreign workers, according to aides and advocates familiar with negotiations over an emerging immigration deal.
The plans, which would run counter to policies that have been in place for generations, are part of talks between a bipartisan group of eight senators, whose bill is expected to serve as the template for a comprehensive immigration deal between Congress and the White House.
The senators agree that a limited number of people should be allowed into the country each year; the question is who they should be. Currently, about two-thirds of legal immigrants are admitted for family reasons and 14 percent for employment, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The rest are humanitarian cases.
Republicans would prefer to admit greater numbers of highly skilled workers, who business leaders say are in short supply and who would provide an immediate economic benefit. Democrats generally favor giving priority to family members of citizens and legal residents already in the country, saying they provide support networks that help families thrive.
As it stands, spouses and minor children of citizens are given top priority, followed by unmarried children over 21 and, lastly, married adult children and siblings. The Senate proposal would eliminate the latter two categories altogether, which add up to about 90,000 visas per year. (blertneet!)
Those people could apply for entry into the country but would need other qualifications, such as high-tech skills, to be approved for a green card.
Senators involved in the negotiations stress no final decision has been made. But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a leader in the talks, said in an interview Thursday, March 14, that "we're going to change fundamentally the immigration system," including tighter limits on family visas.
"Right now, you get green cards to adult children, to grandparents," Graham said. "What I want to do is reserve green cards based on the economic needs of the country, and we'll do something for families. But the goal for me is to replace a chained migration immigration system with an economic-based immigration system."
The group of senators, which includes four Democrats and four Republicans, has said it will release a comprehensive bill in early April. The Obama administration has expressed support for the group's general principles.
The proposed changes to the family system have angered immigration advocates, who warn the move could threaten the chances of a broader reform agreement.
"Eliminating these categories would produce only a small reduction in visas while creating greater hardship for thousands of U.S. citizens and their loved ones," two dozen members of the House Asian Pacific American caucus wrote in a letter to the eight senators last week. "We oppose any efforts to further limit the definition of family."
The family visa program has been largely overshadowed by fierce public debate over a path to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants and an expanded guest worker program for foreigners. But potential changes to the family visa program, which has a waiting list of 4.3 million people, also will play a pivotal role in any agreement reached by Congress and the White House.
In 2007, some Democrats and the Catholic Church objected to provisions in a comprehensive immigration bill that would have drastically reduced the number of family visas. The issue was one of several key reasons that the bill failed to advance through the Senate.
The issue has mobilized both Hispanics and Asian Americans, who have been at the forefront of family immigration debates since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which imposed stiff restrictions on Chinese immigrants until its repeal in 1943.
The current waiting list includes an estimated 1.9 million people from Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. The wait for processing visas from the Philippines -- which has the most family applicants other than Mexico -- extends more than two decades, the longest of any country.
So, seems like some of this stuff may come to pass. Certainly the proposed changes here below, if implemented wont happen overnight, but wow – this is huge. HUGE! If it comes to pass. Either way – SOMEthing's coming.
If u or ur peeps or any family or friend you know is thinking about filing for someone, I urge you – move forward now.
- get your citizenship asap; doing so doesn't force you to relinquish ur JA citizenship
- stay the hell on the good side of the law if you're not a ISC
- immigration fraud will always come back and clip u in the arse
- one day down the line, they're going to change how a greencard can be used
- one day down the line, if ur born to an unlawful alien or a greencard holder, just being born on US soil wont make u an automatic USC
- they'll soon start tightening the reins on how they're going to let in
Change in family visas might be in immigration deal
By David Nakamura
Washington Post
Posted: 03/14/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT
Updated: 03/14/2013 08:21:15 PM CDT
WASHINGTON -- Key senators are developing plans that would make it harder for U.S. citizens to get visas for their family members while easing the path for more highly skilled foreign workers, according to aides and advocates familiar with negotiations over an emerging immigration deal.
The plans, which would run counter to policies that have been in place for generations, are part of talks between a bipartisan group of eight senators, whose bill is expected to serve as the template for a comprehensive immigration deal between Congress and the White House.
The senators agree that a limited number of people should be allowed into the country each year; the question is who they should be. Currently, about two-thirds of legal immigrants are admitted for family reasons and 14 percent for employment, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The rest are humanitarian cases.
Republicans would prefer to admit greater numbers of highly skilled workers, who business leaders say are in short supply and who would provide an immediate economic benefit. Democrats generally favor giving priority to family members of citizens and legal residents already in the country, saying they provide support networks that help families thrive.
As it stands, spouses and minor children of citizens are given top priority, followed by unmarried children over 21 and, lastly, married adult children and siblings. The Senate proposal would eliminate the latter two categories altogether, which add up to about 90,000 visas per year. (blertneet!)
Those people could apply for entry into the country but would need other qualifications, such as high-tech skills, to be approved for a green card.
Senators involved in the negotiations stress no final decision has been made. But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a leader in the talks, said in an interview Thursday, March 14, that "we're going to change fundamentally the immigration system," including tighter limits on family visas.
"Right now, you get green cards to adult children, to grandparents," Graham said. "What I want to do is reserve green cards based on the economic needs of the country, and we'll do something for families. But the goal for me is to replace a chained migration immigration system with an economic-based immigration system."
The group of senators, which includes four Democrats and four Republicans, has said it will release a comprehensive bill in early April. The Obama administration has expressed support for the group's general principles.
The proposed changes to the family system have angered immigration advocates, who warn the move could threaten the chances of a broader reform agreement.
"Eliminating these categories would produce only a small reduction in visas while creating greater hardship for thousands of U.S. citizens and their loved ones," two dozen members of the House Asian Pacific American caucus wrote in a letter to the eight senators last week. "We oppose any efforts to further limit the definition of family."
The family visa program has been largely overshadowed by fierce public debate over a path to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants and an expanded guest worker program for foreigners. But potential changes to the family visa program, which has a waiting list of 4.3 million people, also will play a pivotal role in any agreement reached by Congress and the White House.
In 2007, some Democrats and the Catholic Church objected to provisions in a comprehensive immigration bill that would have drastically reduced the number of family visas. The issue was one of several key reasons that the bill failed to advance through the Senate.
The issue has mobilized both Hispanics and Asian Americans, who have been at the forefront of family immigration debates since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which imposed stiff restrictions on Chinese immigrants until its repeal in 1943.
The current waiting list includes an estimated 1.9 million people from Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. The wait for processing visas from the Philippines -- which has the most family applicants other than Mexico -- extends more than two decades, the longest of any country.
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