Opportunities, Time, Dollar and Lives Lost in the Wait of Immigration Reform
How many have died in the process of getting immigrated to United State? How many have scarified their family, and how many have left behind their children in hope of getting a better tomorrow.
But why do we continue to see even among the midst of so many barrels; an immigrant hoping to get a Greencard or US Citizenship.
Many of the immigrants who have left their hometown in search of education, job, decent living and above all freedom, find it here.
Not only do they get to go to college or pursue their education if though (immigrants are not eligible for scholarship) but they feel a kind of accomplishment that they are paying a tribute to those who have died in trying to achieve a better life and for those who do not have the same opportunities as them here.
People trying to come to this country legally often wait years, even decades, to get green cards.
The wait is long because the U.
S.
limits the overall number of green cards issued each year.
There is also a restriction on the number of green cards that can be handed to immigrants from the same country each year.
The wait is a highly debated issue in Senate whether to give the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally a pathway to citizenship as part of the sweeping immigration bill or not.
Currently, the U.
S.
allows about 226,000 immigrants per year to receive green cards through family-based petitions filed by relatives in the US.
According to an analyst, at this rate, it may take 19 years to clear the existing backlog of immigrants waiting for green cards.
Clearing the backlog has also drawn controversy.
Immigrant advocates say the Greencard backlog is the result of the nation's broken immigration system, and clearing it would allow legal immigrants to reunite with family members.
The talk about reforming the American immigration system has focused on getting 11 million immigrants to stay legally.
There is no single path to citizenship, but there are hundreds.
Which path one takes depends on their relatives, how good or competitive they are towards their jobs or prove that they have exceptional talent that will twirl and tassel in a unique way? Also the path that an immigrant takes depends from where they come, from which channel? Whether from federal government and on the laws of supply and demand? One can set out on a path by their family, or based on their jobs with a hope that they get sponsored through their siblings or by an employer or they can win a lottery; where thousands of people line up for hours in far-flung places just to try their luck to a new life.
There are millions of people whose first step visa petitions have been approved and are waiting for a green card, the vast majority being trying to enter with the help of their relatives in United States.
But does this really mean clear to the citizenship path? In between any number of obstacles can occur.
One can get married to an American citizen and move to a different way or they can be deported.
If you are foreign national who can invest at least $500,000 in any American business, there are chances of getting the immigration cleared.
Some paths are shorter than others.
Qualified immigrants who have temporary visas can join the military and become naturalized citizens soon after the training ends.
And about one in 10 people legally admitted to the country every year is granted entry because of asylum or refugee status, and a one-year path to a green card, after proving a legitimate fear of persecution at home.
Immigration reform is full of figure game.
And one of those numbers is $680-the price of applying for legal citizenship.
So where does that total figure coming from and where does this money go? The money goes into the treasury of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The total of $680 that comes from a $595 application fee and an $85 "biometric fee" that is funneled towards background check costs like fingerprinting.
Applicants have to pay that amount regardless of whether their application is successful or sometimes not.
The fee is both a practical and political issue.
Practically, while many government agencies get cash through appropriations of taxpayer funds, the USCIS primarily being a "fee-based" agency.
Today, as per DHS officials, more than 90% of USCIS operating costs are covered by fees, so an immigrant paying the $680 can expect that money to be spent on things like the salary of the employee adjudicating their case or the computer software that employee is using to crunch numbers.
Fees like this also include a surcharge to help cover services that the USCIS provides for free, like naturalizing members of the military.
How much ever contribution or hard work done by these immigrants, one thing is certain that many immigrants feel that the Americans look them down but on the other side one also needs to know how much of freedom they have obtained coming to this country when compared to their homeland.
The immigration laws leave a lot to be desired and the time it takes to get anything done through them is tough and is going tougher for Immigrants waiting day in and day out to see some consolidated end to the immigration bill.
But why do we continue to see even among the midst of so many barrels; an immigrant hoping to get a Greencard or US Citizenship.
Many of the immigrants who have left their hometown in search of education, job, decent living and above all freedom, find it here.
Not only do they get to go to college or pursue their education if though (immigrants are not eligible for scholarship) but they feel a kind of accomplishment that they are paying a tribute to those who have died in trying to achieve a better life and for those who do not have the same opportunities as them here.
People trying to come to this country legally often wait years, even decades, to get green cards.
The wait is long because the U.
S.
limits the overall number of green cards issued each year.
There is also a restriction on the number of green cards that can be handed to immigrants from the same country each year.
The wait is a highly debated issue in Senate whether to give the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally a pathway to citizenship as part of the sweeping immigration bill or not.
Currently, the U.
S.
allows about 226,000 immigrants per year to receive green cards through family-based petitions filed by relatives in the US.
According to an analyst, at this rate, it may take 19 years to clear the existing backlog of immigrants waiting for green cards.
Clearing the backlog has also drawn controversy.
Immigrant advocates say the Greencard backlog is the result of the nation's broken immigration system, and clearing it would allow legal immigrants to reunite with family members.
The talk about reforming the American immigration system has focused on getting 11 million immigrants to stay legally.
There is no single path to citizenship, but there are hundreds.
Which path one takes depends on their relatives, how good or competitive they are towards their jobs or prove that they have exceptional talent that will twirl and tassel in a unique way? Also the path that an immigrant takes depends from where they come, from which channel? Whether from federal government and on the laws of supply and demand? One can set out on a path by their family, or based on their jobs with a hope that they get sponsored through their siblings or by an employer or they can win a lottery; where thousands of people line up for hours in far-flung places just to try their luck to a new life.
There are millions of people whose first step visa petitions have been approved and are waiting for a green card, the vast majority being trying to enter with the help of their relatives in United States.
But does this really mean clear to the citizenship path? In between any number of obstacles can occur.
One can get married to an American citizen and move to a different way or they can be deported.
If you are foreign national who can invest at least $500,000 in any American business, there are chances of getting the immigration cleared.
Some paths are shorter than others.
Qualified immigrants who have temporary visas can join the military and become naturalized citizens soon after the training ends.
And about one in 10 people legally admitted to the country every year is granted entry because of asylum or refugee status, and a one-year path to a green card, after proving a legitimate fear of persecution at home.
Immigration reform is full of figure game.
And one of those numbers is $680-the price of applying for legal citizenship.
So where does that total figure coming from and where does this money go? The money goes into the treasury of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The total of $680 that comes from a $595 application fee and an $85 "biometric fee" that is funneled towards background check costs like fingerprinting.
Applicants have to pay that amount regardless of whether their application is successful or sometimes not.
The fee is both a practical and political issue.
Practically, while many government agencies get cash through appropriations of taxpayer funds, the USCIS primarily being a "fee-based" agency.
Today, as per DHS officials, more than 90% of USCIS operating costs are covered by fees, so an immigrant paying the $680 can expect that money to be spent on things like the salary of the employee adjudicating their case or the computer software that employee is using to crunch numbers.
Fees like this also include a surcharge to help cover services that the USCIS provides for free, like naturalizing members of the military.
How much ever contribution or hard work done by these immigrants, one thing is certain that many immigrants feel that the Americans look them down but on the other side one also needs to know how much of freedom they have obtained coming to this country when compared to their homeland.
The immigration laws leave a lot to be desired and the time it takes to get anything done through them is tough and is going tougher for Immigrants waiting day in and day out to see some consolidated end to the immigration bill.