Articles Posted in Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Pressing to move quickly to rewrite the nation’s immigration laws, Democratic leaders began setting a strategy to advance legislation as the White House worked to rally business support.

Returning to a tactic used in last year’s fiscal fight, administration officials held a conference call with executives of some of the nation’s largest companies to lay out President Barack Obama’s proposals and to enlist corporate backing.

At the Capitol, Senate Democratic leaders expressed confidence that Congress would pass immigration legislation now that a bipartisan group of House lawmakers plans to introduce a proposal as early as this month.

Great news today, very important. Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Marco Rubio of Florida and Chris Coons of Delaware have introduced the Immigration Innovation ( I Squared) Act of 2013 which aims to increase the H-1B quota, enhance the portability of existing H-1Bs, increase the number of employment-based green cards and allow U.S. students (especially STEM) to obtain green cards in a more efficient way.

if passes – would do a lot to fix our immigration system and help the economy. This legislation would:

1. Increase the H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000;

Today, President Obama called for common sense, comprehensive immigration reform, saying unequivocally that now is the time for action. He noted that most Americans agree that it is time to “fix the system that has been broken for way too long” and that immigration reform will strengthen our economy and our nation’s future.

Speaking at a majority Hispanic high school in Las Vegas, Obama said “a broad consensus is emerging” behind the issue across the country, with signs of progress in Congress.

However, he acknowledged a fierce debate ahead on an issue he described as emotional and challenging, but vital to economic growth and ensuring equal opportunity for all.

Exciting news to many of our readers. Undocumented immigrants would be able to seek legal status without first going home under a compromise framework presented today by a bipartisan group of senators.

Here is the framework of a bipartisan group of senators’ immigration reform plan they say will secure the border, modernize the country’s current immigration system and create a “tough but fair” path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants already in the country.

We will keep analyzing this proposal and keep you posted.

What a speech it was. The president used his speech to highlight the controversial issue of illegal immigration, we hope the main focus of the federal government should be on developing a plan that would allow undocumented immigrants to become legal residents, rather than deporting them. The President stated:

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.

We hope that the President is committed to a comprehensive immigration reform. His executive actions in 2012 are positive signs for many undocumented immigrants already in the United States. It remains to be seen what other action he may take in 2013.

Over the next few days many articles with a look back on the year’s biggest immigration stories will be published. If you look through the articles I bet you will see one thing in common: illegal immigration issues dominated the entire 2012 just like they did in 2011. Will we see some signs of reform in 2013, too early to know.

A few more stories we selected that we would like to add as the highlights of 2012:

1. How U.S. Open Immigration Policy Made It the Country to Beat in the Summer Olympics

In the first post-election effort to reform U.S. immigration policy, the House on Friday approved a Republican-sponsored measure, STEM Jobs Act, by a margin of 245 to 139.

The bill eliminates the diversity visa program and reallocates up to 55,000 new green cards – the document that establishes legal permanent U.S. residency, for foreign students who graduate from U.S. universities with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

In a sort of concession to Democrats, Republicans added a provision to the bill that allows spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents to come to the U.S. after waiting one year in their native homeland for their green card application to be processed. But Democrats were not persuaded, with many of them saying the family concession was not enough to compensate for the elimination of lottery visa, which they argued should not have been dropped.

With recent Deferred Action cases getting approved by USCIS, those who are able to get work authorization will also need a social security number. Once work authorization has been approved, a person who has been granted Deferred Action should apply for a social security number directly with their Social Security Administration office.

When applying for a social security number, the Deferred Action recipient must bring their Employment Authorization Card (I-766) along with proof of age and identity. Such documents to prove age and identity include the following:

• Foreign birth certificate;

When the Obama administration announced in August a plan to grant two-year deportation deferrals to young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, it sparked anger among some critics who said it was little more than a free pass.

Those critics can rest a bit easier now, as it turns out the most recent data provided by the Department of Homeland Security indicate far fewer undocumented immigrants have applied for the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, than expected.

Of the estimated 900,000 young immigrants believed to be eligible for deferred action, just over 300,000 have filed requests with the Department of Homeland Security. Of course, California led the nation in applications. Just over 82,000 were filed by immigrants in California, followed by Texas, New York and Florida. Only 53,000 of the total applications have been approved by the government.

Currently there is a major difference between US Citizens sponsoring foreign spouses to residency, and Permanent Residents (Green Card holders), that are filing for their spouses.

Green card holders married to non-U.S. citizens are able to legally bring their spouses and minor children to join them in the USA, but only after an extensive multi-year delay, during which time the family is separated. The foreign spouse of a green card holder must wait for approval of an ‘immigrant visa’ from the State Department before entering the United States.

Due to numerical limitation on the number of these visas, the current wait time for approval is four to five years for all non-retrogressed countries (including Western Europe), and many more for the retrogressed countries. In the interim, the spouse cannot be legally present in the United States (let alone work), unless he/she secures a visa for himself/herself using some other means.