USA Green Card Immigration Blog

This is an interesting piece of news from Washington State, where 28 people were jailed for working illegally in a car repair shop.  The normal process for this would be to deport them back to their country of origin (Mexico), leaving parents with the awful decision of whether to leave their US-born children in the US or take them with them.  However, the furor caused locally by the raid and the political sensitivity of the Obama Administration, which is currently in the midst of preparing to introduce immigration reform, led to the Homeland Security chief to order an investigation of the matter.  Supporters of the raid claimed that there was nothing to “investigate” since the US Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers involved in the raid were simply upholding current law.  Because this was the first such raid under the new Obama Administration–and because during his presidential campaign Obama had openly criticized immigration policy because of the frequent unintended result deportation had on families of mixed US and non-US citizen status– the end result for the people jailed was that they received visas to legally work in the United States!  Is this a sign of changes to come in US immigration policy?  Let us know what you think.

The green card, also known as the United States Permanent Resident Card, is one of the most valuable documents in the world that authorizes an immigrant to work and live permanently in the U.S.  A green card is mandatory for you to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) of U.S.  An individual who marries a U.S. citizen is also eligible for a green card.

Getting a green card through marriage is a multi-step process.  If you live in U.S. and want a green card for your spouse, then you must fill an I-130 petition for alien relative with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with proof of your relationship.  In addition, you should submit Form I-485, a marriage green card application for adjustment of status (AOS) to get a permanent resident card.  While filing the petition, you also need to produce documents like a spouse’s U.S. citizenship, biographical forms for husband and wife with photos attached, and marriage certificate.  The USCIS has the right to approve or deny the petition based on the evidence submitted.  Once it is approved, the USCIS will advise you and then, send the approved visa petition to the Department of State’s National Visa Center for visa approval.  The petition will remain in the center until it issues a visa number to the U.S. embassy or consulate.  An immigrant visa number is provided based on a preference system.  Immediate relatives like parents, spouses, and children under the age of 21 are given first preference.  As soon as you get an immigrant visa number, your foreign spouse is eligible for an immigrant visa.  Before getting an immigrant visa, your spouse must undergo a medical examination.  The consular officer chooses a doctor for examining the applicant, and he/she must pay the fee for the doctor along with the visa fees.  Immigrant visas will not be issued if the spouse has a communicable disease, or a dangerous physical or mental disorder.

After an immigrant visa is issued for your foreign spouse, the final step is to change his/her status to permanent resident.  If an immigrant visa number is available, the USCIS will accept and process the I-485 form submitted along with the I-130 petition.

The USCIS will conduct a series of checks on the background of the applicant.  Once the adjustment of status application is accepted, your spouse is allowed to reside in U.S., but he/she is not allowed to leave the country until the application is approved or rejected.  In some cases, the applicant is also called for an interview with the USCIS.  If the application is approved, your spouse becomes a LPR, and the green card is mailed to the applicant.

If you have married a foreign spouse, who lives outside U.S., then you can apply for a K-3 non-immigrant visa. For a non-immigrant visa, you need to file I-129 petition with the USCIS.  It will take approximately 5 to 8 months to get the K-3 spouse visa.  The visa is valid up to two years and it offers complete freedom to your spouse to live, work, and study in U.S while he/she is waiting for her green card approval.  Apart from K-3, the spouse of a U.S. citizen can also enter the country with a B-2 visitor visa.

That is the lengthy process in a nutshell.

Is Obama right in pushing immigration reform as a priority right now?  Is it even possible before the financial crisis and weak economy are addressed?  President Obama appears to be making good on his campaign promise to address the immigration issue, but he probably won’t be able to push anything through both Houses of Congress anytime soon in the current political climate.  Of course, the entire immigration issue is so complex and emotional that it is likely to take at least a couple years of wrangling between the Republicans and Democrats before any passable bill can be proposed and voted upon.  Maybe this is the only reason why Obama is starting the work.  He faces a long road ahead.  But is he right in attempting to tackle this thorny issue at this time?

Labor Set to Fight Over Guest Workers – WSJ.com.

Yet another example of the general ignorance the American public has concerning guest workers and the (false) perception that foreigners with H-1B visas are displacing qualified American workers.  Bogus.  American companies wouldn’t have the voracious appetite for foreigners if there were sufficient US workers qualified and willing to work in these positions.  It looks like battle lines are being drawn for the next push for major legislative immigration reform.  One point that does make sense:  it is doubtful that any immigration bill that is “immigrant friendly” will become law in the current economic climate.

Wall Street Still Finds Ways to Hire Foreigners – WSJ.com.

According to this article in the WSJ today, companies continue to find ways to circumvent federal limits on hiring skilled foreigners.  Financial institutions who’ve accepted TARP funds under the emergency economic stimulus package are now required to prove that no qualified American workers are available for the jobs they seek to fill with foriengers via the H-1B visa program.  Apparently, the restrictions don’t count if the company hires the foreigner anyway and simply ships them to work anywhere offshore.  The same reasoning probably holds for all those non-TARP companies that are in a bind to find qualified workers–American or not–to fill jobs.  What do you think?  Doesn’t this just mean that continued attempts by the US Government to limit foreign worker visas is futile?  Should H-1B visa caps be completely scrapped?