— from Eleanor Hoague —

Immigrants and immigration policy are difficult topics nowadays.

  • Who is allowed to reside in or visit the United States?
  • Who should be allowed into the United States?
  • What qualifications should they have?
  • Should they only be rich or “the hungry masses yearning to be free” as the U.S. Statue of Liberty professes?
  • Should they be white exclusively… or only black … or Jews … or Christians?
  • Should they be required to be educated … or merely to fill a proven lack in the U.S. workforce?
  • And what about family reunification and marriages or refugees?

These are some of the questions being asked by our elected officials now, and as citizens we should be willing to discuss them and to help these politicians come to a sane, productive and moral policy. That is what these occasional “Immigration Today” articles propose to raise and discuss.

MYTH #1: Most immigrants are here illegally With so much controversy about legal and illegal immigration, most people overlook the fact that the vast majority of the foreigners who are in the U.S. are here legally. Of the 42+ million foreign-born people live in the United States, 75% are naturalized citizens or permanent residents or temporary legal residents.

Of the remaining 11 million unauthorized immigrants, some 4 to 5 million came to the U.S. on a valid visa, but did not abide by the visa time limitation or by the terms of their stated purpose. For instance, Canadians and many Europeans are not required to have a visa if they come here for tourism; however, those who subsequently get a job or go to school are as in ICE lingo “out of status” and are as “illegal” as the Mexican who comes to the U.S. without immigration inspection. If the person is of Caucasian ancestry, it is likely they will never be discovered; those people who speak with an accent or are dark skinned are more likely to be stopped for questioning by immigration officers.

MYTH #2: There is a way to enter the U.S. legally for anyone who wants to get in line
There really is no “line” for people with few skills to come to the U.S. legally, especially if they are not well-heeled. It is especially difficult if the person wishes to move to the U.S. permanently. In general, obtaining the right to live and work in the United States is limited to people who:

  1. are highly trained in a skill that is in short supply in the U.S. and are offered a job by a specific employer;
  2. are trying to flee from political persecution;
  3. have very close family in the U.S.; or
  4. are winners of the U.S. lottery for green-cards.

The visas for these categories are very limited both in the total number that are available and the country the applicant is from. For example, if you are a U.S. citizen, you may petition for a visa for your Philippine brother or sister, but they will have to wait 24 years or more for their permanent residence number to come up.

The chart at this website may seem extreme, but it is true. Immigrating to the United States is complicated, frustrating and expensive.

MYTH #3: Can’t an illegal immigrant just marry a U.S. citizen or green card holder and become a citizen? No, never. Marriage to a U.S. citizen does not get you U.S. citizenship. To become a U.S. citizen, an immigrant married to a U.S. citizen must first become a permanent resident, live in the US for 3 to 5 years, and then file a number of government documents, pay the related fees (about $1,300), pass several tests and interviews and then be sworn in as a US citizen.

Marriage to a U.S. citizen does not even get you automatic permanent residence. To become a permanent resident, an immigrant married to a U.S. citizen must have theU.S. citizen petition for him/her, file a number of government documents, pay the associated fees (about $1600 and prove that he/she has not committed specified crimes or broken immigration laws, is not likely to use public assistance, is of good moral character and many other requirements).
Barring very unusual circumstances if the immigrant has been ordered deported or is in the U.S. without documents that immigrant must stay out of the U.S. for from 3 to 10 years before being allowed to apply for permanent residence, whether or not they are married to a U.S. citizen.

We encourage comments to be thoughtful, and thought-provoking, and to avoid the hyperbolic rhetoric of the day that can only lead us nowhere. Eleanor Hoague, a retired immigration attorney, starts the series with a review of immigration law, but others are encouraged to offer their articles as well.

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