Study: Long Wait for Green Cards
Study entitled Legal Immigrants: Waiting Forever finds processing delays getting longer
By Selene Rivera
, Eastern Group PublicationsWhy don’t people wait to immigrate legally to the United States? The answer, at least according to one recent study, is that although many people want to come legally to the United States, "processing delays and the family employment-based immigration quotas legislated by Congress result in significant wait times — and much frustration — for potential immigrants and U. S. employers," sometimes taking as long as 20 years.
According to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy, qualified immigrants wait an average of five years or more to become permanent residents (green card holders) while the wait time for people who have solicited their residency through their family could be up to 22 years.
Activists against undocumented immigration and law enforcement officials say that current laws must be respected and the long wait is no excuse for illegal immigrants not to "wait in line." But for the thousands of people who annually cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, by foot, car, train, or boat in hopes of reaching "the promised land," hunger and necessity are powerful motivators not to wait.
"If I don’t (take the) risk, I’ll die anyway and my family will die of hunger," says Manuel Cruz, an undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles. "Who wouldn’t like to come to the U.S. legally and avoid the fear of suffocating in a van, or dehydrating (in the desert), getting bitten by a poisonous insect, or killed… or drowning in the river?" he asks.
According to statistics, nearly10 thousand people try to cross the border illegally everyday, and immigration agents catch approximately 33 percent of them. But statistics also estimate that about 300 people, including many children, die every year trying to cross.
For Micha Hardy, an anti-illegal immigration activist who emigrated from Germany, there’s no excuse for illegal immigrants not to wait in line as she did.
"I became legal before coming here," she says. "It took me three years to become a resident and it took another three years to become a citizen."
Hardy was able to immigrate legally thanks to sponsorship by an American family, but for most people to get permission to come to the United States within three years, it takes a lot of luck or money, something most immigrants say they don’t have.
The NFAP study, titled "Legal Immigrants: Waiting Forever," indicates that the waiting time for "green cards" for skilled workers and professionals has gotten longer in the last few years, "with a current wait for a newly sponsored high skill immigrant in this category exceeding five years."
The study also reveals that the wait times for siblings of U.S. citizens can be 11 or 12 years and up to 22 years for those born in the Philippines. The reason? Quotas on residency permits fall far below the number of people wanting to come to the United States.
On average, the wait time for an unmarried adult child of a U.S. citizen to come to the United States is about six years. The time increases to 13 years if the child is from Mexico and to 14 years if he or she is from the Philippines. Married children of a U.S. citizen can expect to wait about seven years to immigrate legally, but the wait increases to 11 years if they are Mexican and 15 years if they are Filipino.
The spouse or child of a permanent resident (a green card holder who is not a U.S. citizen) must wait approximately seven years if they are Mexican, or five years if they are from other countries.
The delays are a result of the fact that there are more people soliciting visas than there are visas available, says Juan Jose Gutierrez, a pro-immigration and civil rights activist. There is also a shortage of green cards authorized annually, he says.
In fact, green cards are given in order of priority starting with the spouses, children (unmarried and then married), parents and brothers and sisters. For example, according to the study, "a citizen may sponsor a spouse, a child or a parent without quota, but face annual limits for siblings (65,000 a year) and married adult children (23,400) and unmarried children (23,400). A permanent resident may sponsor a spouse or a minor child (87,934) or adult child (26,266). Per country limits for family-sponsored immigrants are generally seven percent of the 226 thousand limit for family preferences."
But for Ted Hayes, another anti-illegal immigration activist in the Los Angeles area, people should wait in line no matter how long the process.
"I have hungry kids too. That doesn’t give me the right to steal," says Hayes. "[Immigrants] are welcome, but wait in line until America is ready for you."
In addressing immigration policy, study authors Stuart Anderson and David Miller suggest that Congress should examine the possibility of expanding green card quotas for family-sponsored and many employment-based immigrants.
"To ensure the continued flow of talent to America," the study concludes, "it also must address the necessity of an increase in the H-1B cap for skilled professionals and sufficiently liberalized policies toward international students."
"People with necessities will always find a way to cross the border, legally or illegally," adds Cruz. "It’s not my fault -- I get a job that others don’t want."
Look at where they come from
It's not just in America, people everywhere want a better life.
It was one year ago that Federal immigration officials raided a poultry processing plant in Arkandelphia, Arkansas, rounded up and deported over 100 undocumented immigrants.The problem was that they left all the immigrants' children stranded in the United States without their parents.
People make 'they sky is falling' predictions about the problem illegal immigrants represent for America, but when it comes to actually rounding up and deporting the immigrants in their own communities, it's a different story.
Governor Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, a conservative, and a strong Christian leader, is able to look past all the rhetoric to see that we cannot simply round up and summarily deport more than 12 million illegal immigrants. Not only would that be logistically impossible, but it would also rip the heart out of thousands of communities all over the country -- and U.S. citizens won't stand for it.
Hundreds of Illegal Immigrants to Be Deported from Morocco
Spain doesn't want Moroccans, and Morocco doesn't want Blacks
Morocco is preparing to deport hundreds of illegal immigrants to their native Senegal.
Morocco, the gateway to Europe for many sub-Saharan Africans fleeing poverty, has been at the centre of an immigration crisis. Hundreds of Africans have stormed razor-wire border fences protecting Spanish territories, and at least a dozen have been killed.
A Moroccan government official, who asked not to be identified by name, said his country was planning to fly 500-600 illegal immigrants back to their native Senegal on Monday. Some of those were arrested during the recent border rushes.
Until now, Moroccan authorities have dropped off illegal immigrants along the country's desert border with Algeria, a practice that has provoked criticism from humanitarian groups, who pointed out that they had no shelter, food, or water there.
Desperate measures
- Police found an infant dead in its mother's arms after a boat
carrying African immigrants ran around on a beach in southern Spain Tuesday, officials said.
The Interior Ministry office in the city of Cadiz said the 8.5-meter (28-foot) inflatable boat had been spotted approaching the coast through the Strait of Gibraltar shortly after 7:00 am (0500 GMT). It was later found broken up by waves on the coast.
It was not immediately clear how many people had been on the boat, but border guards detained 15 African immigrants and the Moroccan skipper of the boat, authorities said.
The immigrants included six women, including one who was cradling a dead baby and four who were pregnant. One was rushed to hospital in Algeciras as she went into labor, a ministry official said.
Hundreds of Africans seeking a better life in Europe try to reach Spain each week packed into small boats. Many are caught, but officials estimate thousands slip through each year. Many drown while making the crossing.
-
Brussels urges immigrant informers' deal
Illegal immigrants in the European Union should be granted temporary residency permits if they tell the authorities the names of their traffickers, the European Commission has urged.
Illegals often have to pay their traffickers high fees
Under the proposal, the immigrants would be offered a six-month residency permit which would entitle them to legal employment, education and health care.
The EU estimates that some 500,000 people cross its borders illegally each year, before disappearing into the black market.
The commission believes that those who find themselves forced into the underground sex trade to pay off their debts to the traffickers may prove particularly willing to tell their stories.
But there is no guarantee that a new residency permit will be granted once the initial six-month term has expired, even if the person has fully co-operated with the authorities and provided valuable information.
The commission merely recommends that the co-operation be taken into account when the person applies for a fresh residency permit.
Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain have already introduced such measures, while France and Greece plan to introduce similar legislation soon.
Timetable of human tragedy
- February 6 Twenty-one Chinese immigrants who had been living in Liverpool died after being trapped by rising tides at Morecambe Bay while cockling. Early indications were that the dead were mainly in their teens and twenties.
- March 8 A squad of Chinese detectives arrived on Merseyside to investigate a network of people smuggling. They believed that the Snakehead gangs were behind the exploitation of immigrants. They worked closely with the Chinese community, as well as Merseyside Police.
- April 14 Lancashire police travelled to China to speak to relatives of those who died. They collected DNA evidence in an effort to confirm the identities of the bodies recovered.
- May 4 The Daily Post revealed claims that illegal immigrants had been forced back to the cockle beds. Chinese business leaders said that there was no safety net for these people so they had to return to the dangerous job simply to support themselves.
- May 7 Detective Chief Inspector Steve Brunskill spoke on his return from China about the anguish he felt speaking to the relatives of those who died. He also said that one more body had been discovered, but another two were still missing. He added: "The families wanted to know who was responsible for this tragedy. They couldn't understand how this could have happened in this country.
Legal Information equal parenting time Maryland / DC Alimony legal services Free Links