Research on US Immigration Policy

I don't know much on the US Immigration Policy, but I do know that it has become even more difficult for people to come in this country legally and in a timely manner. Most of the paperwork that it takes to come in legally has become very expensive,unaffordable for people, and difficult because in many cases you need to have a legit reason for coming into the country. In which case people would rather cross illegally into the country. Paying a coyote may be expensive as well, but the process most of the time is much quicker and you don't really need a legit and authorized reason to come in.

The US Immigration policy is very complex and difficult to understand. According to the INA (Immigrant and Naturalization Act) only a limit of 675,000 permanent residents can be allowed with exceptions to close family members. Immigration is based on the following principles: reunification of families, admitting those valuable to the US economy, protecting refugees, and promoting diversity. (This part I find ironic because certain acts and laws being passed in certain states don't seem to apply well to this because many Americans seem intimidated by diversity and it almost seems as if the US wants to push that away rather than accept it).

 Family-Based Immigration allows US Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents to bring certain family members into the United States. There are 480,000 family visas available each year. Family members must be either immediate or fit under the category of the family preference system. There is no limit on the number of visas given out for immediate members. Some immediate family members would include spouses, unmarried minor children of US Citizens, and parents of US Citizens. For family members under the Family Preference system the limit of visas must not be below 23,400 by law.

I can personally relate to this because me and my husband are currently in this process. I am petitioning for him to receive legal permanent resident status and citizenship. This process is difficult on so many levels, the only relief I feel is that he is here on a work permit and that he is considered an immediate family member. But as a student you can just imagine how difficult it must be to afford this. My husband is the only one that works while I go to school. We struggled to get him on a work permit and differed action ($465 dollars) so imagine how much more difficult it is going to be for us to afford this process. Currently to petition for him it is $420 then the visa process is a little over $500 and the waiver is another $300-$400 dollars and if you get a lawyer then it is roughly another $4000 dollars.

This nice thing now about this process is that family members can now apply for the waiver inside the United States, but you still have to leave the country and wait for a court date and this can take anywhere from one month to years depending on your case (This is what I am afraid of because I don't think I can sustain myself here alone without my husband). The waiver is basically a pardon you ask for for coming into the country illegally and all you can do is hope that they grant you that pardon. If they don't you are basically kicked out of the country for 10 years. In my case my husband was brought here as a minor so you would think that this wouldn't apply to him because a minor can't really consent to crossing the border, but what most people don't know is that once that child turns 18 from that point and on they begin to accumulate unlawful presence. When it becomes really difficult is when you have more than one year of unlawful presence anything before that eases the process and the 10 year punishment. My husband is going to be 23 so technically he has accrued 5 years of unlawful presence.

Now you may ask, but why didn't he just go back to his country when he turned 18? Well, it is not that easy. First of all you need money to travel back and we can barely afford ourselves traveling back would be a burden on us financially. When you are raised most of your life in one country, speak the language, graduate, and make a life here this country suddenly becomes your home and any family members that you may have in your native country may not know you and vice versa. Like the book Crossing the Wire, you get lost because your native country is strange and new. You were never raised there and life is different than what it was in the United States. Just imagine being sent back to a country your ancestors are from, but that you never visited or lived for a sufficient amount of time. Like Britain, Ireland, Asia, Africa etc.? I was born in Lynwood, California and my whole family is Mexican, but the last time I went to Mexico I was 10 years old if I remember correctly. Even if my family has tried to keep our Mexican culture alive after so many years of having been over there I guess you could argue that I would do just fine in Mexico and maybe I would, but my life is here. I was born here, this US culture is part of my life, I am used to living here, so if I were sent back to Mexico I would have a difficult time adjusting. Not so much on the culture aspect of it, but on the currency, perhaps a bit on the language, the school system and so much more because I was never raised there. Nevertheless, the US Immigration policy is a complicated process and I am praying that we can make the process easier and much smoother in the nearer future.