Immigration Reform will not happen without compromise. Real compromise. It seems that this is an impossible feat. Here are some ways we can to work toward compromise:
- Understand that yes, legal immigration is at the upmost importance to our national security
- Amnesty is not the complete solution to problem
- Building a fence will not keep immigrants from finding a way to the U.S.
- Understand that immigrants bring a diversified skill-set needed in our country (STEM Fields)
- Pathways to legal immigration can be opened, but must follow fair and standardized policies
- An increase in number to legal immigration limits can bring in more revenue, taxes, and boost our economy
Need a a more specific explanation of what CIR could do? Here are some thoughts from NAFSA:
Another agreat resource can be found using the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) InfoNet. Advocacy materials, memos, cables, and letters from the White House, Publications, Government News, and much more can help to understand the issue. When reading, ask yourself: Is it Fair? Is it Fact-Based? Does it contribute to a Shared-Future?
Nonimmigrant Reforms
- Eliminate nonimmigrant
intent for foreign students (F) by extending dual intent to include them.
- Expand employment options
for foreign students (F-1) and exchange visitors (J-1) both during the
school year and during breaks.
- Allow short term study on
tourist (B) visa.
- Expand opportunities to
study for the spouses and children (F-2) of foreign students.
- Provide work authorization
for spouses of H-1Bs and foreign students.
- Restore to the Secretary
of State the authority to waive personal appearances by visa applicants.
- Restore visa renewal in
the United States for the following nonimmigrants: E, H, I, L, O, and P.
- Launch a Frequent Traveler
Program for international students, researchers, scholars, and business
people.
Green Card Reforms
- Develop a viable package
for green card relief including some or all of the following provisions:
- Increase the number of
green cards available annually.
- Recapture unused
employment-based green cards from prior fiscal years to help eliminate
the backlog.
- Stop counting spouses and
minor children against the employment-based green card cap. More than
half of all employment-based green cards go to the spouses and children
of workers.
- Exempt international
student graduates with a direct path to green card status, outstanding
researchers, and professors from the limit on the number of
employment-based green card that may be issued annually.
- Eliminate annual per
country limits with a possible phase-in period.
- Increase green cards for
specific priority levels.
- Provide relief through the
DREAM Act to children raised in the United States who lack immigration
status.
- Create a direct path to
green card status for foreign students. Including protection from long adjudication timeframes by
extending immigration status from when a green card petition
is filed until it is adjudicated (as is done for H-1B green card
petitioners).
- Allow green card
applicants to retain their places in line while waiting for green cards to
become available. Vest this place in line, known as a priority date, with
the immigrant petitioner not with the employer. This will make it easier
for foreign workers to change employers because doing so will not make
them move to the back of the green card line.
- Provide age-out protection
for children. Immigrants petitioning for a green card may include their
spouse and children in the petition. Unfortunately, if there are backlogs
or long delayed decisions, children who turn 21 while waiting become
ineligible for a green card based on their parent’s petitions. This is
called “aging out.”
Protect Current Law
- Defend the H-1B cap
exemption for higher education and research facilities.
- Maintain special handling
that allows colleges and universities to petition for green cards for the
most qualified applicants for positions that include classroom
instruction.
Improving the Management of the Student and Exchange
Visitor Program
- Move the Student and Exchange Visitor Program within Department of Homeland Security from the enforcement division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the services division of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Another agreat resource can be found using the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) InfoNet. Advocacy materials, memos, cables, and letters from the White House, Publications, Government News, and much more can help to understand the issue. When reading, ask yourself: Is it Fair? Is it Fact-Based? Does it contribute to a Shared-Future?
Let the changes begin...
