Immigration policy in the U.S. (current)

Summary
The goals of current immigration policy are:
 * To reunite families by admitting immigrants who already have family members living in the United States;
 * To admit workers in occupations with strong demand for labor;
 * To provide a refuge for people who face the risk of political, racial, or religious persecution in their home countries; and
 * To provide admission to people from a diverse set of countries.

There are several categories of permanent and temporary admissions have been established to implement those comprehensive goals.

Definitions of Terms
It is crucial that these terms are clearly understood to ensure that the various immigration policies and issues are as clear as possible.
 * Alien refers to any individual who is not a citizen of the United States.
 * Immigrant refers to an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence; such people also may be referred to as lawful permanent residents (LPR).
 * Nonimmigrant refers to an alien who seeks temporary entry to the United States for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants include tourists, temporary workers, business executives, students, and diplomats.
 * Removal is the expulsion may be based on grounds of inadmissibility or deportability.
 * A U.S. visa allows the bearer to apply for entry to the United States under a certain classification. Examples of classifications include student (F), visitor (B), and temporary worker (H).

Lawful Entry
U.S. policy provides two distinct paths for the lawful admission of noncitizens, or “aliens”: permanent (immigrant) admission or temporary (nonimmigrant) admission. The first category, aliens may be granted permanent admission by being accorded the status of lawful permanent residents (LPRs). Aliens admitted in such a capacity are formally classified as “immigrants” and receive a permanent resident card, commonly referred to as a green card. Lawful permanent residents are eligible to work in the United States and may later apply for U.S. citizenship.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services, a bureau of Department of Homeland Security, uses both entries of new immigrants and adjustments to lawful permanent resident status as “admissions.” In 2007, a total of 1,052,415 individuals became LPRs of the United States.

The second path is admission on a temporary basis. Temporary admission encompasses a large and diverse group of people who are granted entry to the United States for a specific purpose for a limited period of time.

In 2004, the State Department issued approximately 5 million visas authorizing temporary admission to the United States, according to preliminary data. In addition, under the Visa Waiver Program, 15.8 million people were admitted that year on a temporary basis. Under that program, eligible people may enter the United States without a visa for business or pleasure visits of 90 days or less.

Unlawful Entry
Aliens found to be in violation of U.S. immigration laws may be removed from the country through a formal process. In 2004, about 203,000 people were formally removed, about 1 million others departed voluntarily.

The issue of aliens being in violation of U.S. immigration laws is a very important issue and is subject to a great deal of controversy. For further information, Group 3, Life under U.S. Immigration policy, can be helpful.

Nonimmigrant Visa
Nonimmigrant visas are for people with permanent residence outside the U.S. but who wish to go to the U.S. on a temporary basis – for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work, or study. A total of 4,881,632 nonimmigrant visas were issued in 2003 (the latest year for which data are available). Nonimmigrant are required to leave the country when their visas expire, though certain classes of nonimmigrants may adjust to LPR status if they otherwise qualify.

U.S. law requires that people who apply for nonimmigrant visas quired to submit different documents. Under U.S. law, the authority to issue or refuse visas is vested solely in consular offices abroad. Consular officers have the authority to decide whether the evidence submitted in support of an application is sufficient to establish an applicant's eligibility for a visa. Consular officers may request additional information or documentation depending on their assessment of each person’s situation.

There are more than twenty-five general categories of nonimmigrant visas. Most are targeted at a person's particular purpose in visiting the U.S. and the terms of those visas will vary according to the category. Some more popular nonimmigrant Visas include:


 * B-1 Temporary visitor for Business
 * B-2 Temporary visitor for Pleasure (Tourist Visa)
 * E-1 Treaty Trader, spouse and children
 * E-2 Treaty Investor, spouse and children
 * F-1 Student Visa
 * H-1B Work Visa for Specialty Occupations (including fashion models)
 * J-1 Visas for exchange visitors
 * K-1 Fiancé Immigration Visa
 * O-1 Extraordinary ability in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business, or Athletics
 * P-1 Individual or team athletes
 * R-1 Religious workers
 * TN Trade visas for Citizens of Canada and Mexico

Immigrant Visa
Several categories of people are eligible for immigrant status. Certain applicants can apply on their own behalf. All others must have a relative or potential employers apply for them. Immigrating to the United States to live here permanently is an important and complex decision. This section provides information to help foreign citizens desiring to permanently immigrate to determine the visas, requirements, and related materials they will need to apply to immigrate to the United States.

Also effective March 20, 2007, consular posts abroad are again authorized to accept petitions for immediate relative immigrant classification from American citizens, who are resident in their consular districts, U.S. service members, emergency cases involving life and death or health and safety considerations, and others determined to be in the national interest.(need source) In general, in order to be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa, a foreign citizen must be sponsored by a U.S. citizen relative(s) or by a prospective employer. Unlike most other immigrant categories, Immediate Relatives are not subject to numerical limits under immigration law.


 * Major immigrant categories are:
 * Immediate Relatives
 * Special Immigrants
 * Employer-sponsored

In 2007, the limit on preference immigration was 373,148; including 226,000 for family-sponsored preferences and 147,148 for employment preferences. In addition, there are per-country and dependent area limits equal to 7 percent and 2 percent, respectively, of the total number of family-sponsored and employment preferences. In 2007, the per-country limit was 26,120 and the dependent area limit was 7,463.

Additionally, the Diversity Visa Program, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery, provides a certain number of permanent resident visas annually. These visas are drawn from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. which includes the following reasons:


 * Family Immigration
 * Adopting a Child
 * Marriage to a Foreign National
 * Employment Visa
 * Employment: Iraqi or Afghan translators/interpreters
 * Employment: Iraqis - Worked for/on behalf of US Government
 * Employment: Religious Workers

Political Asylum


Asylum is a form of protection that allows individuals who are in the United States to remain here, provided that they meet the definition of a refugee and are not barred from either applying for or being granted asylum, and eventually to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident. Every year, thousands of people come to the United States in need of protection because they have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Those found eligible for asylum are permitted to remain in the United States.

Unlike the U.S. Refugee Program, which provides protection to refugees by bringing them to the United States for resettlement, the U.S. Asylum Program provides protection to qualified refugees who are already in the United States or are seeking entry into the United States at a port of entry. Asylum-seekers may apply for asylum in the United States regardless of their countries of origin. There are no quotas on the number of individuals who may be granted asylum each year (with the exception of individuals whose claims are based solely on persecution for resistance to coercive population control measures).

The ceiling on refugee admissions was set at 70,000 each year from 2003 to 2007. There is no numerical limit on the number of persons who can be granted asylum status in a year.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, for the fiscal year 2006, there were a total of 55,654 asylum applications received, but only granted 13,352 and denied 16,566 for entry to U.S.

Immigrant Policy
Many LPRs are adjusting status from within the United States rather than receiving visas issued abroad by Consular Affairs. In 2004, a total of 679,305 aliens (64%) adjusted to LPR status in the United States while only 384,427 arrived as LPRs from abroad.
 * More than three-fourths (77%) of the employment-based immigrants,
 * two-thirds (63%) of the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, and
 * only one-third (34%) of the other family-preference immigrants adjusted to LPR status within the United States..

As stated earlier, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) establishes per-country levels at 7% of the worldwide level. For a dependent foreign state, the per-country ceiling is 2%. The per-country level is not a “quota” set aside for individual countries, as each country in the world, of course, could not receive 7% of the overall limit. As the State Department describes, the per-country level “is not an entitlement but a barrier against monopolization. . The INA provides for a permanent annual worldwide level of 675,000 LPRs, but this level is flexible and certain categories of LPRs. . The foremost is an exception for certain family-sponsored immigrant.

The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-313) enabled the per-country ceilings for employment-based immigrants to be surpassed for individual countries that are oversubscribed as long as visas are available within the worldwide limit for employment-based preferences.

The conditions for the admission of immigrants are much more stringent and demanding than nonimmigrants, and less immigrants than nonimmigrants are admitted. However, once immigrants are admitted to the country they are subject to various restrictions and rules. Some of these include, they may accept and change employment, and may apply for U.S. citizenship through the naturalization process, typically after five years.

External articles

 * "America's Immigration Quandary, No Consensus on Immigration Problem or Proposed Fixes," The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
 * "Immigration Overview," Public Agenda
 * "Immigration Visa," United States Immigration Online Information Center