A person may seek immigration to a first world country for many purposes and intents. Some of the common grounds considered for immigration to the US are – immigration (a) to reunite with family (b) for the sake of work (c) by refugees/asylum seekers (d) due to sudden calamities forcing evacuation from motherland etc…
The US places a numerical limit on the number of people who can migrate from a particular country. Currently, the number of people migrating to the US from a single country cannot exceed 7% of the total number of immigrants in that particular year. This is to avoid dominance of a single immigrant group and to ensure diversity.
The US places so much emphasis on diversity that, it even has a dedicated program to encourage immigration from regions that have a lower immigration rate with respect to the US. It is called the Diversity Visa Lottery and focuses on making America a cosmopolitan place in the true sense. Registration for the program can be done online and is free of cost. It is a 3-step process and takes just 10-15 minutes. Every year 55,000 applicants randomly picked by an electronically generated algorithm, are issues the permanent resident card. Popularly known as the green card, this is seen as a path to gain citizenship by naturalization. However, countries that send over 50,000 immigrants to the US in the last 5 years, are not eligible for the Diversity Visa Lottery. One can determine if one is eligible for application, by filling out some essential personal details on the government’s official page https://checkout.usadiversitylottery.com/register.php. Family members of the applicant may also enter the US, as dependents.
However, countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past 5 years, are deemed ineligible to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery Program. It may be interesting to note that India has never been eligible for this program, since its inception in 1995.
Let us now take a look at the other ways in which legal immigration to the US is possible –
(a) Immigration to unite with family : People wishing to immigrate to the US, to unite with a family member, have two provisions under which they may apply. The first one is immediate relatives category. People who come under this category are, spouses of US citizens, unmarried children of citizens who are under 21 years of age and parents of US citizens.
The second category is called the family preference category, where adult children(married or unmarried),brothers and sisters of citizens, spouses and unmarried children of LPRs(lawful permanent residents) may gain entry into the US.
All people immigrating in this manner to the US, are termed derived immigrants. Family based immigration is a major channel for inflow of immigrants into the US, compared to other purposes. For instance, in the Fiscal Year 2014, these immigrants comprised 64% of all new LPRs in the US.
A notable fact is, President Donald Trump had proposed to restrict family-based green cards to only spouses and minor children.
(c) Refugee and Asylum seekers seeking immigration :
When citizens of a country face a danger of persecution within their own country, or are forced to evacuate due to a calamity or other grave dangers, it is not a necessity for them to have immediate family members in the United States. Such people usually apply for immigration from a ‘transition country’ that is different from their home country. The number of refugee admissions did take a dip after the infamous 9/11 attacks. However, the number eventually came up, as more stringent security measures were put in place. The numbers again took a blow, once Donald Trump won the elections. His measure to freeze refugee admissions citing security reasons was strongly condemned world over. But, it was not until January 2018 that refugee based admissions resumed for all countries.Refugees and asylees are eligible to become lawful permanent residents(LPRs), after spending one year as refugees in the United States.
The region-wise threshold for number of immigrants taken in as refugees is set every year, by the President, who works with the Congress.
Table : Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions, FY 2016 (taken from : https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-works)
Africa | 25,000 |
East Asia | 13,000 |
Europe and Central Asia | 4,000 |
Latin America/Caribbean | 3,000 |
Near East/South Asia | 34,000 |
Unallocated Reserve | 6,000 |
TOTAL | 85,000 |
Source: U.S. Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2016: Report to the Congress, (Washington, DC, 2015). |
(c) Immigration for employment : Employment-based immigrants occupy a small chunk in the chart of various categories of immigrants, with their share in the FY 2014 being 15% of the new LPRs in the country. There are 2 subcategories – temporary permit and permanent immigration.
Under temporary permit, companies may bring in extraordinarily skilled foreign nationals to the US. These temporary non immigrants have few options when it comes to switching jobs. Also, they must leave the US once their visa expires or are terminated from their jobs. There are more than 20 categories of visas for workers from other countries. Each type of visa has its own benefits, duration, eligibility requirements etc… These visas are usually sought by employees of multinational companies, sports-persons wishing to train in the US, other artistes, diplomats from other countries, religious workers etc…
Apart from a few familiar and major categories of immigrants listed here, there are also others, who are granted immigrant status on certain special grounds.
It is a known fact that America has better healthcare facilities, better wages, education facilities, police protection and security. Hence, it becomes the top destination for people from countries that lack all these. However, with so many costs and eligibility requirements involved in the immigration process, the chances are less that an aspirant will get his/her application approved. Especially people from politically torn countries of Latin and Central America, resort to illegal procedures, to enter the US. This issue has always been treated with utmost importance by the Congress, with deployment of security personnel in the US-Mexico border, building of endless fences and drone surveillance. An illegal immigrant, if caught may face immediate deportation or other serious consequences. Nevertheless, the American dream motivates the people from poorer countries to come here, legally or otherwise
For further reference, visit the following websites –
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-works
https://www.cfr.org/report/us-immigration-policy
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/us-immigration-policy-program
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/02/26/key-facts-about-u-s-immigration-policies-and-proposed-changes/
https://www.usa.gov/enter-us
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