Download - New immigration law coming with many changes
NEW IMMIGRATION LAW (CIR) WITH MANY CHANGES ESPECIALLY
ELEMINATING MARRIED CHILDREN AND BROTHER/SISTER CATEGORY
Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas
The immigration law in United States will be
changed forever with the new bipartisan bill is
approved by the Congress. The bipartisan bill
will be introduced in to the Senate by next week,
which will put a new focus on prospective
immigrants' merit and employment potential,
while seeking to end illegal immigration once
and for all by creating legal avenues for workers
to come here. It will also speed up the millions
of prospective immigrants waiting outside
United States to legally immigrate to United
States especially under family category. The
new bipartisan bill is intended for the future of
11 million immigrants in the United States
illegally on a 13 year road path leading
ultimately to U.S. citizenship that would cost
each person about $2,000 in fines plus additional
filing fees, and would begin only after steps
have been taken to secure the border, according
to an outline of the measure available at present.
The new legislation will redo the United States
ineffective legal immigration system, creating
new immigration opportunities for tens of
thousands of high and low-skilled workers, as
well as a new "merit based visa" aimed at
bringing people with high professional talents
and skills to the U.S. The U. S. employers
would have to face tough new requirements to
check the legal status of all workers before they
are being hired. If any U. S employer fails to
check the legal status of any person being hired,
they will be subject to severe penalties and fines
including jail terms. The border security will be
strictly implemented before those in United
States can dream about becoming U. S citizens.
They should pay heavy fines and should comply
with all laws before being admitted to U. S
citizenship and it may take about 10-15 years for
them to attain their dream of becoming U. S
citizens. The good thing is that million is people
waiting outside to legally immigrate may see
that their cases speeded up, but at this time it is
not known how it is going to happen. Probably
Congress may add more number of visas in each
category in order to speed up the process, since
at present there is about ten year waiting period
for married children under F-3 category and
about 10 year waiting period under the brothers
and sisters of F-4 . At present most of the family
based category are back logged for about 10-12
years from all countries, while from Mexico and
Philippines the waiting period is about 20 years
when compared to all other countries.
Under the bill, immigrants here illegally could
gain a provisional legal status six months after
enactment as long as they meet certain criteria,
and if the Homeland Security Department has
moved forward on plans to secure the border.
They would remain in that provisional status for
10 years, able to work legally but barred from
federal benefits like welfare or health care. After
10 years they could seek green cards conferring
permanent legal status, and three years after that
they could petition for citizenship. They would
have to pay a total of $2,000 in fines along the
way, and at least hundreds more in fees, though
that number has not been determined.
Immigrants would be barred from seeking
citizenship if they'd been convicted of a felony
or three or more misdemeanors, and no one who
arrived in the country after Dec. 31, 2011, would
be eligible. Hence, it is not advisable for
anyone to enter United States illegally at
present or those who entered after Dec. 31,
2011 to remain illegally thinking that they
will be eligible to become citizens under this
new law to be passed by the Congress.
People brought here illegally as youths would
have a faster path: They could get green cards in
five years and would become eligible for
citizenship immediately thereafter. U.S. citizens
no longer would be able to sponsor their siblings
or married children for immigrant visas,
eventually leading to U.S. citizenship. If you
are a U. S citizen and would like to file
petition for your married children or
brothers and sisters you must do so
immediately since once the new law which
may eliminate these two categories are
passed, you will not be eligible for filing
petitions for them. But those petitions already
filed and pending for approval, those
petitions already approved and pending for
priority date to become current will be
grandfathered, which means that they will be
allowed to immigrate in the future. It is also
anticipated that such people may not need to
wait about 10-15 years to immigrate and they
will be allowed to immigrate faster than normal
waiting period. These are the several changes
aimed at rebalancing an immigration system that
now awards only 15 percent of green cards to
people under employment category while the
majority percent of green cards to people with
family ties. The new law will change the system
that awards 45 percent to 50 percent of green
cards based on employment ties and only the
balance percent to family category.
There would be no limit in the number of green
cards awarded to people of extraordinary ability
in science, arts, education, business or athletics,
or to outstanding professors, doctors and others.
A new startup visa would be created for foreign
entrepreneurs trying to come here to start their
own companies. Visas for highly skilled workers
greatly in demand by technology companies
would nearly double. Low-skilled workers
would be able to come in for jobs in
construction, long-term care and other
industries, ultimately up to 200,000 a year. A
new agriculture visa program would bring farm
workers to the U.S.; farm workers already here
illegally would get a faster path to citizenship
than others here illegally, able to seek a green
card in five years, an effort to create a stable
agricultural workforce.
It is also very important that you consult with an
experience immigration attorney about the
options available for you including the scope for
filing petitions for married children and brother
and sisters. You should file the petitions with
enough supporting documents and evidence so
that they will be accepted for processing by the
USCIS. If you file with insufficient evidence,
your petition will be denied and you lose the
opportunity to sponsor your married children or
brother or sister forever. Hence, it is very
important that you should consult with an
experience immigration attorney, especially a
member of American Immigration Lawyers’
Association (AILA) for your immigration
related legal matters. You should not fall a
victim for immigration fraud by contacting
notaries or agents who handles immigration
matters.
Disclaimer: Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, with
more than 36 (about 21 years in U. S. Immigration
Laws) years of experience as an Attorney, mainly
practices in U. S. immigration law and is located in
Dallas, Texas. He does not claim authorship for
above referenced information since it is obtained
from several sources including USCIS web site,
AILA and other internet based legal sources, and
published for the benefit of the general public. Lal
Varghese, Attorney at Law or the publisher is not
responsible or liable for anything stated above, since
it is generalized information about the subject matter
collected from various legal sources. For individual
cases and specific questions you are advised to
consult any attorney of your choice or contact your
State Bar Organizations or local Bar Associations or
American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA)
for finding an attorney or for any legal help. You can
visit our website at: www.indiaimmigrationusa.com
or www.indiaimmigrationusa.blogspot.com or
www.facebook.com/groups/usattorney for
information about U. S. immigration law related
matters. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law can be
reached at (972) 788-0777 or at his e-mail:
[email protected] if you have any questions.
Law Offices of Lal Varghese, PLLC
1111 Kinwest Parkway, Suite 120
Irving (Dallas), Texas 75063
(972) 788-0777
E-Mai: [email protected]