U.S. immigration law is based on the following principles: the reunification of families, admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, protecting refugees, and promoting diversity. This fact sheet provides basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed and functions. The body of law governing U.S. immigration policy is called the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA allows the United States to grant up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across various visa categories. On top of those 675,000 visas, the INA sets no limit on the annual admission of U.S. citizens’ spouses, parents, and children under the age of 21. In addition, each year the president is required to consult with Congress and set an annual number of refugees to be admitted to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Once a person obtains an immigrant visa and comes to the United States, they become a lawful permanent resident (LPR). In some circumstances, noncitizens already inside the United States can obtain LPR status through a process known as “adjustment of status.”
LPRs are eligible to apply for nearly all jobs (i.e., jobs not legitimately restricted to U.S. citizens) and can remain in the country permanently, even if they are unemployed. After residing in the United States for five years (or three years in some circumstances), LPRs are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. It is impossible to apply for citizenship through the normal process without first becoming an LPR. Each year the United States also admits a variety of noncitizens on a temporary basis. Such “non-immigrant” visas are granted to everyone from tourists to foreign students to temporary workers permitted to remain in the country for years. While certain employment-based visas are subject to annual caps, other non-immigrant visas (including tourist and student visas) have no numerical limits. I. Family-Based Immigration Family unification is an important principle governing U.S. immigration policy. The family-based immigration system allows U.S. citizens and LPRs to bring certain family members to the United States. Family-based immigrants are admitted either as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through the family preference system. II. Employment-Based Immigration The United States provides various ways for immigrants with valuable skills to come to the country on either a permanent or a temporary basis.
In addition to the numerical limits placed on the various immigration preference categories, the INA also places a limit on how many immigrants can come to the United States from any one country. Currently, no group of permanent immigrants (family-based and employment-based combined) from a single country can exceed seven percent of the total number of people immigrating to the United States in a single fiscal year. This is not a quota to ensure that certain nationalities make up seven percent of immigrants, but rather a limit that is set to prevent any immigrant group from dominating immigration flows to the United States. IV. Refugees and Asylees Refugees are admitted to the United States based upon an inability to return to their home countries because of a “well-founded fear of persecution” due to their race, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin. Refugees apply for admission from outside of the United States, generally from a “transition country” that is outside their home country. The admission of refugees turns on numerous factors, such as the degree of risk they face, membership in a group that is of special concern to the United States (designated yearly by the president and Congress), and whether or not they have family members in the United States. V. The Diversity Visa Program The Diversity Visa Program was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 as a dedicated channel for immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Each year, 55,000 visas are allocated randomly through a computer-generated lottery to nationals from countries that have sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years. Of the 55,000, up to 5,000 are made available for use under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act program, created in 1997 to provide relief to certain asylum seekers who applied for asylum before a specific date. This results in a reduction of the actual annual diversity visa limit to 50,000. The program was originally intended to favor immigration from Ireland (during the first three years of the program at least 40 percent of the visas were exclusively allocated to Irish immigrants). Diversity visas are now distributed on a regional basis and benefit Africans and Eastern Europeans in particular. VI. Other Forms of Humanitarian Relief
VII. U.S. Citizenship In order to qualify for U.S. citizenship through naturalization, an individual must have had LPR status (a green card) for at least five years (or three years if he or she obtained the green card through a U.S.-citizen spouse or through the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA). There are other exceptions including, but not limited to, members of the U.S. military who serve in a time of war or declared hostilities. Applicants for U.S. citizenship must be at least 18 years old, demonstrate continuous residency, demonstrate “good moral character,” pass English and U.S. history and civics exams (with certain exceptions), and pay an application fee, among other requirements. Source:https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-works
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There's still a distinct possibility the Senate rules referee will strike down the reform attempt Democrats are pushing into their $1.75 trillion bill.
Democrats are closing in on a deal that would add immigration reform to their social spending bill before it hits the House floor, but without a long-sought goal: a pathway to citizenship. After days of agonizing negotiations in both chambers, top Democrats are eyeing a compromise that would include new protections and work permits for millions of immigrants, including so-called Dreamers, agricultural workers and those fleeing certain volatile nations, according to multiple people familiar with the talks. There is still little certainty that the plan can pass muster with the Senate’s rules referee, who has the power to strip the provision if it's ruled out of order with the chamber's budget rules. But senior Democrats believe it will at least satisfy key factions in the House — the swing district Democrats refusing to back expansive immigration reforms and a trio of Latino lawmakers who threatened to oppose any deal without their signature priority. “I talked to [Speaker] Pelosi last night, and they were still working it out … I hope it comes together today,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a long-running negotiator in immigration reform efforts. The proposal Democrats are coalescing behind would likely grant five-year-long work authorizations for about “six to seven million” undocumented immigrants, said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), one of the three House lawmakers who staked their support for the social spending plan on immigration provisions. Notably, though, it would not include the full pathway to citizenship for the total roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in U.S. — a result of fierce pushback from battleground Democrats in recent days who have privately warned such a vote could be career-ending. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today issued a Federal Register notice with information on how to apply for employment authorization for eligible Hong Kong residents covered under the president’s Aug. 5 memorandum directing Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for 18 months, through Feb. 5, 2023.
DED for Hong Kong residents applies only to certain eligible Hong Kong residents who were present in the United States as of Aug. 5, 2021; who have continuously resided here since that date; and who meet other eligibility criteria described in the president’s memorandum. For purposes of this DED policy, Hong Kong residents are individuals of any nationality, or without nationality, who have met the requirements and been issued a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport, a British National Overseas passport, a British Overseas Citizen passport, a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card, or an HKSAR Document of Identity for Visa Purposes. There is no application for DED. Eligibility requirements for Hong Kong residents who are covered under DED are based on the terms described in the president’s directive and any relevant implementing requirements established by the Department of Homeland Security. Eligible Hong Kong residents may apply for an Employment Authorization Document by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Eligible Hong Kong residents covered by the president’s DED memorandum may also receive travel authorization. Individuals must file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, for advance parole if they wish to travel based on DED. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-implements-employment-authorization-for-individuals-covered-by-deferred-enforced-departure-for If you hold a passport from Japan, Singapore, Germany, and South Korea, congrats! You carry the world’s most travel-friendly passports and can travel visa-free or visa-on-arrival to more than 190 countries around the world. That’s according to the Henley Passport Index, a quarterly ranking of the most powerful passports in the world based on the number of countries a passport holder can enter without needing a visa. The Index uses data from the International Air Travel Association (IATA), and analyzes 199 passports and 277 destinations. The index doesn’t take into account current COVID-19 travel restrictions and border closures. Japan’s passport made the top of the 2021 rankings for the third consecutive year, allowing passport holders to enter 193 countries. Singapore came in second place, granting access to 192 destinations. Germany and South Korea tied for third place, followed by Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain in fourth. The United States came in seventh place, evidence of how much the power of the U.S. passport has dropped in recent years. In 2015, the United States was the second most powerful passport in the world, with the United Kingdom in the number one spot. THE 10 MOST POWERFUL PASSPORTS IN THE WORLD
1. Japan (193 destinations) 2. Singapore (192 destinations) 3. Germany, South Korea (191 destinations) 4. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain (190 destinations) 5. Austria, Denmark (189 destinations) 6. France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden (188 destinations) 7. Belgium, New Zealand, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States (187 destinations) 8. Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Norway (186 destinations) 9. Australia, Canada (185 destinations) 10. Hungary (184 destinations) If you’re curious to see where your passport ranks, the Henley Passport Index allows you to search the list by passport type. Source: https://www.boundless.com/blog/the-most-travel-friendly-passports-for-2021/ A total of $59.2 billion financial loss and a 53 percent decrease in contribution to GDP has been caused by the Coronavirus pandemic to Canada’s travel and tourism sector last year.
In addition, the devastating situation provoked by the COVID-19 left 373,000 people engaged in the country’s travel and tourism sector jobless, facing many difficulties. According to WTTC’s Senior Vice President, Virginia Messina, such losses revealed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) ’s Economic Impact Report (EIR) have left “huge numbers of people fearing for the future”. Based on EIR’s report, in 2019, Canada’s travel and tourism sector contribution to GDP was $111.6 billion or 6.4 percent, while just 12 months later, it marked a 3.2 percent decrease to $52.4 billion. In addition, the number of women, youth, and minorities employed in the travel and tourism sector in the North American country declined from 1.8 million in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2020, or (20.9 percent decrease). Domestic visitor spending decreased by 51 percent last year. In comparison, international spending dropped by 71.1 percent due to stringent travel restrictions imposed to prevent the virus’s further spread. Even though the decrease in the travel and tourism sector was profound last year, the figures could have been worse if not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme, which helped employers keep their jobs amid the COVID-19 situation, EIR’s report stressed. “However, the situation could have been far worse if it were not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme which supported up to 75 percent of wage subsidy to eligible employers and in turn, allowed many to keep their jobs in the suffering Travel & Tourism sector,” WTTC’s Senior Vice President pointed out. Read more details about this news here. |