Pathway to Citizenship?

The debate over immigration reform has focused on the issue of whether or not the estimated 11 million undocumented persons should be given a path to citizenship.  There has been little discussion of what that path would be.

This is not a simple issue. The immigration laws are complex, and eligibility for Legal Permanent Resident status (so called "green card") depends on what country one is from and whether one is applying through an employer or through a family member (the only possibilities, except for certain special circumstances).

If applying through a family member, then the status of the family member (US Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident--the only two categories eligible to apply for a family member), and the relationship of the potential immigrant to the family member (child, parent, spouse, sibling)  is taken into account.  Other considerations are marital status and age (adult or minor) of the potential immigrant, and a variety of questions about marital status of the family member and in-wedlock/out-of-wedlock status of the potential immigrant.

Note that a Permanent Legal Resident is not a citizen.  In order to become a citizen, one must have been a Legal Permanent Resident for 5 years (3 years if married to a US Citizen), have maintained residency in the US, have Good Moral Character, among other requirements.

The proposal by a group of eight senators says: "Individuals who are present without lawful status - not including people within the two categories identified below - will only receive a green card after every individual who is already waiting in line for a green card, at the time this legislation is enacted, has received their green card." The "two categories" are those brought to the US as minors, and some agricultural workers, who will be on an undefined accelerated path. 

It is important to remember that no laws have been proposed.  This purpose of this discussion is to shed some light on what is meant by a pathway to citizenship.  The proposal by the eight senators is thought to be one of the more generous.  President Obama, in the State of the Union Address, made a similar statement about currently undocumented persons "moving to the end of the line."

So, what is this "line?" According the US State Department's Visa Bulletin for February 2013, there are family petitions submitted in June 1989 that have not been processed. Only after those petitions are processed may the green card application process start. So to wait until "every individual who is already waiting in line for a green card, at the time this legislation is enacted, has received their green card" may mean to wait another 24 years. At that point, there will be a subset of the 11 million currently undocumented who will be inserted into a line.  At the current rate of around 480,000 green cards issued per year (limited by law), that's a long line, both for the currently undocumented, and for those who would normally compete for the available green cards.  The 480,000 number is not absolute, as it can vary from year to year depending on who is applying in what categories, but it gives a good idea of the challenge. It is also possible that reform may change that number, but we have not seen any proposals to do so.

Once a person obtains a green card, he or she may start the process of becoming a US Citizen (usually eligible to apply 5 years after receiving the greed card).  So, from current undocumented status to citizenship could be a very long process.

There are other unanswered questions as well, such as what will be the status of currently undocumented persons during the time they are waiting in line. It makes sense to think that it would be some "lawfully present" status such as that currently provided by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (which defers deportation for some undocumented persons brought to the US before age 15).  The good news is that, if this were the case, those covered would have a status that would allow them to stay in the US without fear of deportation. 

Other questions about status include how it will differ from permanent residency in terms of ability to travel outside the US, eligibility for public benefits, and other issues. Further, would it allow for driver's licenses, in-state tuition at colleges and universities, etc? Also, there is the question of whether the numbers of green cards available and/or the quotas for certain countries, will change.

Until we see more detailed proposals, these questions will remain unanswered. One thing is clear, however: the "pathway to citizenship," if any, will be long and arduous.