Immigration Reform - First Reaction

The long awaited Comprehensive Immigration Reform proposal has been unveiled in the Senate.  This is not yet a bill. It must go through the Judiciary Committee and go through the floor debate process.  After that, it will have to be reconciled with whatever the House comes up with.

The initial proposal is 844 pages long, so comments herein are not based on a detailed reading of all pages, and are not legal advice.  They are presented here as a foundation for further review.  Read the full text of the bill.

In other words, this is preliminary.  However, we will use this blog to identify and discuss components of proposed legislation throughout the legislative process.  This is the first post, potentially to be followed by  many others on the subject. Since we expect this to be a moving target, we plan to provide updates as needed.

There are four main sections of the proposed bill:

• TITLE I—BORDER SECURITY 
• TITLE II—IMMIGRANT VISAS
  Subtitle A - Registration and Adjustment of Registered Provisional Immigrants
  Subtitle B - Agricultural Worker Program
  Subtitle C - Future Immigration
  Subtitle D - Conrad State 30 and Physician Access
  Subtitle E - Integration
• TITLE III—INTERIOR ENFORCEMENT
  Subtitle A—Employment Verification System
  Subtitle B—Protecting United States Workers
  Subtitle C—Other Provisions
  Subtitle D—Asylum and Refugee Provisions
  Subtitle E—Shortage of Immigration Court Resources for Removal Proceedings
  Subtitle F—Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Abuses Involving Workers Recruited Abroad
  Subtitle G—Interior Enforcement
• TITLE IV—REFORMS TO NONIMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAMS
  Subtitle A—Employment-based Nonimmigrant Visas
  Subtitle B—H–1B Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections (nonimmigrant, unskilled workers)
  Subtitle C—L Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections (nonimmigrant work  visa, includes family members)
  Subtitle D—Other Nonimmigrant Visas
  Subtitle E—JOLT Act (Jobs Originated through Launching Travel )
  Subtitle F—Reforms to the H–2B Visa Program (nonimmigrant, unskilled workers)
  Subtitle G—W Nonimmigrant Visas (new worker visas)
  Subtitle H—Investing in New Venture, Entrepreneurial Startups, and Technologies

Overall, it appears to have some good provisions.  One concern that we have had all along is partially addressed.  The current backlog of people waiting for immigrant visas in the family preference categories should lessen.  See our post on the subject. The intent of these provisions is positive (e.g., converting the F2A family preference category to Immediate Relatives--see #1 under Future Immigration below). However, both the State Department and USCIS will see increased workloads, and it is not clear that there is funding for additional staff in either department to accommodate this workload.  The result could be moving people from one line into another. (There is funding for additional border protection officers, and there is mention of immigration court improvements--we'll have to see how all this plays out.)

Issues: The main concern is the flow of currently undocumented persons into RPI status. USCIS has its hands full with the current immigration system.

• Will the bill provide for additional funding to accommodate the subset of 11 million undocumented that us eligible for RPI status?
• How long will it take to work through the flood of applications? 
• Will current applications for immigrant visas, Permanent Residency (Green Cards). and Naturalization be delayed due to the increased workload?
• What happens to those waiting for action on family based petitions in categories that are eliminated? Some will be entered into the "merit based" system, but we need to study this part of the proposal further to understand it more fully.
• There is mention of adding 3500 border guards and addressing the shortage of immigration court resources, but we gave not found any discussion of adding resources to USCIS or the State Department (again, they may be there...we need to study it more).

The highlights (as we see them) are discussed below. This discussion focuses on immigration and non-immigrant visa reform, rather than on the border security and interior enforcement provisions.

Currently Undocumented - Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) Status

1. Eligibility: Persons who can prove that they were physically present on December 31, 2011, and have maintained continuous presence in the US since then may apply for RPI status. Successful applicants will have no felony convictions (here or abroad) and not more than 2 misdemeanors, not have certain infectious diseases, and be able to prove that they are not of questionable morality (in the judgement of USCIS).
2. Timing: RPI status will be available 6 months after enactment of the bill, and will expire after 6 yrs. RPIs  may apply for Permanent Residency (Green Card) after 10 years, and apply to become Naturalized Citizens 3 years after attaining Permanent Residency.
3. Fees:  Each RPI application carries a $500 fee. Permanent Residency will carry a $1000 fee (we believe that this is an estimate: the current application fee for Permanent Residency is $985 plus $85 for biometrics).  Since RPI status is for 6 years, it must be renewed at least once, so the total fees to attain Permanent residency will be about $2000. After 3 years, the Permanent Resident may apply for citizenship. The current application fee for Naturalization is $595 plus $85 for biometrics.

Currently Undocumented - Agricultural Workers

1. Agricultural Workers: A "Blue Card" will grant lawful presence to currently undocumented agricultural workers who qualify and their spouses and children. To qualify, workers must have worked in agriculture at least 100 days or 575 hours in the last  years, and have no serious criminal history. After 5 years, they may apply for Permanent Residency.

DREAM Act

1. Those who were brought to the US without documentation when they were under age 16, will be able to apply for RPI status, and to apply for Permanent Residency after 5 years. Further, if granted Permanent Residency, their 5 years in RPI status will be considered as Lawful Permanent Residence and therefore the they will  be eligible to apply for Naturalization  immediately after attaining Permanent Residency.
   Requirements for RPI status for DREAMers include passing background checks, graduating from a US high school, attending college, and/or serving for 4 years in the US Military.

Future Immigration

1. Definition of Immediate Relative changed to include spouses and unmarried minor children of Permanent Residents (currently is for immediate relatives of US Citizens only). This eliminates the F2A Catergory
2. Elimination of the F3 category of Family-Based Immigration (married sons and daughters of US Citizens), limits the definition to those 30 years of age and under, an merges it iinto the revised F2 category (which now includes only what used to be F2B--unmarried children over 21 of Permanent Residents)
3. Elimination of the F4 category of Family-Based Immigration (siblings of US Citizens, including their spouses and unmarried minor children)
4. A new "merit-based" immigrant visa that considers education, skills, experience, and other factors (up to 250,000 per year)
5. Change in the distribution of immigration from 15% employment based/85% family based to somewhere closer to 50/50
6. No limit for workers of extraordinary ability, new category for persons who immigrate to start a business

Future Non-Immigrant Worker Visas

1. Increase of H-1B visas ("Specialty Occupations") from 65,000 possibly to 180,000
2. New W visa for unskilled workers (20,000, increasing to perhaps 200,000), which will include a new 3-year visa for agricultural workers (133,000 per year), family members ineligible to accompany 

Sources: abcnews.com, cnn.com, usatoday.com, thehill.com, full text of bill