Senate immigration bill offers status, boosts borders

[bob2013 3]

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/04/16/senate-immigration-bill/2086369/

WASHINGTON — The federal government could pump an additional $7 billion into securing the border with Mexico, the nation's 11 million unauthorized immigrants could become U.S. citizens in 13 years or less, and the country's legal immigration system would be fundamentally altered under a bill by a bipartisan group of senators to be filed Tuesday.

The group of senators known as the Gang of Eight have been working on the bill for more than two months and will announce their final measure during a press conference Wednesday. They had planned to release it Tuesday, but Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said they delayed it out of respect for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Details of the bill were described to USA TODAY by Senate aides who requested anonymity because the measure had not yet been filed.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., went on seven talk shows Sunday to explain the broad outline of the bill and immediately faced criticism from Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and others about granting legal status to unauthorized immigrants before fully securing the border. According to the bill, the two processes would move hand in hand.

First, the Department of Homeland Security would have six months to develop a strategy to further secure the nation's southwest border. The bill provides a wide variety of resources to help do that, including:

• $3 billion to increase manpower and resources, including up to 3,500 Border Patrol agents, grants to local law enforcement agencies, unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance technology and Department of Defense radar technology.

• Authorizes the deployment of National Guardsmen to help build Border Patrol outposts and monitor the region.

• $1.5 billion to extend the 651 miles of existing fencing across the 1,969-mile border.

Once that plan is developed and submitted to Congress, the nation's unauthorized immigrants could apply for temporary legal status.

PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

Immigrants would be able to achieve that status — and be known as "Registered Provisional Immigrants" — if they entered the U.S. before Dec. 31, 2011, and maintained continuous physical presence in the country, pass a criminal background check and pay $500 and any outstanding taxes. That temporary status could be renewed six years later with an additional $500 payment.

Meanwhile, all business owners would have to begin checking the immigration status of new hires using the federal E-Verify program, and the government would have to implement a program to track every time a person enters and exits the country.

Homeland Security would then face a big test five years after starting its border security program. The agency will have to prove that it is monitoring 100% of the border, and intercepting 90% of people trying to illegally cross it in "high-risk" areas.

If Homeland Security doesn't reach those goals, the job would be handed over to a newly-created "Southern Border Security Commission" made up of governors from the four border states - California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas - and other border experts appointed by the president and leaders of both parties of Congress.

The commission would receive an additional $2 billion to develop and implement a strategy to reach those goals. But the commission would not need to reach any statistical benchmarks for border security before Registered Provisional Immigrants to begin applying for green cards.

Ten years after the bill is passed, and after paying an additional $1,000 fee, those who have remained under temporary legal status could apply for a green card, and then U.S. citizenship three years later.

When hearing the proposed pathway, Sessions labeled it "amnesty." But Rubio responded saying they had established a lengthy, arduous, "earned" pathway to citizenship, and that it would actually be easier for unauthorized immigrants to return to their home countries and apply from there.

FUTURE FLOW

The bill would also dramatically change the way the U.S. grants visas and green cards for future immigrants. Among the changes:

• Eliminates the diversity visa lottery, which randomly grants up to 55,000 visas a year to people around the globe, most of which go to African countries.

• Ends the practice of allowing U.S. citizens to petition for green cards for their siblings.

• Creates a "merit-based" visa, which awards up to 250,000 visas a year based on a point system that measures their education and employment, among other criteria.

• Increases the cap on the number of H1B visas, which go primarily to college-educated foreigners in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, from 85,000 to 205,000.

• Creates up to 200,000 visas a year, known as W visas, for people to work in retail, construction, hospitality and janitorial jobs.

Currently, most green cards are issued based on family ties to U.S. citizens - only about 16% of immigrants are granted green cards based on their skills or their possible contributions to the economy. But the changes would increase that number to nearly 50%, said one Senate aide.

Unauthorized immigrants brought to the country as children — known as DREAMers — and those who have worked in the nation's agricultural industries would have a faster track to a green card. While all others must wait 10 years, they can apply for a green card after five years.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on the bill Friday and Monday.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/04/16/senate-immigration-bill/2086369/

[Blueberry Pancake 311]

The full bill you can find here:

http://www.schumer.senate.gov/forms/immigration.pdf

[bob2013 3]

The full bill you can find here:

http://www.schumer.senate.gov/forms/immigration.pdf

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Immigration Reform: Let the Debate Begin!

Posted: 17 Apr 2013 08:23 AM PDT

After weeks and weeks of anticipation, the Senate’s Gang of 8’s immigration reform bill has finally been released. You can read the outline here. The bill, which has not yet been assigned a bill number, is 844 pages long! You can read it in its entirety here.

The bill – entitled the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act – proposes a radical overhaul of the US immigration system. Its proposed measures include:

The introduction of a merit-based green card system to replace the current system of allocating green cards;

An increase in the H-1B cap coupled with new requirements for H-1B employers;

The creation of a startup visa;

Replacement of the H-2A and H-2B visa system with a new W visa;

A new Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status for the millions of undocumented individuals currently living in the US with a path towards permanent residency; and

The elimination of the Diversity Visa (Green Card Lottery) program; etc.

In the coming weeks I’ll provide a series of posts with a more complete analysis of the bill’s different components. In the meantime, you can follow the press coverage of the debate to come here.

Remember, the legislative process is long and very complicated. This Senate bill is just one component and will serve as a starting point of what promises to be an extended debate on the issue. The House of Representatives, which currently is more conservative and less receptive to immigration matters, will also have its say. The final version of the bill passed by Congress – if it even reaches that stage – may be very different from this initial outline.

Questions about US immigration? Need help with your immigration case? Contact us for a free initial consultation:

E-mail contact: blog@immigration-aux-usa.com

Telephone contact: (617) 682-8130 or (617) 889-0215

Free consultation: http://tinyurl.com/consultation-gratuite-blog

[bob2013 3]

ALERTE:

The elimination of the Diversity Visa (Green Card Lottery) program

[bob2013 3]

they will create new visas.

What about the F2A visa?is there any change?

[Darnell 8,478]

####. 205K H1-B ? oh #### me. no no no.

[bob2013 3]

Remember, the legislative process is long and very complicated. This Senate bill is just one component and will serve as a starting point of what promises to be an extended debate on the issue. The House of Representatives, which currently is more conservative and less receptive to immigration matters, will also have its say. The final version of the bill passed by Congress – if it even reaches that stage – may be very different from this initial outline.

[bob2013 3]

some details:

Between fiscal years 2015 and 2021, the Secretary shall allocate a seventh of the total number of those with employment based visas that have been pending on the date of enactment. Petitions for spouses and children of permanent residents who are accorded status under the INA are automatically converted to petitions to accord status as immediate relatives

[Merrytooth 5,748]

####. 205K H1-B ? oh #### me. no no no.

Agreed.. but US are not producing adequate numbers of graduates in those IT, Engineering .. fields

US needs Education Reform too.

[iamwhatiam80 92]

There is going to be a big change. Spouse and minor children will not be subject to the numerical cap anymore,. They will be reclassified as immediate relatives just like US citizens.

they will create new visas.

What about the F2A visa?is there any change?