A Long Line for Legal Immigration
If you applied for a green card in the United States in 1993 or earlier, you’re probably pretty close to getting that green card. Anyone who has applied after that will have to wait awhile. A long while.
Waiting for a green card to process takes decades. And exactly how long depends on your circumstances. College-educated immigrants wait less than those who aren’t. Spouses wait less than siblings.
Country quotas come into play as well. In the 1960s, Congress established a quota system, granting each country a certain number of eligible green cards. Those quotas vary, so two immigrants with the same background and education (but with different nationalities) may wait for varying amounts of time.
This scenario, along with the backlong of waiting immigrants (estimated to be 4 million people), fuels illegal immigration some say.
Stuart Anderson, a former immigration official during the Bush administration, said illegal immigration is common because most don’t want to wait two decades.
“The combination of that with increased border enforcement has led people to come in illegally and then end up staying once they got into the country because it’s become more difficult to cross in the first place,” Anderson said.
Arizona Democrats Seek to Repeal Immigration Law
Meanwhile in Arizona, Democrats are hoping to repeal the state’s strict immigration law, saying it hurts the state’s tourism and stifle’s economic development. AZFamily.com reports that so far, it’s been a losing battle.
Democrats have been trying to rekindle the dialogue in the Legislature regarding how the state treats illegal immigrants, but the Republican majority are not likely to concede.
“Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that three of the four most contentious parts of the law were unconstitutional, Republican leaders argue the law is good policy and does what it is supposed to do – go after illegal immigrants,” AZFamily.com states.
U.S. immigration lawyers in Thailand note that amnesty laws in Thailand apply to any nationality meeting the qualifications, including Thai illegal aliens in the States. However, the number of Thai persons qualifying is small compared to the number of Mexican nationals.
Related articles: Obama to Overhaul U.S. Immigration System
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