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Senate Passes Comprehensive Immigration Reform!
House Remains Obstacle to Enactment
Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas
The bipartisan coalition of Senators voted 62 to 36 to pass a compromise version of comprehensive immigration reform. The path ahead to enact a bill that can be signed into law is fraught with dangers, as the Senate must now negotiate with the House to achieve a final "conference" bill that both bodies can pass and send to the President. While President Bush has stated unequivocally that he favors a comprehensive approach, House leaders remain stuck in a harsh "enforcement only" mode bill. Recent statements by House leadership adamantly opposing the earned legalization and temporary workers programs contained in the Senate bill illustrate the wide divide that will have to be bridged if final legislation is to be enacted.
The Senate bill contains the following important provisions, in addition to many measures that address border and interior enforcement and create a new employment verification system:
• Path to Legal Status for Undocumented aliens Currently in the United States
o Undocumented aliens who are living in U.S. for at least 5 years prior to April 5, 2006 (estimated 6.7 million) eligible for 6 years of work authorization and then eventually for lawful permanent resident status (Green Card), upon payment of $2,000 fine. They must also meet English and Civics requirement, passing background checks and paying taxes to IRS which they owed.
Will get LPR status ("green card") after current family backlogs are cleared
After 5 years as LPR, they can apply for citizenship.
o Undocumented aliens U.S. less than 5 but more than 2 years, (estimated 2.8 million) "Deferred Mandatory Departure (DMD) status, providing work authorization and eventual path to permanent status with following requirements:
Must leave country within 3 years, "touch base" and return
Can apply for readmission before departure
Departure requirement waived for spouses/children, or if substantial hardship on person or immediate family.
• Family Unity and Family and Employment Visa Backlog Relief
o Those in current family backlogs will get "green cards" before any of the currently undocumented aliens receive the Green Cards
o New family preference cap of 480,000, adding 260,000 new visas per year to eliminate backlogs
o New employment-based cap of 450,000 for a 10-year period, adding 310,000 new visas per year; spouses and children of certain employment-based immigrants capped at 650,000, others may remain outside the cap
o 30% of employment-based cap reserved for "essential" workers
o Provisions for widows, orphans, and lower threshold for affidavits of support
• High-Skilled Immigration Reforms
o Reform of student visa rules to authorize dual intent, expand the period of OPT, and create a direct path to permanent status for certain advanced degree students
o Increase in H-1B cap to 115,000 with market-based escalator and exemption for STEM advanced degree holders
o Exemptions for the annual employment-based cap for STEM advanced degree holders, aliens of extraordinary ability, and outstanding professors and researchers
• New Temporary Worker Program with Labor Protections and Path to Green Card
o New program for 200,000 new temporary "essential" workers per year
o 3 year visa, renewal for 3 years, with portability to work for employer of choice
o Current undocumented who entered U.S. after January 2004 are eligible, must leave country to apply, 3/10 year bars are waived
o Employer has to seek U.S. worker first; labor protections and market wage requirements
o Can apply for permanent status ("green card"), within the new employment-based cap; can self-petition if worked for 4 years, otherwise employer can petition
• Reforms to Agricultural Worker Program
o Farm workers who show that they performed at least 150 days of agricultural work in the U.S. during the 24 month period ending December 31, 2005 can get temporary resident status ("blue card"); spouse/minor kids get status too
o To earn permanent status ("green card"), farm workers must perform agricultural work for at least 100 work days per year for 5 years, OR perform 150 days per year for 3 years. Participants may work outside agriculture but only if they are continuing to meet the annual agricultural work requirement.
o The earned legalization program has a cap of 1.5 million.
o The H-2A temporary foreign worker program will allow employers in the dairy industry to hire workers even when they are year-round workers.
• Path to Legal Status for Undocumented High School Students (DREAM Act)
o Students who enter U.S. before age of 16 and are present for 5 years preceding date of enactment, and who have graduated from high school (or GED), can apply for 6-year conditional status
o Within 6 years, if graduated from college or completed two years in a degree program, or served in Armed Forces, conditional status becomes permanent status ("green card")
Please be aware that the Senate has only passed its version of the bill. It has to be passed by the House, which is not in agreement to pass a bill which the Senate passed. They may pass a lesser version or may come up with a compromise version of this bill, which has to be passed by the Senate again. Such a bill is called ‘Conference Bill’ and it may take several months to achieve that and the President to sign. Beware of unscrupulous elements and Notarios who will try to induce illegal aliens that they should pay the fine of $2,000.00 right now etc. No, alien should pay any fine at this time if the law passes in order to apply for work permit, but after six years when they are eligible to apply for Green Card, they have to pay a fine of $2,000.00 according to the version of the bill passed by the Senate. The aliens will be only eligible to apply for Green Cards after six years after receiving the work permit, and they have to pay all taxes, and pass the English and Civics test, and also pass background checks in order to be eligible to apply for Green Card.
Disclaimer: Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law does not claim authorship for above referenced information. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law or the publisher is not responsible or liable for anything stated above, since it is generalized information about the subject matter collected from various sources including Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, State Department, Federal Register, and American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA) Advocacy Center, and other legal sources. For individual cases and specific questions you are advised to consult an attorney of your choice or contact the agencies mentioned above. You can reach Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law at (972) 788-0777 or (972) 788-1555 Fax (972) 556-1109 or at e-mail: attylal@aol.com, for a free consultation on this subject matter. You can visit our website at: www.indiaimmigrationusa.com for more information about other related immigration matters.
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