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ABSTRACT
Legal permanent residency (LPR) removes the immediate threat of deportation and allows a permanent foothold in America. Yet despite its protections, LPR is an incredibly difficult status to achieve for legal immigrants who are not immediate relatives (spouses, parents or minor children) of American citizens. Within a climate of increased enforcement, immigrants are urged to migrate using legal channels. Yet these channels are often oversubscribed and may span decades depending on visa type or country of origin. Using data from the National visa Center (NVC) and the U.S. Department of State, this manuscript outlines the difficulties of American LPR within its two largest quota capped categories: family reunification and employment. Findings indicate that countries like India, China, Mexico and the Philippines have the longest wait-times in visa queues – averaging between 7 and 23 years. Data also indicate that for the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, there were over 3.7 million petitions waitlisted in visa queues at U.S. consulates abroad. As such, this manuscript evaluates how the unpredictability of American LPR restricts immigrant pathways to legal integration. It also evaluates how time spent in long visa queues – in part engenders illegal immigration.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. This is done in conjunction with the guidelines set forth in the Immigration Act of 1990 in order to limit how many relatives not classified as immediate family members will be admitted to the U.S in each fiscal year.
2. Concurrent AOS cannot be filed for employment-based petitions in the EB-5 category.
3. The priority date is the date when the USCIS received the application, either an I-130 application for an alien relative or an I-140 application for an immigrant worker.
4. See USCIS memorandum: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives%201998-2008/2004/visaregrssn122904.pdf
5. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-for-june-2019.html
6. Time-bars restrict entry to the country for a minimum of 5–10 years depending on how long an immigrant stayed unlawfully in the country. They cannot be removed without valid legal waivers.
7. S.744 was introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and co-sponsored by the other seven members of the ‘Gang of Eight’ a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators
8. The bill had President Trump’s support though it was opposed by Democrats and some Republicans who felt that it was too restrictive.
9. Comprehensive Ranking System includes factors such as education, age, professional experience as well as spouse or partner skills.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Denise N. Obinna
Denise N. Obinna is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Mount St. Mary's University. Her research and publication interests include immigration law, assimilation and the complexities of the migration experience.