NEW IMMIGRATION LAW (CIR) WITH MANY CHANGES ESPECIALLY

ELEMINATING MARRIED CHILDREN AND BROTHER/SISTER CATEGORY

Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas

The immigration law in United States will be

changed forever with the new bipartisan bill is

approved by the Congress. The bipartisan bill

will be introduced in to the Senate by next week,

which will put a new focus on prospective

immigrants' merit and employment potential,

while seeking to end illegal immigration once

and for all by creating legal avenues for workers

to come here. It will also speed up the millions

of prospective immigrants waiting outside

United States to legally immigrate to United

States especially under family category. The

new bipartisan bill is intended for the future of

11 million immigrants in the United States

illegally on a 13 year road path leading

ultimately to U.S. citizenship that would cost

each person about $2,000 in fines plus additional

filing fees, and would begin only after steps

have been taken to secure the border, according

to an outline of the measure available at present.

The new legislation will redo the United States

ineffective legal immigration system, creating

new immigration opportunities for tens of

thousands of high and low-skilled workers, as

well as a new "merit based visa" aimed at

bringing people with high professional talents

and skills to the U.S. The U. S. employers

would have to face tough new requirements to

check the legal status of all workers before they

are being hired. If any U. S employer fails to

check the legal status of any person being hired,

they will be subject to severe penalties and fines

including jail terms. The border security will be

strictly implemented before those in United

States can dream about becoming U. S citizens.

They should pay heavy fines and should comply

with all laws before being admitted to U. S

citizenship and it may take about 10-15 years for

them to attain their dream of becoming U. S

citizens. The good thing is that million is people

waiting outside to legally immigrate may see

that their cases speeded up, but at this time it is

not known how it is going to happen. Probably

Congress may add more number of visas in each

category in order to speed up the process, since

at present there is about ten year waiting period

for married children under F-3 category and

about 10 year waiting period under the brothers

and sisters of F-4 . At present most of the family

based category are back logged for about 10-12

years from all countries, while from Mexico and

Philippines the waiting period is about 20 years

when compared to all other countries.

Under the bill, immigrants here illegally could

gain a provisional legal status six months after

enactment as long as they meet certain criteria,

and if the Homeland Security Department has

moved forward on plans to secure the border.

They would remain in that provisional status for

10 years, able to work legally but barred from

federal benefits like welfare or health care. After

10 years they could seek green cards conferring

permanent legal status, and three years after that

they could petition for citizenship. They would

have to pay a total of $2,000 in fines along the

way, and at least hundreds more in fees, though

that number has not been determined.

Immigrants would be barred from seeking

citizenship if they'd been convicted of a felony

or three or more misdemeanors, and no one who

arrived in the country after Dec. 31, 2011, would

be eligible. Hence, it is not advisable for

anyone to enter United States illegally at

present or those who entered after Dec. 31,

2011 to remain illegally thinking that they

will be eligible to become citizens under this

new law to be passed by the Congress.

People brought here illegally as youths would

have a faster path: They could get green cards in

five years and would become eligible for

citizenship immediately thereafter. U.S. citizens

no longer would be able to sponsor their siblings

or married children for immigrant visas,

eventually leading to U.S. citizenship. If you

are a U. S citizen and would like to file

petition for your married children or

brothers and sisters you must do so

immediately since once the new law which

may eliminate these two categories are

passed, you will not be eligible for filing

petitions for them. But those petitions already

filed and pending for approval, those

petitions already approved and pending for

priority date to become current will be

grandfathered, which means that they will be

allowed to immigrate in the future. It is also

anticipated that such people may not need to

wait about 10-15 years to immigrate and they

will be allowed to immigrate faster than normal

waiting period. These are the several changes

aimed at rebalancing an immigration system that

now awards only 15 percent of green cards to

people under employment category while the

majority percent of green cards to people with

family ties. The new law will change the system

that awards 45 percent to 50 percent of green

cards based on employment ties and only the

balance percent to family category.

There would be no limit in the number of green

cards awarded to people of extraordinary ability

in science, arts, education, business or athletics,

or to outstanding professors, doctors and others.

A new startup visa would be created for foreign

entrepreneurs trying to come here to start their

own companies. Visas for highly skilled workers

greatly in demand by technology companies

would nearly double. Low-skilled workers

would be able to come in for jobs in

construction, long-term care and other

industries, ultimately up to 200,000 a year. A

new agriculture visa program would bring farm

workers to the U.S.; farm workers already here

illegally would get a faster path to citizenship

than others here illegally, able to seek a green

card in five years, an effort to create a stable

agricultural workforce.

It is also very important that you consult with an

experience immigration attorney about the

options available for you including the scope for

filing petitions for married children and brother

and sisters. You should file the petitions with

enough supporting documents and evidence so

that they will be accepted for processing by the

USCIS. If you file with insufficient evidence,

your petition will be denied and you lose the

opportunity to sponsor your married children or

brother or sister forever. Hence, it is very

important that you should consult with an

experience immigration attorney, especially a

member of American Immigration Lawyers’

Association (AILA) for your immigration

related legal matters. You should not fall a

victim for immigration fraud by contacting

notaries or agents who handles immigration

matters.

Disclaimer: Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, with

more than 36 (about 21 years in U. S. Immigration

Laws) years of experience as an Attorney, mainly

practices in U. S. immigration law and is located in

Dallas, Texas. He does not claim authorship for

above referenced information since it is obtained

from several sources including USCIS web site,

AILA and other internet based legal sources, and

published for the benefit of the general public. 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 legal sources. For individual

cases and specific questions you are advised to

consult any attorney of your choice or contact your

State Bar Organizations or local Bar Associations or

American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA)

for finding an attorney or for any legal help. You can

visit our website at: www.indiaimmigrationusa.com

or www.indiaimmigrationusa.blogspot.com or

www.facebook.com/groups/usattorney for

information about U. S. immigration law related

matters. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law can be

reached at (972) 788-0777 or at his e-mail:

attylal@aol.com if you have any questions.

Law Offices of Lal Varghese, PLLC

1111 Kinwest Parkway, Suite 120

Irving (Dallas), Texas 75063

(972) 788-0777

E-Mai: attylal@aol.com