What makes a person ‘illegal'? ICE spokesman provides answer
Tammy Real-McKeighan
Posted: Monday, June 14, 2010 11:05 am | (1) Comments

In the midst of the immigration debate one question can emerge: What makes a person an illegal immigrant?

Greg Palmore, spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, can answer that question.

When people enter the United States and are not inspected by immigrations officers, they are entering unlawfully and are in the country illegally, he said.

People who are convicted of crimes, also can become illegal immigrants. Those crimes include most felonies, but such offenses could include misdemeanors that require the individuals to stay in jail or on probation for more than a year.

Another way to become illegal is by overstaying a visa.

There are two types of immigrant visas. One is a temporary visa and the other is an immigrant visa, said Tim Counts, spokesperson for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency.

Someone visiting the United States for a couple weeks of vacation could get a temporary visa. Students and various temporary workers also can get this type of visa.

An immigrant visa is for someone coming to live here full time permanently and that person is often referred as a green card holder. They're lawful permanent residents.

"They can live here their entire lives in that status and never return to their home countries if they don't want to," Counts said. "If a green card holder chooses to, they can take the extra step of applying for U.S. citizenship which has the added benefits of being able to vote and being able to hold certain government jobs for example."

Many people become permanent residents through an immediate family member who already has legal status in the United States - either by being a green card holder or a U.S. citizen. This person in the United States then petitions the government to bring their relative into the country, Counts said.

The next largest type of visas is employment-based. An employer petitions the government to bring a foreign worker in after establishing that someone qualified for that particular job cannot be found in the United States.

How quickly people can get a green card also can depend on which country they're from.

Because much immigration is based on immediate family relationships, more people come from some particular countries.

For instance, because so many people from Mexico, who have legal status, are already here petitioning for family members, more Mexicans have an avenue to immigrate here.

But with countries that don't have such a large population of people in the county, there's not much opportunity for citizens of those nations to immigrate here.

So Congress created what's commonly called a visa lottery that's available only to certain nations, such as Ireland, with low levels of immigration to the United States.

Counts notes that only 23,400 immigrants can be allowed into the county each year.

"Because there are far more people applying for these visas than are available annually, the waiting line stretches back many years," he said. "For example, if you're from the Dominican Republic and you're an unmarried adult child and your parent applied for you in November of 2004, your visa would be available now in June 2010."

But if you're from Mexico that date stretches back to October 1992.

"Mexico is not treated any differently than any other country. It doesn't get any fewer visas than any other country. It's just that there is much greater demand. There are more people applying for those visas," Counts said.

When someone petitions the U.S. government, they fill out forms and pay a fee.

Fees vary. Someone applying to replace a green card or if it has expired (they expire every 10 years) costs $290, he said.

To petition to become a naturalized citizen costs $595.

If someone wants to hire a lawyer to help them, that will cost more.

"It's like hiring someone to do your taxes or doing them yourself," Counts said.

Counts added people also can apply for a green card as a refugee or for asylum.


Posted in Local on Monday, June 14, 2010 11:05 am

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