Thread: On immigration, let's get the basics right first

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06304/734255-28.stm


Private Sector: On immigration, let's get the basics right first
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

By Robert S. Whitehill

As politicians seeking election debate the pros and cons of immigration reform and control, it might be helpful to understand the immigration landscape before we fence it in.

The most precious status that the United States can confer upon a person is citizenship. The road from entry to the United States as a nonimmigrant, through permanent residency, to naturalization, is long, arduous and complicated, yet many more people seek to become American citizens than are able.

Most of us acquire U.S. citizenship upon birth. Since the passage of the 14th Amendment immediately after the Civil War, all persons born in the United States automatically are citizens. In addition, and subject to complicated rules, children born outside of our borders to U.S. citizen parents also are citizens at birth.

As employers increasingly look to noncitizen talent to meet their human resources needs, a basic understanding of the immigration process -- which legally transforms an individual worker from being an "alien" to being a "citizen" -- is a virtual necessity. Under the U.S. immigration law, if one is a lawful alien, he or she is either an immigrant or nonimmigrant. The journey to citizenship for most aliens begins with a nonimmigrant status, and is not for the faint of heart. It requires patience, determination and often legal guidance.

Nonimmigrant Status: An alien may lawfully enter the United States temporarily through a nonimmigrant visa. While there are dozens of nonimmigrant visa categories, one common characteristic is that each is limited in time and scope; none is permanent. Some allow employment, some do not. Some may be renewed for years, others may not be renewed at all. Some examples of nonimmigrant visas are visitor's visas, student visas, temporary worker visas, intracompany transferee visas, and exchange visitors visas. These visas are identified by letters and numbers from A to V, each one corresponding to a different definition under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Immigrant Status: A foreign citizen seeking permanent residence, and ultimately naturalization, must pursue an immigrant visa, of which there are four basic types: (1) employment-based, (2) family-based, (3) asylum- or refugee-based and (4) diversity lottery-based. Each of them may lead to permanent residency in the United States, colloquially known as having a "green card."

Permanent Residency: Not all individuals holding approved immigrant visas will be eligible for the green card. Before individuals can become permanent residents, they must prove that they are "admissible," meaning that they are not subject to any disqualifying circumstances. There are numerous grounds of inadmissibility, including commission of crimes, engaging in terrorist activities, being subject to a foreign residence requirement and so on.

To give an example, Luis a native and citizen of Guatemala. He is a researcher at a local institution and the fiance of a U.S. citizen. Luis in our country on a valid nonimmigrant visa that his employer has obtained for him. This nonimmigrant visa, a temporary worker visa (H-1B), allows Luis to work for the employer for a limited period of time (up to six years). Let's say that the employer petitions for an employment-based immigrant visa for Luis and it is granted. If immigrant visas are available in his category and there are no grounds of inadmissibility, he can obtain a green card.

If Luis secures permanent residency (a green card), he has the right to live and work in the United States and to come and go across our borders pretty much as he pleases. Nonetheless, he remains an alien, not a citizen. Luis still would not be a citizen if he married his fiance and acquired permanent residency here through her petition (a family-based petition). While permanent residency does give an alien substantial rights and freedoms, it is merely another step along the way to citizenship.

Naturalization: An alien who has been a permanent resident of the United States for a period of five years is eligible for naturalization. There are exceptions to this rule, the principal among them being that aliens who are married to American citizens and living in "marital union" with their citizen spouse are eligible to apply for naturalization after three years.

An alien who is eligible for naturalization is not obligated to seek U.S. citizenship and may remain a permanent resident of the United States indefinitely, unless he or she commits an offense that would cause his or her removal or inadmissibility -- for example, a conviction of a serious offense, an aggravated felony, may very well subject one to removal.

The basic requirements for naturalization are:

Permanent residency for five years (three if married to a U.S. citizen and living in marital union).

Physical presence in the United States for one-half of the required period of time for naturalization (30 of the 60 months or 18 of the 36 months required for eligibility).

Residence in the jurisdiction where naturalization is being filed for at least 90 days.

The alien must be of "good moral character."

Ability to read, write and speak simple English, and basic knowledge of U.S. history and government.

Willingness and ability to take the U.S. Oath of Allegiance.

The intriguing irony is that while the process of naturalization is complex and difficult, new citizens generally have a much deeper appreciation of the value of citizenship than the rest of us.

Pittsburgh lawyer Robert S. Whitehill (rwhitehill@foxrothschild.com) is chair of the immigration group of Fox Rothschild, a firm with 400 lawyers and 14 offices. As politicians seeking election debate the pros and cons of immigration reform and control, it might be helpful to understand the immigration landscape before we fence it in.

The most precious status that the United States can confer upon a person is citizenship. The road from entry to the United States as a nonimmigrant, through permanent residency, to naturalization, is long, arduous and complicated, yet many more people seek to become American citizens than are able.

Most of us acquire U.S. citizenship upon birth. Since the passage of the 14th Amendment immediately after the Civil War, all persons born in the United States automatically are citizens. In addition, and subject to complicated rules, children born outside of our borders to U.S. citizen parents also are citizens at birth.

As employers increasingly look to noncitizen talent to meet their human resources needs, a basic understanding of the immigration process -- which legally transforms an individual worker from being an "alien" to being a "citizen" -- is a virtual necessity. Under the U.S. immigration law, if one is a lawful alien, he or she is either an immigrant or nonimmigrant. The journey to citizenship for most aliens begins with a nonimmigrant status, and is not for the faint of heart. It requires patience, determination and often legal guidance.

Nonimmigrant Status: An alien may lawfully enter the United States temporarily through a nonimmigrant visa. While there are dozens of nonimmigrant visa categories, one common characteristic is that each is limited in time and scope; none is permanent. Some allow employment, some do not. Some may be renewed for years, others may not be renewed at all. Some examples of nonimmigrant visas are visitor's visas, student visas, temporary worker visas, intracompany transferee visas, and exchange visitors visas. These visas are identified by letters and numbers from A to V, each one corresponding to a different definition under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Immigrant Status: A foreign citizen seeking permanent residence, and ultimately naturalization, must pursue an immigrant visa, of which there are four basic types: (1) employment-based, (2) family-based, (3) asylum- or refugee-based and (4) diversity lottery-based. Each of them may lead to permanent residency in the United States, colloquially known as having a "green card."

Permanent Residency: Not all individuals holding approved immigrant visas will be eligible for the green card. Before individuals can become permanent residents, they must prove that they are "admissible," meaning that they are not subject to any disqualifying circumstances. There are numerous grounds of inadmissibility, including commission of crimes, engaging in terrorist activities, being subject to a foreign residence requirement and so on.

To give an example, Luis is a native and citizen of Guatemala. He is a researcher at a local institution and the fiance of a U.S. citizen. Luis is in our country on a valid nonimmigrant visa that his employer has obtained for him. This nonimmigrant visa, a temporary worker visa (H-1B), allows Luis to work for the employer for a limited period of time (up to six years). Let's say that the employer petitions for an employment-based immigrant visa for Luis and it is granted. If immigrant visas are available in his category and there are no grounds of inadmissibility, he can obtain a green card.

If Luis secures permanent residency (a green card), he has the right to live and work in the United States and to come and go across our borders pretty much as he pleases. Nonetheless, he remains an alien, not a citizen. Luis still would not be a citizen if he married his fiance and acquired permanent residency here through her petition (a family-based petition). While permanent residency does give an alien substantial rights and freedoms, it is merely another step along the way to citizenship.

Naturalization: An alien who has been a permanent resident of the United States for a period of five years is eligible for naturalization. There are exceptions to this rule, the principal among them being that aliens who are married to American citizens and living in "marital union" with their citizen spouse are eligible to apply for naturalization after three years.

An alien who is eligible for naturalization is not obligated to seek U.S. citizenship and may remain a permanent resident of the United States indefinitely, unless he or she commits an offense that would cause his or her removal or inadmissibility -- for example, a conviction of a serious offense, an aggravated felony, may very well subject one to removal.

The basic requirements for naturalization are:

Permanent residency for five years (three if married to a U.S. citizen and living in marital union).

Physical presence in the United States for one-half of the required period of time for naturalization (30 of the 60 months or 18 of the 36 months required for eligibility).

Residence in the jurisdiction where naturalization is being filed for at least 90 days.

The alien must be of "good moral character."

Ability to read, write and speak simple English, and basic knowledge of U.S. history and government.

Willingness and ability to take the U.S. Oath of Allegiance.

The intriguing irony is that while the process of naturalization is complex and difficult, new citizens generally have a much deeper appreciation of the value of citizenship than the rest of us.


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(Pittsburgh lawyer Robert S. Whitehill (rwhitehill@foxrothschild.com) is chair of the immigration group of Fox Rothschild, a firm with 400 lawyers and 14 offices.)
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not so much the legals that we are worred about..it the illegals...which have no right here..for now we need to stop all from enter here until we can find a better way to deal with this problem