New Immigration Bill Introduced by Senators
Under the proposal, undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before December 31, 2011, and had stayed in the country continuously could apply for “provisional” legal status as soon as six months after the bill is signed by the president.
On April 16, a group of Democratic and Republican senators unveiled long-awaited legislation to remove the threat of deportation for millions of illegal immigrants and give them an opportunity to become U.S. citizens eventually. However, they would have to wait a decade or more for the full citizenship that would entitle them to federal benefits, while the government works on further securing U.S. borders and enforcing the new immigration law.
The bill's sponsors—four Democrats and four Republicans—felt such conditions were necessary to help their plan succeed where similar measures have failed, mostly because of opposition to what opponents see as "amnesty" for law-breakers.
Billions of dollars in new money would be funneled into additional border security to discourage people from avoiding detection as they crossed Mexico's border with the United States.
The proposal would expand access to both low- and high-skilled labor for American businesses, attempting to keep organized labor happy with provisions designed to keep companies from hiring cheap foreign labor or filling jobs with immigrants when U.S. workers are available.
For the technology sector, it increases the number of visas available for educated workers filling specialized jobs, though it imposes new pay requirements designed to keep the hiring from depressing wages for U.S. technology workers.
Within six months from enactment, during which time the Department of Homeland Security would set out its border security plan, the threat of deportation could end for most illegal immigrants. They would be allowed to work legally in the United States once they pay an initial $500 penalty and any back taxes, and if they can show they have not been convicted of a serious crime in the United States.
After 10 years the immigrants could apply for a "green card," or permanent resident status, through an expanded merit-based immigration system. Those applications could be processed whether or not the government achieved a 90 percent success rate in securing border hot spots.
The green card would not be automatic, although a Senate aide said the majority of the 11 million illegal immigrants would likely get it via the merit-based visa. The total amount of penalties paid would amount to $2,000.
After the 10-year wait for a green card, it could take an additional three years to win U.S. citizenship.
H1B Cap Reached in First Week of Filings
As predicted by many, including the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the fiscal year 2014 (FY14) H1B cap limit was exceeded during the first five business days in April 2013. The USCIS has confirmed in a series of announcements that 124,000 H1B cap-subject filings were received by April 5, 2013.
Since the USCIS has more cases received between April 1 and April 5, 2013 than there are cap numbers, selection must be made using a random, computer-generated selection process. This process, known as a lottery, occurred on April 7, 2013.
VISA PREFERENCE NUMBERS FOR MAY 2013
|
FAMILY |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
01Apr06 |
01Apr06
|
|
2A |
01Mar11 |
01Mar11 |
|
2B |
15May05 |
15May05
|
|
3rd |
08Aug02 |
08Aug02
|
|
4th |
01May01 |
01May01
|
|
EMPLOYMENT |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
Current |
Current |
|
2nd |
01Sep04 |
Current |
|
3rd |
22Dec02 |
01Dec07 |
|
Other |
22Dec02
|
01Dec07 |
|
4th |
Current |
Current |
|
5th |
Current |
Current1B |
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