Immigration Debate

Public majority in Britain are of the opinion that illegal immigrants living in UK, should be allowed to work so that they could contribute positively to the UK economy.

In a program entitled, “The Big Question”, telecast by BBC recently, the attendees were of the opinion that it would cost the government an arm and a leg to send all the illegal settlers back home. Claims about the number of illegal immigrants living in UK, vary between 600,000 to three million. There is no way in which we can judge the authenticity of the illegal immigrants in UK. A technocrat said, “it would take the Home Office 35 years to send all the illegal immigrants back home - if their number remains the same.”

A representative from the London Mayor’s Office said that illegal immigrants should not be given a Carte blanche. Instead a restricted permission to work in UK for five years would be a step in the right direction. Those granted amnesty during these five years should be monitored closely and if they are found contributing positively to the society without committing any crime or creating a law and order situation, only then such illegal immigrants status should be further regularised.

It may be worthwhile to add that a study commissioned by the London Mayor Boris Johnson had recently suggested that an immigration amnesty would lead to a GBP3 billion boost to the economy. The London School of Economics study also concludes that an amnesty would not lead to large scale illegal immigration, as border controls would prevent this happening. The report’s findings were welcomed by Boris Johnson.

The main points in that report are as follows:

Estimates that there are 618,000 illegal migrants in the UK.
More than two-thirds 442,000 are in London.
If illegal immigrants were given legal status in the then GBP 846 million a year would be raised in taxes.
The public sector costs of granting indefinite leave to remain would be about GBP410 million a year.
Total costs could rise to GBP1 billion a year in the long term if the immigrants receive welfare benefits and public sector housing.
The proposed amnesty would be for those who had been in the for at least five years. It is estimated that two thirds of illegal immigrants would be eligible. The report estimates that regularizing the status of illegal settlers would result in:

An increase in individual earnings of 25%.
An increase in the rate of employment of 6%.
An additional GBP3 billion a year in national gross domestic product.
Amnesties and regularisation programmes have been common in a number of Countries, including in France. The amnesty idea was first mentioned by Boris Johnson more than a year ago in April 2008. This sparked widespread controversy. The Immigration Minister at the time Phil Woolas said that it would lead to more people trafficking.

The LSE research came as a Commons public accounts committee report showed it would be at least another four years before the UK Border Agency reached its “optimum capacity” to remove failed ­asylum seekers.

Only 12,000 were removed last year. The MPs’ report said Home Office staff on asylum cases are still using fax machines, paper files and handwritten interview notes and will not have a better IT system until 2013. It will also take four years to expand the availability of detention spaces to the 4,000 needed to step up the pace of removals.

The Home Office told the MPs that it was on track to finish working through the backlog of 400,000 to 450,000 cases, some of which date back years. The backlog will finally be cleared by 2011.

Edward Leigh, chairman of the public accounts committee, said: “The process of coming to decisions on whether to grant asylum is still too slow.”

Applying for a green card through a marriage entered into in good faith to a U.S. citizen is one of the quickest ways a qualifying foreign national may obtain a U.S. green card (permanent residency).  When a foreign individual and his/her U.S. citizen spouse reside in the U.S. and they are applying for a green card, the process is referred to as ”adjustment of status” (this is different than “change of status”).  Adjustment of status essentially means a foreign national is adjusting his/her status from whatever his/her status currently is (H-1B, TN, L-1, F-1, out of status, etc.) to that of a permanent resident.  If the foreign spouse is not in the U.S., but is married to a U.S. citizen then the case would be processed partly through USCIS in the U.S. and partly with a consulate outside of the U.S.  The immigration benefit pursued would either be a marriage visa or an immigrant visa, not adjustment of status.   

Unlike many other immigration benefits, you can apply for a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen (aka adjust status to a U.S. permanent resident) even if you have unlawful presence in the U.S. or you have overstayed a visa. However, there are limited circumstances where you may not eligible to apply for a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen. 

The green card through marriage process entails numerous forms, legal issues, filings, receipts, government correspondence, and finally an interview.  It is not uncommon in some parts of the U.S. to wait up to a year or more to finally complete the process.  However, in New York City, there has been a recent trend of processing properly prepared and filed cases in a timely manner.  In fact, our recent experience has shown cases being scheduled for interviews in as little as 3.5 months from the date the application has been received by USCIS.  

The following two green card through marriage application examples are taken from two recent cases in New York City.  Please keep in mind that both cases were prepared and filed by an attorney experienced with family based immigration law matters.

The applications submitted in these cases were the following:  I-130 Immigrant Petition & I-485 Adjustment of Status, I-765 Work Authorization, and I-131 Advance Parole.  The biometrics appointments for both cases were conducted at 201 Varick Street and the interviews for both cases were conducted at 26 Federal Plaza.

Example One

• January 12, 2009:  All applications sent via Federal Express for overnight delivery to USCIS, Chicago
• January 13, 2009:  All applications received by USCIS, Chicago
• January 19, 2009:  Receipts issued by USCIS for the following applications:  I-130, I-485, I-765, & I-131
• January 23, 2009:  Notice issued by USCIS providing the place, date, and time for the biometrics appointment
• February 9, 2009:  Biometrics appointment
• February 27, 2009:  Advance Parole approval issued
• March 4, 2009:  USCIS Notice for Interview Request issued providing the place, date, and time for the interview
• March 6, 2009:  Work authorization issued
• April 28, 2009:  Interview for adjustment of status (stamp placed in passport)
• Green Card received in the mail within 2 months (delay do to recent upgrades of green card production machine)

Example Two

• January 26, 2009:  All applications sent via Federal Express for overnight delivery to USCIS, Chicago
• January 27, 2009:  All applications received by USCIS, Chicago
• February 2, 2009:  Receipts issued by USCIS for the following applications:  I-130, I-485, I-765, & I-131
• February 4, 2009:  Notice issued by USCIS providing the place, date, and time for the biometrics appointment
• February 24, 2009:  Biometrics appointment
• March 12, 2009:  USCIS Notice for Interview Request issued providing the place, date, and time for the interview
• March 18, 2009:  Advance Parole approval issued
• March 2322, 2009:  Work authorization issued
• May 19, 2009:  Interview for adjustment of status (stamp placed in passport)
• Receipt of actual green card still pending due to recent upgrades of green card production machine

Please keep in mind that both of these cases were fully prepared and filed by an experienced immigration attorney.  Furthermore, they both were relatively “normal” cases.  Regardless of your situation, competent legal counsel is important through all parts of the application process and therefore it is strongly advised that you work with an attorney experienced in these matters before moving forward. A green card is a highly sought after U.S. immigration benefit and something that should be pursued with great care.

There hundreds of rules and regulations for immigrants and some in the benefit of immigrants and some work against them. It is impossible for a layman to know all the terms and meaning of the law. A person who is planning to get citizenship or a green card should have an immigration lawyer on their side for help.

However having said that finding a good immigration lawyer can be a daunting task if you do not know how to look for one. The lawyer you know or looking for should know all the possibilities of immigration and should be well versed with the rules and regulations. The lawyer should be good with filing the papers and organizing the events for you.

Some lawyers are really good and carry a lot of experience. You should probably go with someone like that because their experience will help you in the long run. Also within the segment of immigration lawyers they have different specializations. For example if you are being faced with a deportation case then you should not approach someone who works for naturalization processes.

A deportation lawyer will be the best for you because they know how to fight and win your case. Specialty matters to a great extent when you are looking for lawyers. Also if you need help with naturalization or getting your green card you should allow an immigration lawyer process your papers correctly and accurately. In fact you will have more peace of mind even if you are spending money and at least be sure that you have done your part correctly.