[colombiamigra] Fw: New MPI Brief Examines How Senate Bill Would Reshape Permanent U.S. Legal Immigration System
- From: william mejia <wmejia8a@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "colombiamigra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <colombiamigra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2013 08:31:26 -0700 (PDT)
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From: MPI Communications <communications@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: WMEJIA8A@xxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2013 9:59 AM
Subject: New MPI Brief Examines How Senate Bill Would Reshape Permanent U.S.
Legal Immigration System
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June 6, 2013
Contact: Michelle Mittelstadt
202-266-1910
mmittelstadt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
New MPI Brief Examines the Significant Ways in Which the Permanent U.S. Legal
Immigration System Would Be Reshaped Under the Senate Bill
WASHINGTON – A new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis issued today finds
that the legal immigration system proposed under legislation expected to be
debated in the Senate next week would retain a strong emphasis on family
unification while growing skills-based immigration more than fourfold, contrary
to the perception that a new focus on employment-based immigration would come
at the expense of family-based immigration.
The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act
(S.744) has provoked concern in some circles because it would abolish a
preference category for the siblings of U.S. citizens. Less noticed is that the
Senate bill would lift numerical limits and increase the number of permanent
visas issued on the basis of nuclear family ties. These changes would enable
faster reunification of spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents
(LPRs), who currently face waits of approximately two years to get a green
card, placing them on the same footing as nuclear families of US citizens.
At the same time, because of even greater growth in labor market immigration
streams, family visa categories would make up a smaller share of total
permanent immigration. MPI’s calculations suggest that family-based
immigration, which represented 66 percent of all green cards in 2012, would
likely fall to between 49 - 54 percent in 2018 (when the bill’s new merit-based
visa program would take effect). Including the eligible family members of new
employment-based green-card holders, however, would raise the share of green
cards likely to be based on family ties to 71 percent, compared to 74 percent
under the current system.
The new MPI brief, Remaking the US Green Card System: Legal Immigration under
the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of
2013, examines how the Senate bill would reshape the legal immigration system
through its admission policies, creation of a new merit-based visa stream and
points-based system, and re-ordering of the balance between permanent and
temporary visa programs. It also offers some estimates of future flows, where
they can be determined.
“If enacted, the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill would represent
the most significant restructuring of the U.S. legal immigration system since
1965,” said MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, who directs the institute’s U.S.
Immigration Policy Program. “The legislation would rebalance the system away
from temporary and toward more permanent employment-based immigration, provide
new pathways for middle- and low-skilled workers to gain work visas, reduce
future backlogs and wait times, and add much-needed flexibility.”
Among the brief’s findings:
* Total admissions in the employment- and merit-based categories
combined could increase almost four- or even fivefold under the Senate
legislation, from approximately 140,000 green cards to 554,000-696,000 per year.
* The large increase in skills-based green cards would likely reduce
waiting times for many applicants already in the country on temporary work
visas — re-orienting the system away from temporary and toward more permanent
employment-based immigration, especially for those applying in newly uncapped,
high-skill categories.
* The Senate bill would dramatically expand options for low- and
middle-skilled foreign workers to fill year-round, longer-term jobs and
ultimately qualify for permanent residence. Under the current system,
low-skilled immigration has been largely limited to temporary and short-term
(less than one year) visas.
* The share of immigrants selected on the basis of their skills would
rise from 6 percent of all green cards for principal applicants in 2012 to as
much as 19 percent in 2018.
* While most workers would require a job offer or significant U.S.
experience, the legislation would permit PhD holders (in any field) from U.S.
or foreign schools to apply for a green card without an offer of employment.
The PhD provision has no numerical cap.
Providing reliable estimates of overall future permanent legal flows under the
bill is very difficult, in part because several visa categories (such as for
U.S. STEM degree holders) would be uncapped. However, based on what can be
known, the MPI brief estimates that between 1.5 million to 1.7 million people
would gain legal permanent residence in 2018 under the employment, family and
humanitarian streams.
“The Senate legislation establishes the foundation for a more flexible,
strategic immigration system that learns from its own successes and failures,”
said MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou. “At the same time, some of its
key provisions — for example the new points system — would benefit from greater
administrative latitude so they could be adjusted over time as new
circumstances develop.”
The report is available at: www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/CIRbrief-LegalFlows.pdf
###
The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit
think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to analysis of the movement of people
worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and
refugee policies at the local, national and international levels. For more on
MPI, please visit www.migrationpolicy.org.
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