The gang of eight bi-partisan Senators in charge of drafting the comprehensive immigration recently introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (S.744). The 844-page bill contains several components, which includes border security, reforms to immigrant and non-immigrant visas among others.
For those who are waiting to be reunited with their families in the United States, will the reunification happen sooner or will their opportunity to immigrate be affected by the proposed senate bill? The heart and soul of the immigration bill is the legalization provision and there will be a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. What are some of the details of this earned citizenship and how will these provisions affect a prospective Filipino immigrant?
Cutting Family Categories v. Merit Based Visas
There is a proposal to cut the four family based preference categories to two. The two categories will cover (1) U.S. citizens petition for unmarried adult children; married adult children who file before age 31 and (2) unmarried adult children of lawful permanent residents.
The Filipinos have the longest backlog when it comes to sibling petitions. There is a ridiculous waiting time of at least 24 years before a visa is issued to a sibling. The senate bill proposed to repeal this specific category for sibling. If the bill is passed into law and 18 months after its enactment, U.S. citizens will no longer be able to petition their brothers or sisters. Those who were petitioned before the law is enacted may be grandfathered. There is an option for those whose petitions have been pending for five years to apply for a “merit based visa”. A family member may be awarded points based on education, employment, and length of time the family based petition is pending. Those with most points will earn a visa.
RPI Status v. Green Card
A Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status is proposed for those in unlawful status or those who have no legal documents to stay in the United States. The bill provides that they may apply to adjust their status to that of Registered Provisional Immigrant Status. This RPI status is distinct from a lawful permanent resident status.
There are certain criteria that must be met before applying for this RPI status. First, the cut off period is December 31, 2011. This means that those applying must have been in the United States prior to December 31, 2011 and were able to maintain continuous legal presence. They should not have been convicted of aggravated felony, an offense in their home country, unlawfully voted and inadmissible for criminal, national security, public health and other morality grounds.
Work Authorization and Travel Permitted
Just like lawful permanent residents or green card holders, those in RPI status can work for any employer and travel outside the United States. Their spouses and children may qualify as their derivative beneficiaries as long as they are in the United States. The status of those granted RPI is the same as those lawfully present in the United States except they are not entitled to premium assistance tax credit and the Affordable Care Act.
Those Ordered Removed May Return to the United States
An individual who has a removal order may be permitted to apply for RPI status. Interestingly, even those who were sent back to the Philippines on orders of removal and were in the United States prior to December 31, 2011 may re-enter the United States in RPI status. The bill limits those who may return to the United States only if this individual was not deported for non-criminal reason and that they have spouses, parents or children who are U.S. citizens or green card holders. Those young immigrants who may be eligible for the DREAM Act but were sent back to their home country may also re-enter in RPI status.
Immigration Reform Hasn’t Happened Yet
Among the lengthy provisions of the S.744, the merit based system, repeal of two family categories and the RPI visa status are among the most controversial provisions to our community. The introduction of this bill is just the first step taken by the bi-partisan senators. It is only when Congress approves the bill and is signed into law by the President will those eligible individuals start applying. Prospective immigrants must be cautioned against premature and fraudulent offer of services to avail of the benefit of an immigration reform. There is no law yet. The members of the House of Representatives are still working on their version of immigration reform. More changes are expected as the Senators debate on the bill in the coming weeks.
(Atty. Lourdes Tancinco is a partner at Tancinco Law Offices based in San Francisco CA and may be reached through email at law@tancinco.com or call 887 7177 or 721 1963. You may also visit her website at tancinco.weareph.com/old)
