PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS FOR PARENTS

[eric&gen 0]

Is this something we should be worried about once my wife becomes a US citizen in 2008 she will no longer be able to petition her parents?

She would still be able to petition her parents, but the bill would introduce a cap of about 1/4 of the people who apply being allowed in each year -- so there would likely be at least a three year wait by 2008. Bottom line: yes, you should be worried.

What do you mean by 3 year wait? From what I was told right now it takes about 6 months to bring parents over. I am talking about the proposed change in immigration which converts the existing family based petition to employment based, meaning citizens would only be allowed to petition their spouses and children.

[kitkat1 5]

There's a little bit of information here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...20070518-4.html

Visas for parents of U.S. citizens are being capped, while visas for siblings and adult children are eliminated.

A new merit-based system similar to those used by other countries will give preference to attributes that further our national interest such as: job offers in high-demand fields, ability to speak English, and education.

Monday's vote is only a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate, not a vote on the bill itself.

[lightfoot44 0]

There's a little bit of information here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...20070518-4.html

Visas for parents of U.S. citizens are being capped, while visas for siblings and adult children are eliminated.

A new merit-based system similar to those used by other countries will give preference to attributes that further our national interest such as: job offers in high-demand fields, ability to speak English, and education.

Monday's vote is only a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate, not a vote on the bill itself.

The House of Representatives will kill this bill. They are much more responsive to the thoughts of the American people on Immigration, seeing as they only serve 2 year terms instead of 6 year terms. The vast majority of American citizens, myself included, are sick and tired of illegal aliens taking advantage of our immigration system, health care system, welfare system, and educational system. Giving any kind of path to citizenship to people who have violated immigration laws and evaded deportation, cheapens all of our efforts to gain citizenship and immigrate through legal channels.

In my opinion, the Senate bill should be killed in the House, and I hope it is.

Edited May 19, 2007 by lightfoot44

[Randall Emery 0]

Is this something we should be worried about once my wife becomes a US citizen in 2008 she will no longer be able to petition her parents?

She would still be able to petition her parents, but the bill would introduce a cap of about 1/4 of the people who apply being allowed in each year -- so there would likely be at least a three year wait by 2008. Bottom line: yes, you should be worried.

What do you mean by 3 year wait? From what I was told right now it takes about 6 months to bring parents over. I am talking about the proposed change in immigration which converts the existing family based petition to employment based, meaning citizens would only be allowed to petition their spouses and children.

The bill has a provision to limit 40,000 visas each year for parents of citizens. Some other family categories are not be converted, they are being eliminated.

When you get a limit on visas, they will give you a "priority date" which will tell you when the application will actually be processed. The more people apply, the longer the wait. I think the number of parents who come each year is in the range of 200,000 -- the statistics are up on the USCIS web site. You can look it up and make a guess as to the wait.

[taco2 0]

I read in the news that senate put off action on the bill till June but THE PRESIDENT STILL HOPES TO SIGN THE BILL BY SUMMER END.

If the president does sign the bill by summer end , will it become law right away?

What I am concerned about is the I-130 cap for parents. I have a USC brother planning to file an I-130 for mother in Dec 07. Will it be affected by the cap?

thanks

Is this something we should be worried about once my wife becomes a US citizen in 2008 she will no longer be able to petition her parents?

She would still be able to petition her parents, but the bill would introduce a cap of about 1/4 of the people who apply being allowed in each year -- so there would likely be at least a three year wait by 2008. Bottom line: yes, you should be worried.

What do you mean by 3 year wait? From what I was told right now it takes about 6 months to bring parents over. I am talking about the proposed change in immigration which converts the existing family based petition to employment based, meaning citizens would only be allowed to petition their spouses and children.

The bill has a provision to limit 40,000 visas each year for parents of citizens. Some other family categories are not be converted, they are being eliminated.

When you get a limit on visas, they will give you a "priority date" which will tell you when the application will actually be processed. The more people apply, the longer the wait. I think the number of parents who come each year is in the range of 200,000 -- the statistics are up on the USCIS web site. You can look it up and make a guess as to the wait.

[kitkat1 5]

If the president does sign the bill by summer end , will it become law right away?

What I am concerned about is the I-130 cap for parents. I have a USC brother planning to file an I-130 for mother in Dec 07. Will it be affected by the cap?

No one knows. No one knows when it might be signed into law and what the effective dates might be. Your only choice is to follow the news and wait and see what happens.

[Chris Parker 10]

S.1348 is not the bill. The bill is not out on thomas yet -- it will probably be out on Monday or Tuesday. The 40,000 cap on parents is there.

The Senators involved did their best to make sure they delayed publicly exposing a bill they would be ashamed of as long as possible, possibly forever...

However, thank you Senator Sessions for pointing it out yesterday afternoon, the contents of the bill are somehow available from The Heritage Foundation at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigrati...legislation.cfm

Read it and scream! (to your Senators)

BTW - While Canada does use the merit-system for permanent residence, that is only for employment-based permanent residence. They still have family-based permanent residence too, which is in fact much more generous than what the U.S. currently offers (permanent residents can sponsor grandparents to immigrate, for example). Canada's full immigration program is described well by their immigration agency at http://www.cic.gc.ca/

Edited May 22, 2007 by Chris Parker

[lucyrich 19]

I read in the news that senate put off action on the bill till June but THE PRESIDENT STILL HOPES TO SIGN THE BILL BY SUMMER END.

If the president does sign the bill by summer end , will it become law right away?

Here's the Schoolhouse Rock story of how a bill becomes law. Well worth reviewing, with catchy lyrics.

A bill only reaches the president's desk after the exact same bill has been been passed by both houses of Congress. At that time, the president can sign it, in which case it becomes law. Usually, the effective date is a few months after the presidential signature -- the effective date is part of the bill.

So yes, IF the president signs the bill by summer's end, it'll become law pretty soon thereafter. Maybe in January. Maybe sooner.

However, I have my serious doubts that both houses of Congress will get together and pass this bill and present it to the president for signing before the summer's end. Stranger things have happened, but not lately.

[scarlethawk 0]

Can anybody share their email or a template to send to a Senator or Representative? It it make is easier for many of us to pass it along to their elected officials.

Now a question ... reading the thread I see that somebody has mentioned 2005 as cut-off for sponsoring siblings ... can somebody confirm?

This is sad.

[peejay 327]

There's a little bit of information here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...20070518-4.html

Visas for parents of U.S. citizens are being capped, while visas for siblings and adult children are eliminated.

A new merit-based system similar to those used by other countries will give preference to attributes that further our national interest such as: job offers in high-demand fields, ability to speak English, and education.

Monday's vote is only a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate, not a vote on the bill itself.

The House of Representatives will kill this bill. They are much more responsive to the thoughts of the American people on Immigration, seeing as they only serve 2 year terms instead of 6 year terms. The vast majority of American citizens, myself included, are sick and tired of illegal aliens taking advantage of our immigration system, health care system, welfare system, and educational system. Giving any kind of path to citizenship to people who have violated immigration laws and evaded deportation, cheapens all of our efforts to gain citizenship and immigrate through legal channels.

In my opinion, the Senate bill should be killed in the House, and I hope it is.

23 Senators voted against closure on the bill (S.1348) today in an attempt to kill it in the Senate. They weren't successful. It has now moved on to the floor for debate and open to amendments. IMO it sucks too much to salvage and I hope it gets defeated and never makes it to the House of Representatives. Here are the 23 that came to their senses and tried to kill the bill from the get-go:

Allard (R-CO)

Baucus (D-MT)

Bunning (R-KY)

Byrd (D-WV)

Coburn (R-OK)

Corker (R-TN)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Crapo (R-ID)

DeMint (R-SC)

Dole (R-NC)

Dorgan (D-ND)

Enzi (R-WY)

Hutchison (R-TX)

Inhofe (R-OK)

Roberts (R-KS)

Sanders (I-VT)

Sessions (R-AL)

Shelby (R-AL)

Sununu (R-NH)

Tester (D-MT)

Thomas (R-WY)

Thune (R-SD)

Vitter (R-LA)

This bill is nothing more than a cheap mass blanket amnesty for every illegal alien that is now in our country. All 12 to 30 million of them.

[Chris Parker 10]

This bill is nothing more than a cheap mass blanket amnesty for every illegal alien that is now in our country. All 12 to 30 million of them.

It is, in fact, even worse.

Title V (500's section numbers) is what particularly upsets me and perhaps most others in this forum.

In no way, however, is that meant to discount your remarks, which 100% true as well.

It is bad, really bad, how the Senate doesn't want the people to see the legislation that it is debating. If not for The Heritage Foundation (see link earlier), we'd have nothing to see except the "highlights" posted at the White House.

CP

[scarlethawk 0]

Can anybody share their email or a template to send to a Senator or Representative? It it make is easier for many of us to pass it along to their elected officials.

Now a question ... reading the thread I see that somebody has mentioned 2005 as cut-off for sponsoring siblings ... can somebody confirm?

This is sad.

Any thoughts?

[homesick_american 1]

There's a little bit of information here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...20070518-4.html

Visas for parents of U.S. citizens are being capped, while visas for siblings and adult children are eliminated.

A new merit-based system similar to those used by other countries will give preference to attributes that further our national interest such as: job offers in high-demand fields, ability to speak English, and education.

Monday's vote is only a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate, not a vote on the bill itself.

The House of Representatives will kill this bill. They are much more responsive to the thoughts of the American people on Immigration, seeing as they only serve 2 year terms instead of 6 year terms. The vast majority of American citizens, myself included, are sick and tired of illegal aliens taking advantage of our immigration system, health care system, welfare system, and educational system. Giving any kind of path to citizenship to people who have violated immigration laws and evaded deportation, cheapens all of our efforts to gain citizenship and immigrate through legal channels.

In my opinion, the Senate bill should be killed in the House, and I hope it is.

23 Senators voted against closure on the bill (S.1348) today in an attempt to kill it in the Senate. They weren't successful. It has now moved on to the floor for debate and open to amendments. IMO it sucks too much to salvage and I hope it gets defeated and never makes it to the House of Representatives. Here are the 23 that came to their senses and tried to kill the bill from the get-go:

Allard (R-CO)

Baucus (D-MT)

Bunning (R-KY)

Byrd (D-WV)

Coburn (R-OK)

Corker (R-TN)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Crapo (R-ID)

DeMint (R-SC)

Dole (R-NC)

Dorgan (D-ND)

Enzi (R-WY)

Hutchison (R-TX)

Inhofe (R-OK)

Roberts (R-KS)

Sanders (I-VT)

Sessions (R-AL)

Shelby (R-AL)

Sununu (R-NH)

Tester (D-MT)

Thomas (R-WY)

Thune (R-SD)

Vitter (R-LA)

This bill is nothing more than a cheap mass blanket amnesty for every illegal alien that is now in our country. All 12 to 30 million of them.

Awesome to see John-Boy and Kay Bailey behind this. :thumbs: :thumbs:

[Chris Parker 10]

Can anybody share their email or a template to send to a Senator or Representative? It it make is easier for many of us to pass it along to their elected officials.

Now a question ... reading the thread I see that somebody has mentioned 2005 as cut-off for sponsoring siblings ... can somebody confirm?

This is sad.

Any thoughts?

Here's some short and sweet thoughts to incorporate into a letter....

- Which is better for America, 12 million illegal immigrants or 12 million legalized illegal immigrants?

- Don't make U.S. citizens give up valuable immigration petitioning rights just to offer illegal immigrants (mostly from Mexico) the privilege of lawful status despite their disregard of our laws.

- Parents are not chain migrants, they are from the past generation and cannot bring any of their own family members (i.e. derivatives) with them, and they are often elderly and retired and will die of old age before a visa number becomes available.

- Parents with adult children who are naturalized U.S. citizens are also very often grandparents [of U.S. citizens] and deserve very much a chance to meet and live with them in their final years.

- On the subject of chain migration in recent congressional hearings, expert witnesses had only a brief word or two to say about parents compared to a considerable amount more on other immigrant categories.

- Please don't stand for Congress alienating our citizens and our country with this bill.

BTW - I read in the Congressional Record today that Sen. Dodd (CT) and Sen. Menendez (NJ) will soon be proposing an amendment to improve the plight of parents as family immigrants, but their proposal as described is only to raise the proposed cap from 40,000 to 90,000 (still a cap, still a big problem once oversubscribed, which it will be once 12 million illegal immigrants naturalize) and expanding the parent visitor visa admission period from 30-days to 6-months. That still is selling the U.S. citizen short of something that many consider to be a natural right of parents to perform the function of grandparenting.

Also, can somebody please tell me why a parent should be allowed to bring a whole new family with them? (as they would be if they are reclassified as family-preference immigrants as the bill presently does)

Edited May 24, 2007 by Chris Parker

[athena_ny 1]

There's a little bit of information here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...20070518-4.html

Visas for parents of U.S. citizens are being capped, while visas for siblings and adult children are eliminated.

A new merit-based system similar to those used by other countries will give preference to attributes that further our national interest such as: job offers in high-demand fields, ability to speak English, and education.

Monday's vote is only a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate, not a vote on the bill itself.

The House of Representatives will kill this bill. They are much more responsive to the thoughts of the American people on Immigration, seeing as they only serve 2 year terms instead of 6 year terms. The vast majority of American citizens, myself included, are sick and tired of illegal aliens taking advantage of our immigration system, health care system, welfare system, and educational system. Giving any kind of path to citizenship to people who have violated immigration laws and evaded deportation, cheapens all of our efforts to gain citizenship and immigrate through legal channels.

In my opinion, the Senate bill should be killed in the House, and I hope it is.

23 Senators voted against closure on the bill (S.1348) today in an attempt to kill it in the Senate. They weren't successful. It has now moved on to the floor for debate and open to amendments. IMO it sucks too much to salvage and I hope it gets defeated and never makes it to the House of Representatives. Here are the 23 that came to their senses and tried to kill the bill from the get-go:

Allard (R-CO)

Baucus (D-MT)

Bunning (R-KY)

Byrd (D-WV)

Coburn (R-OK)

Corker (R-TN)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Crapo (R-ID)

DeMint (R-SC)

Dole (R-NC)

Dorgan (D-ND)

Enzi (R-WY)

Hutchison (R-TX)

Inhofe (R-OK)

Roberts (R-KS)

Sanders (I-VT)

Sessions (R-AL)

Shelby (R-AL)

Sununu (R-NH)

Tester (D-MT)

Thomas (R-WY)

Thune (R-SD)

Vitter (R-LA)

This bill is nothing more than a cheap mass blanket amnesty for every illegal alien that is now in our country. All 12 to 30 million of them.

Awesome to see John-Boy and Kay Bailey behind this. :thumbs: :thumbs:

Fabulous how no one from FL or NY stood up and tried to kill the bill. NY, the bleeding heart liberal state (and I am a Dem, so there) with useless reps (won't even go into what happened in my parent's district) and awful, awful senators. And FL...well FL seems to be pretty useless as well.

GUH.

What kills me is my husband has ONE sister who may want to come here once her English gets better. And they're from Peru, so the chance of getting a tourist visa (which she would not overstay as he once did) is extremely low. Fine. But if she wanted to come here as an immigrant, she can't now. Only if she does the diversity visa, which I'm not a big fan of anyway. My husband asks why they don't get rid of that and let the families come, but I don't know.