Earlier this month the Obama administration announced it was going to try and tweak the process surrounding federal immigration law in the hopes of positively impacting thousands of American families. It is a story our readers in Troy, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio should follow closely.
As announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas, the change involves how undocumented immigrants with American family members will be able to apply for a green card. Undocumented immigrants would be able to remain in the U.S. while waiting for the visa application process to be completed.
Under current law U.S. citizens can submit green card applications for spouses and children, whether or not those family members entered the country legally.
However, as it currently stands, in most cases those family members have to return to their home country to receive their visas. But leaving the country triggers an automatic policy where they cannot return to the U.S. for upwards of a decade, even if they are eligible to become legal resident.
The new proposal provides that undocumented immigrants receive a waiver before leaving the country to get their visa. The idea is that this will cut down on delays for their return.
"Its purpose is to minimize the extent to which bureaucratic delays separate Americans from their families," said Mayorkas, whose agency would like to have the new system in place by the end of 2012. "Specifically in cases where a Waiver of Inadmissibility due to unlawful presence is required."
The change would have no impact on undocumented immigrants who do not have Americans in their immediate family.
Some experts believe this solution is an important one that will help keep hundreds and perhaps thousands of families together. Critics of the policy feel the administration is trying to provide "backdoor amnesty" to undocumented immigrants.
We believe this is a common sense approach. And we'll go as far as saying the Obama administration should repeal the automatic policy that prevents certain immigrants from returning to the U.S. Since there is no penalty until you leave, it discourages undocumented immigrants from returning home and therefore only contributes to the problem.
And we need a more reasonable penalty for the offense. Overstaying for a year shouldn't result in a decade penalty. A sliding scale would make more sense, perhaps where for every day overstayed in the U.S. translates to two days of penalty. A six month overstay would result in a year away, etc.
