The United States immigration policies are the most sought after information on the net nowadays. The reason for the sudden need of information about the US immigration policies is the increase in the rate at which people immigrate to the United States and the rate at which people apply for the United States visa. When talking about important things to know about the immigration policies in the United States, there are a lot of things that should be taken into consideration, but there are also few things that are the most important and basic. Few things that are very important about the immigration policies include:
Type of visa – the United States visa is classified into two major branches; the two major branches are:
- Non-immigrant visa – the United States non-immigrant visa are types of visa that allows international travelers who want to visit the United States for a short while due to reasons like family visitation, tourism and seminar and so on. These types of visa do not have a very long procedure to secure them. They are the easiest type of visa to secure because they do not permit to stay for long duration in the United States. Visas under this category cannot be extended after it expires. When these types of visa expire, the immigrant will have to return to his or her country or get deported. If the immigrant wants to stay for more than the time allocated on the visa, he or she must apply for another visa after returning to his or her homeland.
- Immigrant visa – these types of visa are the ones that permit immigrants to live in the United States permanently or for a long time. These types of visa do not have a restricted time frame when it comes to the number of days or years it allocates to immigrants on their visa; they allocate both long and short term visas. These types of visa can be renewed while the immigrant is in the country without the need of returning to his or her country when they expire.
Mode of immigration – mode of immigrating to the United States depends on your status as an immigrant. As an immigrant that is eligible for the visa waiver programs like the visa lottery and ESTA your mode of application will be different as you will have to win the lottery or apply for ESTA online respectively while immigrants who are not eligible for such privileges will apply for the various types of visa that are existing.
Updates to change
Over the years, there have been a lot of immigration policies and other proposed changes. The US president is trying all his best to make America great again. This can be seen with the fight against illegal immigration and illegal immigrants in the US. Some changes that may occur later this year or soon and they include;
Giving more green cards through employment – although a lot of green cards are always going to the worthy applicants, but the presidency is ready to give more professionals green card to improve the country’s economy. This is because; professionals with good pay will impact positively to the US economy. This problem is to target people in education, nursing, IT and other professional fields.
If you are from one of the visa waiver program countries, then you will need to receive ESTA status before you can be allowed to enter the US at the port on entry. To get an esta status, one needs to obtain the ESTA Form.
Cancellation of citizenship by birth – it is very common among people traveling to the US; where they come to give birth in the United States with the aim of making the new child a citizen of the US. The US president thinks it is wrong; thus it must stop. To enjoy citizenship by birth, either of the parents if not both must be a United States citizen. The presidency thinks this will reduce illegal immigration.
The wall – the Trump’s administration is so sensitive to illegal immigration; thus the president thinks building a wall around the US and Mexico border will prevent illegal immigrants from Mexico from immigrating into the United States. Although there have been a lot of up and downs, suggestions and insults from different angles still the president took his stand.
Tight immigration screening – before anyone traveling to the US can be found worthy and be given visa; such person must have shown that he/she has good reasons for moving into the US. Therefore, if you have chosen America as your immigration destination without a good reason then this new screening may affect you.
American is a good country that welcome new immigrants and the new American immigration policies are not to hurt anyone but to make the land of opportunity great again. Peradventure you find yourself in the land of opportunity, you should always remember to think outside of the box and always be a good representative of your country.