understanding immigration

1. z
Understanding
Immigration
the U.S.
& the crime of seeking a
better life in the U.S.

2. z
Objectives for this Week
 Principles of Immigration Policy in the U.S.
 Get familiar with Immigration terminology
 Learn immigration related crimes and punishments
 How is immigrating to the U.S. supposed to work?
 Legal rights of undocumented immigrants

3. z
Immigration Terminology
 Migrant - a person who moves from one place to another, especially in
order to find work or better living conditions
 Immigrant - a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country
 Emigrant - a person who leaves their own country in order to settle
permanently in another.

4. z
Immigration Terminology
 Proper title to refer to a person who has entered the U.S.
without a proper status is Undocumented Immigrant
 Legality is for a court to established
 Maybe they qualify for asylum or maybe they are refugee or
maybe they qualify for residency due to a familial relationship
 That is why “illegal immigrant” is incorrect and should not be a
part of a social worker’s jargon

5. z
Immigration Terminology
 Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)– status that allows a
foreign national to work and live lawfully and permanently in
the U.S.
 LPR are able to apply for all jobs that do not require
citizenship
 LPR can remain in the U.S. even if unemployed
 “Green card” holders

6. z
Immigration Terminology
 Alien - Any person not a citizen or national of the United States.
“Foreign national” is a synonym and used outside of statutes
when referring to noncitizens of the U.S.
 This is the moniker that is used in the statute to describe a
foreign national
 Alien is not acceptable for a social worker to use when
describing someone from another country

7. z
Immigration Terminology
 Green Card a.k.a. Permanent
Resident Card, Form I-551, or alien
registration card.
 USCIS issues Green Cards to foreign
nationals as evidence of their lawful
permanent resident status in the
United States.
 Although some Green Cards do not
have an expiration date, most are valid
for 10 years.

8. z
Immigration Terminology
 Visa – There are two types of visas:
 An immigrant visa is issued to a person wishing to live
permanently in the U.S.
 A nonimmigrant visa (NIV) is issued to a person with
permanent residence outside the United States, but wishes
to be in the U.S. on a temporary basis as a tourist, for
medical treatment, business, temporary work or to study.

9. z
Immigration Terminology
 Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is
granted to a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the
requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA).

10. z
Principles of Immigration in the U.S.
 Immigration to the United States is based upon:
 The reunification of families (think those living abroad being
reunited with their established families already in the U.S.)
 Admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S.
economy
 Protecting refugees
 Promoting diversity

11. z
Principles of Immigration in the U.S.
 Are those principles reflected in our policy
enforcement today?
 Visit Brookings Institute: Immigration by the numbers to see up
to date statistics on immigration
 Click on the tabs titled: Border Patrol, Deportation, Crime Rates,
Population & Refugees

12. zPATHTOCITIZENSHIP
From beginning to end the process of coming to the U.S.
(whether through an established system or undocumented)
to becoming a citizen may take several years depending on
nation of origin and immigration status
Undocumented
Permit /
Refugee /
Asylee
Legal
Permanent
Resident
Naturalization
/Citizenship

13. z
What is “illegal” about coming to the U.S.?
 The criminality about immigration is more correctly labeled as an
"improper entry"
 Improper entry includes:
 entering or attempting to enter the U.S. at any time or place other than
one designated by U.S. immigration officers (i.e., away from a border
inspection point or other port of entry)
 eluding examination or inspection by U.S. immigration officers (ex.
digging a tunnel or hiding in the trunk of a car)
 attempting to enter or obtain entry to the United States by a willfully
false or misleading representation or willful concealment of a material
fact (ex. using falsified documents or lying on paperwork)

14. z
 Removal from the U.S. may be a result of:
 Violation of entry conditions
 Overstaying their visa or temporary permit
 Helping smuggle in other illegal immigrants
 Commission of crimes of moral turpitude
 Multiple convictions
 Convictions on an aggravated or violent felony
Other Immigration Offenses

15. z
 The Supreme Court has ruled that a person cannot be
constitutionally detained indefinitely
 A reasonable time to detain an alien while deportation is pending
should not exceed 6 months
Detention of undocumented persons

16. z
 Failure of alien to deport after ordered to do so (10 yrs.)
 Counterfeiting alien papers or application to enter (5 yrs.)
 Bringing in or harboring illegal aliens (5 yrs.)
 Illegal entry, second offense (2 yrs.)
 Reentry of deported alien (2 yrs.)
 Aiding subversive alien to enter (5 yrs.)
 Importing alien for immoral purposes (10 yrs.)
Immigration Felonies

17. z
 Failure to register and be fingerprinted (6 months)
 Failure to notify of change of address (30 days)
 Making false statements (6 months)
 First Illegal entry (6 months)
 Knowingly hiring an illegal alien (6 months)
Immigration Misdemeanors

18. z
How the U.S. Immigration System Works
 Different categories to emigrate to the U.S.
 Family-Based Immigration
 Employment-Based Immigration
 Per-Country Limits
 Refugees and Asylees
 The Diversity Visa Program – “the lottery”
 Other protected status
 U.S. Citizenship

19. z
Family-Based Immigration
 Based on family unification premise (sponsorship)
 The person may apply for residency if they are the spouse (or
fiancé), parent of a U.S. citizen. Unmarried son or daughter of a
U.S. citizen and you are 21 years old or older; or married son or
daughter of a U.S. citizen
 Brother or sister of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old
 Also available to widows, widowers, victims of domestic violence
(under VAWA)
 Also, the person may apply for residency if they are the
immediate relative of a legal permanent resident

20. z
Employment-Based Immigration
 Based on a way to acquire immigrants with valuable skills for
temporary or permanent stay
 Types of work visas include:
 L visas – for intracompany transfers
 P visas – for athletes, entertainers and skilled performers
 R-1 visas – religious workers
 A visas – diplomats, diplomatic staff
 O-1 visas – for workers with extraordinary skills
 H visas – for highly skilled/lesser skilled workers

21. z
Employment-Based Immigration
 Most temporary workers must work for their sponsoring employers
and cannot change jobs
 Each visa varies on eligibility requirement, duration, whether they
can bring their dependents, etc.
 Most cases, the workers must leave the U.S. if their visas expire or if
their employment is terminated

22. z
Per Country Limits
 Not one group of permanent immigrants (whether arriving through
family based or employment-based immigration) from a single
country may exceed 7% of the total amount of immigrants coming to
the U.S. in a fiscal year
 These limits are set to prevent any one group or country from
dominating immigration patterns to the U.S.

23. z
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
 Refugees are immigrants who are unable to return to their home
countries due to a fear of persecution because of their race, religion,
belonging to a particular social group or political party, or their
national origin
 Admission to the U.S. will depend on:
 The level of danger they face if returned to their home country
 Their membership to a group that may pose a concern to the
U.S. (this category is determined by the President and Congress)
 Whether they have family members in the U.S.

24. z
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
 Asylum seekers are foreign national already in the U.S. who seek the
protection of the U.S. government due to a fear of persecution
because of their race, religion, belonging to a particular social group
or political party, or their national origin
 Asylees may apply for asylum at the port of entry or within one year
of being in the U.S.
 There is no limit to the number of asylum seekers that can be
granted asylum within a fiscal year
 Both refugees and asylees are eligible to become Lawful Permanent
Residents after one year

25. z
Diversity Visa Program
 A computer system randomly selects names as a sort of lottery from
those who apply from countries with low rates of immigration to the
United States
 To qualify their country must have sent less than 50,000 immigrants
to the U.S. in the past five years
 For the person to be eligible for the lottery, they must have a high
school education (or equivalent) or have worked in a job that
requires at least two years of experience or training
 The spouse and minor dependents of the lottery winner are also
entitled to enter the U.S.

26. z
Other Statuses
 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) – for persons already in the
United States that are unable to return to their country due to a
natural disaster, extraordinary temporary conditions or ongoing
armed conflict
 TPS status to persons from a country for 6, 12 or 18 month
periods and can be granted an extension if conditions persist
 TPS status does not necessarily lead to LPS status or grant any
immigration status

27. z
Other Statuses
 Delayed Enforced Departure (DED) – provides protection from
deportation to persons whose home countries are unstable and
dangerous.
 Unlike TPS which is decided by statute (Congress), DED status
is at the discretion of the Executive Branch.
 Like TPS, DED does not confer any immigration status or LPR

28. z
U.S. Citizenship
 In order to become a naturalized citizen, the person must be a Lawful
Permanent Resident / Green Card Holder for at least 5 years
 Only 3 years for those who obtained LPR through U.S. citizen spouse or as a
victim of domestic violence
 An even short time frame may apply to members of the U.S. military while on
active duty service
 In order to apply for citizenship, the person must be at least 18-years old,
demonstrate “good moral character”, have resided in the U.S. continuously,
pass a civic, U.S. history and English exam, pay a fee, and other
requirement as applicable
 Take the Civics Practice Test (Let me know how you did. I got 100!)

29. z
Legal Rights of Undocumented Immigrants
 The right to refuse consent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
or the police to search their person, their car and their homes
 The right to remain silent.
 The right to call the consulate of their home country. ICE and police must let
your consulate visit or speak with you.
 The right to speak to an attorney before answering any questions.
 Not to sign anything that they do not understand.
 The right to a copy of all of their immigration papers.

30. z

31. z
“Give me your tired,
your poor,
your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore.
Send these,
the homeless,
tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!”
- inscription on Statue of Liberty

32. z
References
 Terminology. www.dictionary.com; www.uscis.gov
 Title 8, Section 1325 of the U.S. Code (U.S.C.)
 Section 275 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.) for
the exact statutory language. Retrieved from
www.uscis.gov/laws/immigration-and-nationality-act
 You Have Rights. www.iamerica.org