Immigration

Hello everyone! I will be posting a new article about controversial issues everyday.

Today’s topic is immigration in the U.S. Before getting into details, we should first determine the terminology because many people get confused by the definitions of terms. Foreigners can fall into different categories:

Resident: A person who permanently lives in a particular place.

Non-resident: A person who does not live in a particular place.

Immigrant: A person who comes to the country to live permanently.

Non-immigrant:  A person who enters in a country for a temporary stay. (E.g., Tourists)

Documented: A person who holds a legal document to stay in a particular place for a specified time period.

Undocumented: A person who does not have a legal document to stay in a particular country. (Illegal)

Additionally, visas are issued to immigrants and non-immigrants. Immigrant visas allow their holders to stay in the United States permanently, and people who holds these visas can apply for citizenship. With immigrant visa, a person is also permitted to work in the U.S. On the other hand, non-immigrants visas are usually issued to tourists and business visitors. If the person holds a non-immigrant visa, he/she cannot work in the U.S. There are some exceptions to this rule, such as graduate students are allowed to work 20 hours a week on the campus.

As we can see from the definitions, it is confusing to determine the status of foreigners who live in the United States. As a graduate student in the U.S., I am a documented foreigner because my university issued me I-20 which is the legal documentation for foreign students who wants to get a degree from the U.S. I also work for 20 hours as a graduate service assistant at my department.

We should first ask ourselves why undocumented persons want to enter in the United States. It is obvious that there are opportunities for finding a job. However, the number of undocumented persons has been decreased in the last couple of years due to the slow down in the economy. I think that employers who hire undocumented persons are responsible for the illegal immigration problem in the U.S. Since both part are benefiting from each other, it makes sense if they are being silent. But it should not be this way. I believe that if everyone followed the regulations, the government and policy makers would be willing to help those people who are currently undocumented and who want to find a job.

Please feel free to drop a line and share your opinions on immigration law that has been waiting in the United States Congress to be approved.