So, how momentous is it that the Obama Administration is going to allow those in the U.S. illegally to remain here while getting their paperwork in order, instead of requiring them to return to their home country while this is being done?
If I understand the situation correctly, currently, a person who is illegally here often is required to return to their home country. The catch is, if they have been illegal for six months, they then must remain in their home country for 3 years before they can come back to the U.S. And, if they have been illegally in the U.S. for a year, they then must wait 10 years before being allowed back in our country. There is a way around the 3- and 10-year waits, however. One can get a waiver. There were about 23,000 waivers applied for last year and about 17,000 of them were granted.
Now, with this new Obama Administration policy, they will not need to go back to their home country to get the waiver. So, will there be a big impact? If 17,000 of 23,000 are already being allowed to return to the U.S. without the 3- and 10-year waits, it would not seem so. It would seem that the difference will not be whether they wait 3 or 10 years, and perhaps not even how long they wait for the waiver. The only difference is that they will be allowed to remain in the U.S. while waiting the waiver to be approved.
That's a plus, and a good thing, as it keeps them from being separated from their families while they wait for the waiver. But it is not as momentous of a thing as I thought when I first heard of this new program, and thought it ended the 3- and 10-year waits, themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment