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this is everything he said he would and wants to change, not for the best of immigrants

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Donald Trump explains his immigration plan

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GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump tells CNN's Erin Burnett how he would deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

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He wanted to force Mexico to pay for the wall. If they didn’t he would confiscate the money being sent to their immigrants from the Western Union

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Immigration has an impact on a country's economy. Studies have shown that when people move to the U.S. from other countries, they add to the economic growth of the country. Immigration can help lead to increased innovation, education, economic productivity, and more.

Unfortunately, however, immigration in the U.S. is long-rooted in a past of the mistreatment of people and its impact on the nation's economy is a topic that is still debated among lawmakers. Below, we'll dive deeper into immigration in the U.S. and how it impacts the economy.

Immigration in the U.S.

Throughout history, people from all over the world moved to the U.S. However, not all people who immigrated to the U.S. chose to do so, nor have they been treated with the same respect and human rights. For example, prior to the Civil War, many people from Africa and other continents and countries were enslaved and brought to the U.S. to work in poor conditions without rights. During World War II, Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps where the government required them to live and stay for months with little privacy or rights. And even in the 21st Century, some people who have come to the U.S. have been forced to enter detention centers where living conditions are inhumane and medical care is lacking.

In the fourth quarter of 2020 (October to December), 26,000 people received lawful permanent resident status after arriving in the U.S. from other countries. An additional 104,500 people already in the U.S. received lawful permanent resident status during that same quarter. This number does not include the 4,000 refugees who came to the U.S. in that time. The U.S. considers a refugee someone who has left their country of birth or citizenship and cannot return for fear of persecution based on their religion, race, nationality, opinions, or political memberships. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services determines whether someone has "suffered past persecution or has a well-founded fear of future persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion in their home country."

The federal government also tracks the number of people who come to the U.S. seeking asylum. People who seek asylum are refugees who are already in the U.S. or at a port of entry and meet the criteria to be considered a refugee. If they have a "credible fear" of persecution or torture in their home country, they can apply for asylum to prevent deportation.

If approved for asylum, a refugee can stay in the U.S., receive authorization to work, and apply for a Social Security card. They can apply for Medicaid or Refugee Medical Assistance and petition to bring family members, who are fearing persecution, to the U.S.

Not all people who immigrate to the U.S. enter legally and thus they are not counted for in the nation's immigrant population. It can be difficult to know how many people are undocumented in the U.S. at a given time, but the Department of Homeland Security last estimated that there were close to 11.4 million undocumented immigrants in 2018.

Immigration Laws in the U.S

Over the years, the federal government has passed immigration laws to allow for more or less people to enter the country. These laws are often tied to the needs of businesses, jobs, and employment in the U.S.

In January 2021, President Joe Biden proposed a new law on immigration, known as the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021. This bill-which as of September 2021 is still seeking approval from the House of Representatives-outlines plans to help undocumented immigrants become legal U.S. citizens, as well as update border controls, improve immigration courts, and more. In the interim, the Biden administration has also reversed several immigration laws put in place by past presidents.

Prior to Biden taking office, President Donald Trump had a wall built along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The Trump administration also detained and deported thousands of undocumented people who entered the U.S., and limited the number of refugees and asylum seekers looking to come to the U.S.

Back in the 1990s, there was the Immigration Act of 1990 which created visa priorities for immigrants who had "extraordinary abilities" in science, arts, education, business, or athletics. Professors and researchers were prioritized, as were executives, managers, and holders of advanced degrees.

In the mid-1980s, the U.S. was recovering from a recession, and unemployment was high. More workers were unnecessary and so President Ronald Reagan proposed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which was eventually passed. Under the law, businesses were not allowed to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants, but it legalized any who had entered the country before 1982. Undocumented farmworkers who could validate 90 days of employment were granted lawful permanent residence status.

The Refugee Act of 1980 was another immigration law that was passed to encourage refugees from war-torn areas to enter the U.S. While the law encouraged refugees from conflicted and dangerous regions, entry specifically depended on employment and housing opportunities, available resources, and the likelihood of refugees becoming self-sufficient.

A few other notable immigration laws in the U.S. include the Immigration and Nationality Act, which eliminated quotas based on nationality and favored highly skilled immigrants or those joining families already in the U.S., and the Bracero Agreement of 1942 which allowed Mexicans to assist farmers during the World War II labor shortage.

How Immigration Affects the Economy

Studies have shown that immigration can have a positive effect on a country's economic growth and productivity, innovation, education, and more.

In July 2019, there were approximately 44.9 million immigrant people in the U.S., making up 13.7% of the nation's population at the time, according to data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

One common misconception is that immigrants take jobs away from native citizens of a country. Studies suggest that while some jobs are taken, the most likely scenario is that jobs are actually created. In a 2020 study, Azoulay et al. posit that immigrants are 80% more likely to become entrepreneurs and create jobs for people in the country. Most immigrants are of working age and they move to a new country to find (or create) jobs, thus having a positive impact on the labor force. An increasing number of immigrants have higher-level degrees, too, which can help increase innovation. Immigrant people make up 18% of the labor force that is 25 years and older; hold 26% of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs; and hold 28% of high-quality patents.

Immigrants are good for a nation's businesses, too. First and second generation immigrants have founded 43% of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and 28% of main street businesses were founded by immigrants.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), immigrant people in the U.S. are also more likely to work in service occupations, natural resource jobs, construction, maintenance, transportation, production, and material moving roles. This helps ensure businesses can continue serving consumers.

Immigrant people who get a job after moving to the U.S. and pay taxes contribute to economic growth by spending money and consuming goods and services. The money paid in taxes also goes toward government employees, local and national projects, and more. If someone comes to the U.S. and does not have a Social Security number yet, they can use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants pay over $11 billion in taxes per year.

Both documented and undocumented immigrants pay into social programs via taxes, but those without documentation may not receive many of the benefits that come from paying taxes. For example, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare because of their immigration status, but Medicaid funds are given to hospitals to help cover the costs of undocumented immigrants who need medical care at their facilities.

What Is the Future of Immigration in the U.S.?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, increased immigration to the U.S. over the next 40 years would mean a "faster growing, diverse, and younger population in the country." However, the population is aging and is expected to continue to do so until about 2060. Increased or decreased immigration during that time could help shift that timing, but it will all depend on how many people come to the U.S.

With an older population, the U.S. will need more young people to work and sustain economic growth, employment, and more in order to continue the path of economic growth the country has been on for decades. Immigrants, both documented and undocumented, will play an essential part in that. It is necessary to continue accepting working-age people into the U.S. (or giving them a path to legal permanent residence if they are undocumented) in order to continue the economic growth of the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the U.S. do to balance the costs and benefits of immigration?

Lawmakers pass legislative acts that adjust the number of people allowed into the country. The number of people who are able to gain legal permanent residence and eventually citizenship may change based on the country's needs.

What are the benefits of immigration?

Immigrantion provides the country with a young working population that contributes to the economy. Immigrants are an essential part of the future of the U.S. as they'll help the country's population maintain balance as more people grow older and stop working.

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Immigration has an impact on a country's economy. Studies have shown that when people move to the U.S. from other countries, they add to the economic growth of the country. Immigration can help lead to increased innovation, education, economic productivity, and more. Unfortunately, however, immigration in the U.S.

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official definition

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im·​mi·​gra·​tion | \ ˌi-mə-ˈgrā-shən \

specifically : travel into a country for the purpose of permanent residence there Especially during these months when there has been constant talk of immigration and its myriad challenges, both here and on European national borders ... illegal/legal immigration immigration reform/policy/law Drawing historical comparisons is always a fraught process, especially when the subject is as contentious as immigration. There is only a passing comment on Chinese and Japanese immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, plus a short section on the truly global wave of immigrants that swept into America after the Second World War ... The Middle Ages is the story of successive migrations and immigrations ...

Winter Words Quiz

Another word for 'a person who travels to an area of warmth and sun, especially in winter' is a:

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im·​mi·​gra·​tion | \ ˌi-mə-ˈgrā-shən \ specifically : travel into a country for the purpose of permanent residence there Especially during these months when there has been constant talk of immigration and its myriad challenges, both here and on European national borders ...

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Immigration in the United States is based upon the following principles.
1. The reunification of families
2. Admitting immigrants with skills (who can work) that are valuable to the U.S
3. Economy
4. Protecting refugees (a forciliably displaced person fleeing their country)
5. Promoting diversity

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U.S. immigration law is based on the following principles: the reunification of families, admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, protecting refugees, and promoting diversity. This fact sheet provides basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed and functions.

The body of law governing U.S. immigration policy is called the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA allows the United States to grant up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across various visa categories. On top of those 675,000 visas, the INA sets no limit on the annual admission of U.S. citizens' spouses, parents, and children under the age of 21. In addition, each year the president is required to consult with Congress and set an annual number of refugees to be admitted to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

Once a person obtains an immigrant visa and comes to the United States, they become a lawful permanent resident (LPR). In some circumstances, noncitizens already inside the United States can obtain LPR status through a process known as "adjustment of status."

LPRs are eligible to apply for nearly all jobs (i.e., jobs not legitimately restricted to U.S. citizens) and can remain in the country permanently, even if they are unemployed. After residing in the United States for five years (or three years in some circumstances), LPRs are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. It is impossible to apply for citizenship through the normal process without first becoming an LPR.

Each year the United States also admits a variety of noncitizens on a temporary basis. Such "non-immigrant" visas are granted to everyone from tourists to foreign students to temporary workers permitted to remain in the country for years. While certain employment-based visas are subject to annual caps, other non-immigrant visas (including tourist and student visas) have no numerical limits.

I. Family-Based Immigration

Family unification is an important principle governing U.S. immigration policy. The family-based immigration system allows U.S. citizens and LPRs to bring certain family members to the United States. Family-based immigrants are admitted either as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through the family preference system.

An unlimited number of visas are available every year for the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Prospective immigrants in this category must meet standard eligibility criteria, and petitioners must meet certain age and financial requirements. Immediate relatives are:

spouses of U.S. citizens;

unmarried minor children of U.S. citizens (under 21 years old); and

parents of U.S. citizens (petitioner must be at least 21 years old to petition for a parent).

A limited number of visas are available every year under the family preference system. Prospective immigrants in the family preference system must meet standard eligibility criteria, and petitioners must meet certain age and financial requirements. The family preference system includes:

adult children (married and unmarried) and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (petitioner must be at least 21 years old to petition for a sibling); and

spouses and unmarried children (minor and adult) of LPRs.

In order to balance the overall number of immigrants arriving based on family relationships, Congress established a complicated system for calculating the available number of family preference visas for any given year. The number is determined by starting with 480,000 (the maximum number in principle allocated for all family-based immigrants) and then subtracting the number of immediate relative visas issued during the previous year and the number of aliens "paroled" into the United States during the previous year. Any unused employment preference immigrant numbers from the preceding year are then added to this total to establish the number of visas that are available for allocation through the family preference system. However, by law, the number of family-based visas allocated through the preference system may not be lower than 226,000. The number of immediate relatives often exceeds 250,000 in a given year and triggers the 226,000 minimum for preference visas. As a result, the total number of family-based visas often exceeds 480,000. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, family-based immigrants comprised 68.8 percent of all new LPRs in the United States.

The family-based immigration system is summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: Family-Based Immigration System

Immediate Relatives

U.S. Citizen adults

Spouses, unmarried minor children, and parents

* Plus any unused visas from the 4th preference.

** Plus any unused visas from 1st and 2nd preference.

***Plus any unused visas from the all other family-based preferences.

Worldwide level of family preference allocation: 480,000 minus visas issued to immediate relatives and parolees, plus unused employment-visas from previous fiscal year. Floor for preference categories: 226,000.

Source: William A. Kandel, Permanent Legal Migration to the United States, (CRS Report No. R42866) (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2014), https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42866.pdf.

In order to be admitted through the family-based immigration system, a U.S. citizen or LPR sponsor must petition for an individual relative, establish the legitimacy of the relationship, meet minimum income requirements, and sign an affidavit of support stating that the sponsor will be financially responsible for the family member(s) upon arrival in the United States or adjustment to LPR status within the United States. The individual relative also must meet certain eligibility requirements that include submitting to a medical exam and obtaining required vaccinations (including a COVID-19 vaccination), an analysis of any immigration or criminal history, as well as demonstrating that they will not become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence.

The spouses and children who accompany or follow the principal immigrant (the one sponsored by the U.S. citizen or LPR under the family-preference category) are referred to as derivative immigrants. Derivative immigrants also count toward the numerical caps for the categories in Table 1. That means that many of the visa slots allotted for members of these categories are often actually used by the spouses and children of the members. For example, in FY 2019, 61,031 people were admitted in the category "brothers and sisters" of U.S. citizens, but only 22,179 of them were actual brothers or sisters of U.S. citizens. The rest were spouses (14,956) and children (23,896) of the siblings of U.S. citizens.

II. Employment-Based Immigration

The United States provides various ways for immigrants with valuable skills to come to the country on either a permanent or a temporary basis.

Temporary Visa Classifications

Temporary employment-based visa classifications permit employers to hire and petition for foreign nationals for specific jobs for limited periods. Most temporary workers must work for the employer that petitioned for them and have limited ability to change jobs. There are more than 20 types of visas for temporary nonimmigrant workers. These include L-1 visas for intracompany transfers; various P visas for athletes, entertainers, and skilled performers; R-1 visas for religious workers; various A visas for diplomatic employees; O-1 visas for workers of extraordinary ability; and various H visas for both highly skilled and lesser-skilled workers. The visa classifications vary in terms of their eligibility requirements, duration, whether they permit workers to bring dependents, and other factors. In most cases, these workers must leave the United States if their status expires or if their employment is terminated. It may be possible, depending on the type of job and the foreign national's qualifications, for an employer to sponsor the worker for permanent employment. A foreign national does not have to be working for the employer in order to be sponsored. However, depending on the permanent immigration category sought and the foreign national's current nonimmigrant category, he or she may be able to complete the steps to become an LPR while continuing to live and work in the United States.

Permanent Immigration

The overall numerical limit for permanent employment-based immigrants is 140,000 per year. This number includes the immigrants plus their eligible spouses and minor unmarried children, meaning the actual number of employment-based immigrants is less than 140,000 each year. Any unused family preference immigrant numbers from the preceding year are added to this cap to establish the number of visas that are available for allocation through the employment-based system. The total number of available visas is then divided into five preference categories. For some categories, the sponsor must first test the U.S. labor market under terms and conditions established by the Department of Labor, and the Secretary of Labor must certify that the petitioner's application meets certain requirements before the sponsor may file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For some categories, the sponsor's first step is to file a petition with USCIS or the foreign national may self-petition. The final step is the foreign national's application for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad or an application to adjust status to LPR if in lawful status in the United States. For consular processing, the immigrant visa application cannot be filed until after USCIS approves the immigrant petition. For adjustment of status, the time to file the application depends on whether a visa number is considered to be immediately available.

The employment-based immigration system is summarized in Table 2.
Table 2: Permanent Employment-Based Preference System

Skilled workers with at least two years of training or experience, professionals with college degrees, or "other" workers for unskilled labor that is not temporary or seasonal.

40,040***

"Other" unskilled laborers restricted to 5,000

*Plus any unused visas from the 4th and 5th preferences.

**Plus any unused visas from the 1st preference.

***Plus any unused visas from the 1st and 2nd preference.

Worldwide level of employment-based immigrants: 140,000 for principal applicants and their dependents.

Source: Ruth Ellen Wasem, U.S. Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions, (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, March 13, 2012), 4, https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL32235.pdf.

In FY 2019, immigrants admitted through the employment preferences made up 13.5 percent of all new LPRs in the United States.

III. Per-Country Ceilings

In addition to the numerical limits placed on the various immigration preference categories, the INA also places a limit on how many immigrants can come to the United States from any one country. Currently, no group of permanent immigrants (family-based and employment-based combined) from a single country can exceed seven percent of the total number of people immigrating to the United States in a single fiscal year. This is not a quota to ensure that certain nationalities make up seven percent of immigrants, but rather a limit that is set to prevent any immigrant group from dominating immigration flows to the United States.

IV. Refugees and Asylees

Refugees are admitted to the United States based upon an inability to return to their home countries because of a "well-founded fear of persecution" due to their race, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin. Refugees apply for admission from outside of the United States, generally from a "transition country" that is outside their home country. The admission of refugees turns on numerous factors, such as the degree of risk they face, membership in a group that is of special concern to the United States (designated yearly by the president and Congress), and whether or not they have family members in the United States.

Each year, the president, in consultation with Congress, determines the numerical ceiling for refugee admissions. The overall cap is broken down into limits for each region of the world. After September 11, 2001, the number of refugees admitted into the United States fell drastically. After the Bush administration put new security checks in place, annual refugee admissions returned to their previous levels and rose during the Obama administration. During the Trump administration, the refugee ceiling fell sharply, from 110,000 in FY 2017 to 45,000 in FY 2018 and 30,000 in FY 2019. For FY 2020, the ceiling was set at an all-time low of 18,000-although only 11,814 were actually admitted (the lowest number of admitted refugees since the system was created in 1980.) The FY 2021 ceiling was set at 15,000 by the Trump administration, but was subsequently raised to 62,500 by the Biden administration. However, as of August 31, 2021, only 7,637 refugees had been admitted with just one month remaining in the current fiscal year.

Of the 62,500 admissions determined by the president for FY 2021, the regional allocations are shown in Table 3 below. Given the slow pace of admissions, it is unlikely that any of these allocations will be met.
Table 3: Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions, FY 2021
Asylum is available to persons already in the United States who are seeking protection based on the same five protected grounds upon which refugees rely. They may apply at a port of entry at the time they seek admission or within one year of arriving in the United States. There is no limit on the number of individuals who may be granted asylum each year, nor are there specific categories for determining who may seek asylum. In FY 2019, 46,508 individuals were granted asylum.

Refugees and asylees are eligible to become LPRs one year after admission to the United States as a refugee or one year after receiving asylum.

V. The Diversity Visa Program

The Diversity Visa Program was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 as a dedicated channel for immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Each year, 55,000 visas are allocated randomly through a computer-generated lottery to nationals from countries that have sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years. Of the 55,000, up to 5,000 are made available for use under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act program, created in 1997 to provide relief to certain asylum seekers who applied for asylum before a specific date. This results in a reduction of the actual annual diversity visa limit to 50,000. The program was originally intended to favor immigration from Ireland (during the first three years of the program at least 40 percent of the visas were exclusively allocated to Irish immigrants). Diversity visas are now distributed on a regional basis and benefit Africans and Eastern Europeans in particular.

To be eligible for a diversity visa, potential applicants from qualifying countries must have a high-school education (or its equivalent) or have, within the past five years, a minimum of two years working in a profession requiring at least two years of training or experience. Spouses and minor unmarried children of the principal applicant may also enter as derivatives.

Immigration bans implemented by the Trump administration effectively shut down the Diversity Visa Program in 2020 and left roughly 43,000 of that year's lottery winners without their visas. Those 2020 lottery winners who did not receive visas by the end of the fiscal year lost their chance to immigrate to the United States, prompting some of them to file lawsuits against the federal government in an effort to obtain their visas. Although the Biden administration subsequently lifted the immigration bans, the Diversity Visa Program has resumed at a very slow pace. By the end of June 2021, the State Department had issued only 3,094 diversity visas for FY 2021. Some FY 2021 lottery winners have filed lawsuits demanding that the State Department issue their visas before the end of the fiscal year.

VI. Other Forms of Humanitarian Relief

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is is granted to people who are in the United States but cannot return to their home country because of "natural disaster," "extraordinary temporary conditions," or "ongoing armed conflict." TPS is granted to a country for six, twelve, or eighteen months and can be extended beyond that if unsafe conditions in the country persist. TPS does not necessarily lead to LPR status or confer any other immigration status.

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) provides protection from deportation for individuals whose home countries are unstable, therefore making return dangerous. Unlike TPS, which is authorized by statute, DED is at the discretion of the executive branch. DED does not necessarily lead to LPR status or confer any other immigration status.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program established in 2012 which permits certain individuals who were brought to the United States while under the age of 16 and who have resided continuously in the United States since June 15, 2007, to remain in the United States and work lawfully for at least two years, so long as they have no significant criminal record and have graduated high school or college or received a degree equivalent. It does not confer any path to permanent legal status and requires renewal every two years. In 2017, the Trump administration attempted to end DACA, but this action was challenged in court. In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration's attempt to terminate the program was unlawful. The Trump administration subsequently tried to impose new limits on DACA, but this action was also challenged in court and a federal judge in New York ordered the administration to set aside the newly imposed limits. Separately, a federal judge in Texas ruled that DACA was unlawful and that no new, first-time applications should be accepted. In January 2021, President Biden issued a memorandum reaffirming the federal government's commitment to DACA and pledging to appeal the Texas ruling.

Humanitarian parole allows certain individuals to enter the United States, even though they may not meet the definition of a refugee and may not be eligible to immigrate through other channels. Parolees may be admitted temporarily for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

VII. U.S. Citizenship

In order to qualify for U.S. citizenship through naturalization, an individual must have had LPR status (a green card) for at least five years (or three years if he or she obtained the green card through a U.S.-citizen spouse or through the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA). There are other exceptions including, but not limited to, members of the U.S. military who serve in a time of war or declared hostilities. Applicants for U.S. citizenship must be at least 18 years old, demonstrate continuous residency, demonstrate "good moral character," pass English and U.S. history and civics exams (with certain exceptions), and pay an application fee, among other requirements.

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How the United States Immigration System Works

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U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works. This fact sheet provides basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed.

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He attempted to end DACA, the program supporting children who were illegally brought to the US when they were little. He would be sending kids who grew up here back to a place that is not their home all because they are undocumented due to their parents.

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Trump banned visas and travel from these countries, Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen. He is blocking people from immigrating into the US if they live in these countries or even traveling in with a visa.

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Update: On Jan. 19, the Supreme Court said it will decide by June whether President Trump's responsibility to protect the nation grants him authority to ban travelers from specific countries.

A federal judge on Oct. 17 largely blocked the Trump administration from implementing the latest version of the president's controversial travel ban. On Oct. 18, a second judge ruled against the ban, saying Trump's own words show it was aimed at Muslims.

Countries targeted in Trump's new travel ban

Beginning Oct. 18, visitors from eight countries face new restrictions when trying to immigrate to the United States or get visitor visas. President Trump's administration crafted its new, more permanent travel ban after earlier versions were blocked in court. The Supreme Court delayed its Oct. 10 hearing on the previous bans, giving both sides time to update their arguments. Here's who the new ban covers:

The new ban comes after the Department of Homeland Security and State Department evaluated the immigration and visa entry process during a 90-day period that began when the Supreme Court allowed the second version of Trump's travel ban to take effect.

Trump's ban says the agencies scrutinized nearly 200 countries based on three criteria measuring their cooperation and information-sharing with the United States. The assessment found 47 countries were either inadequate or at risk of inadequacy. All but eight enacted measures to improve screening. Three of these countries - North Korea, Chad and Venezuela - did not appear on earlier travel ban lists.

[Latest travel ban will probably affect tens of thousands, and it could short-circuit the court battle]

Sudan was on the original list but is no longer subject to the travel ban, though the United States still designates Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett reported that administration officials said Sudan's cooperation with the United States on immigrant screening allowed for its removal. The ban said that immigrants and travelers from Iraq, a country that appeared on the first banned list but not on the second, will still be subject to additional scrutiny.

Leon Fresco, an immigration lawyer at Holland and Knight, said all these changes and an improved case-by-case waiver system make it more likely that the new ban will stay in place.

"If it hadn't been for the original genesis of why this entire project was created - the campaign promise of the travel ban for Muslims - this would be something that nobody would even think twice about," he said.

More than 65,000 people from the affected countries immigrated to the United States or used the now-banned visas in fiscal year 2016. Here's the breakdown:

Two are state sponsors of terror and another is North Korea

The two countries that face the most stringent restrictions under the travel ban are North Korea and Syria, where all U.S. immigration and all new U.S. visa applications will be halted starting Oct. 18.

All U.S. immigration and most visa applications from Iran will also be banned, but Iranian students will still be able to apply for specific educational visas to enter the United States.

Both Iran and Syria are considered state sponsors of terrorism by the State Department. The North Korea travel ban comes amid a protracted standoff over the country's nuclear weapons program. Only 61 North Koreans traveled or emigrated to the United States last year under programs that would be banned now.

[Almost no North Koreans travel to the U.S., so why ban them?]

Other countries lose access because of poor information sharing or terrorism

Trump's proclamation says that Chad, Libya and Yemen are "counterterrorism partners" but also bans all immigration and the most popular, easiest-to-get type of visa for people from those countries.

[Why did the U.S. travel ban add counterterrorism partner Chad? No one seems quite sure.]

In Somalia, called a "terrorist safe haven" in the proclamation, U.S. immigration will be banned and visa applicants will face increased screening.

The last country on the list, Venezuela, sent more than 150,000 visa recipients to the United States in fiscal year 2016 - more than double all the other banned countries, combined. But, restrictions there are narrowly designed to only affect members of the country's leadership and their families, who will not be able to apply for popular business and tourism visas.

About this story

Policy data from the White House. Immigration data from the State Department.

Originally published Sept. 26, 2017.

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Why Trump's new travel ban included these eight countries

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Update: On Jan. 19, the Supreme Court said it will decide by June whether President Trump's responsibility to protect the nation grants him authority to ban travelers from specific countries. A federal judge on Oct. 17 largely blocked the Trump administration from implementing the latest version of the president's controversial travel ban.

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a detailed explantation of how the refugee (a major part of immigration policies) system works

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Introduction

Until recently, the United States was the world's top country for refugee admissions. From taking in hundreds of thousands of Europeans displaced by World War II to welcoming those escaping from communist regimes in Europe and Asia during the Cold War, the United States has helped define protections for refugees under international humanitarian law. Beginning in 1980, the U.S. government moved from an ad hoc approach to the permanent, standardized system for identifying, vetting, and resettling prospective refugees that is still in use today.

The size of the U.S. refugee program has often fluctuated. The war in Syria and the resulting migration crisis in Europe increased policymakers' scrutiny of arrivals from the Middle East, beginning with the administration of President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump ratcheted up that scrutiny with a ban on refugees from certain countries and sharp cuts to overall refugee admissions, sparking new debate over the national security implications of refugee policy. As conflict in places such as Afghanistan and Ukraine displaces millions of people, President Joe Biden has pledged to rebuild the U.S. refugee program.

What is a refugee?

There are several different terms used to describe people who move from one place to another, either voluntarily or under threat of force. With no universal legal definition, migrant is an umbrella term for people who leave their homes and often cross international borders, whether to seek economic opportunity or escape persecution.

As defined by U.S. law and the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugees are migrants seeking entry from a third country who are able to demonstrate that they have been persecuted, or have reason to fear persecution, on the basis of one of five "protected grounds": race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. According to the UN refugee agency, there were nearly twenty-one million refugees worldwide as of mid-2021, more than half of whom came from just four countries: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar, in descending order.

Asylum seekers are those who meet the criteria for refugee status but apply from within the United States, or at ports of entry, after arriving under a different status. Asylum seekers follow a different protocol than those applying for refugee status.

How long has the United States accepted refugees?

For more than seventy-five years, the United States has accepted migrants who would be identified under current international law as refugees. In the wake of World War II, the United States passed its first refugee legislation to manage the resettlement of some 650,000 displaced Europeans. Throughout the Cold War, the United States accepted refugees fleeing from communist regimes, such as those in China, Cuba, and Eastern Europe.

But the country's official federal effort to resettle refugees, known as the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), was not created until passage of the Refugee Act of 1980. Prior to 1980, legislation that authorized the acceptance of refugees was passed primarily on an ad hoc basis, often responding to ongoing mass migrations. It was not until after the fall of South Vietnam to communist forces in 1975, when the United States began taking in hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asian refugees, that Congress established a more standardized system.

The 1980 legislation, signed by President Jimmy Carter, established permanent procedures for vetting, admitting, and resettling refugees into the country; incorporated the official definition of the term "refugee;" increased the number of refugees to be admitted annually to fifty thousand; and granted the president authority to admit additional refugees in emergencies. Since that law was passed, the United States has admitted more than three million refugees.

How many refugees are allowed into the country?

The number of refugees admitted into the United States annually has generally declined from more than 200,000 at the start of the program in 1980 to approximately 11,400 in 2021. Levels of refugee admissions fluctuated dramatically throughout that time period, falling through the 1980s and spiking again in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Annual numerical ceilings on refugee admissions are proposed by the president and require congressional approval. Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush suspended refugee admissions for several months, citing national security concerns. From 2001 to 2015, caps on refugee admissions stayed between seventy thousand and eighty thousand, though both the Bush and Obama administrations regularly admitted fewer people than the ceilings allowed.

In 2016, President Obama increased an earlier approved ceiling of eighty thousand to allow in an additional five thousand refugees as part of an effort to address a growing migration crisis caused by worsening conflict in Syria. As humanitarian crises elsewhere grew more dire, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama proposed that the United States set a ceiling of 110,000 refugee admissions for fiscal year 2017.

President Trump reversed Obama's proposed ceiling by capping the number of refugees allowed into the country in fiscal year 2017 at fifty thousand. He lowered this ceiling further to forty-five thousand for 2018, then thirty thousand for 2019, and 18,000 for 2020. His administration argued that the reduction was necessary to direct more government resources to the backlog of applications from nearly eight hundred thousand asylum seekers who had reached the southern U.S. border. Despite critics countering that the asylum and refugee programs have little bearing on one another, Trump set an even lower ceiling of fifteen thousand for fiscal year 2021-by far the lowest cap since the program's start.

President Biden has promised to reverse this downward trend. In May 2021, he revised the annual admissions cap to 62,500 for the remainder of the year, and in October, he doubled the ceiling for fiscal year 2022 to 125,000, with the majority of admission slots allocated to refugees from Africa and Southeast Asia. Even so, it is unclear how quickly Trump-era reductions can be reversed. The United States accepted fewer than twelve thousand refugees in 2021; some advocacy groups argue that the annual cap should proportionately reflect the number of refugees worldwide.

Where are they from?

The United States has consistently received refugees from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, though the total number of admissions has changed dramatically for some regions in the time since the U.S. refugee resettlement program was created. Immediately following passage of the 1980 act, more than two hundred thousand refugees-the highest total in recent history-were admitted to the country; the vast majority originated in Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam.

Refugees admitted to the United States from former Soviet countries increased sharply in the decade beginning in 1989. From 2010 to 2020, the highest number of refugees came from Myanmar, Iraq, and Bhutan, in descending order. By comparison, in 2021, the countries with the highest number of refugees admitted to the United States were the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, in descending order.

In 2017, Trump issued an executive order that temporarily prohibited the entry of nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries-Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen-and indefinitely barred all Syrian refugees. (Admissions for Syrians restarted in January 2018.) The executive order also tightened visa restrictions that had been imposed under Obama on those seven countries. The Trump administration revised the order twice amid legal challenges, until April 2018, when the Supreme Court allowed the third version of the order to stand.

Trump also heavily criticized a resettlement deal with Australia finalized by Obama, in which the United States was to take 1,250 refugees currently being held by Australian authorities in offshore detention centers. Many of these refugees were from Iran and Somalia, countries included in the third iteration of the travel ban. By June 2021, Washington had resettled resettled 968 refugees as part of the deal.

How are refugees screened and approved?

The U.S. State Department, in consultation with a constellation of other agencies and organizations, manages the process through its refugee admission program, USRAP. The first step for a potential refugee abroad is most often to register with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). UNHCR officials collect documentation and perform an initial screening and then refer qualifying individuals to State Department Resettlement Support Centers (RSCs), of which there are nine around the world. Sometimes this referral is done by a U.S. embassy or a nongovernmental organization.

Then, RSC officials interview the applicants, verify their personal data, and submit their information for background checks by a suite of U.S. national security agencies. These security checks [PDF] include multiple forms of biometric screening, such as cross-checks of global fingerprint databases and medical tests.

If none of these inquiries produce problematic results, including criminal histories, past immigration violations, connections to terrorist groups, or communicable diseases, the applicant can be cleared for entry to the United States. The entire admissions process generally takes between eighteen months and two years to complete.

What government agencies are involved?

The three primary federal government agencies involved in the refugee resettlement process are the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) is the first U.S. government point of contact; it coordinates the process with all other agencies until a refugee is resettled.

Through its Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) branch, DHS is the principal agency responsible for vetting refugee applicants; USCIS makes the final determination on whether to approve resettlement applications. Its security review uses the resources and databases of several other national security agencies, including the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI, Department of Defense, and multiple U.S. intelligence agencies.

Once settled in the United States, refugees are generally in the hands of charity and other volunteer agencies that specialize in resettlement, such as the International Rescue Committee. The State Department's Reception and Placement Program provides funding to go toward refugees' rent, furnishings, food, and clothing. After three months, this responsibility shifts to HHS, which provides longer-term cash and medical assistance, as well as other social services, including language classes and employment training. After the Trump administration's cuts to the refugee admission ceiling, all nine nongovernmental agencies that assist with resettlement downsized by closing offices or laying off staff.

Several intergovernmental organizations play a crucial role at various points. The United Nations is primarily responsible for referring qualified applicants to U.S. authorities, while the International Organization for Migration coordinates refugees' travel to the United States.

Where are refugees resettled?

Today, refugees are resettled in forty-nine U.S. states, though there are several states that generally resettle higher numbers than others. According to the Migration Policy Institute, California, Washington, and Texas took in the highest number of refugees in fiscal year 2020, making up 27 percent of all refugee admissions that year. Between fiscal years 2010 and 2020, one-third of all 601,000 resettled refugees went to just five states.

What roles do state and local governments play?

The logistics of refugee resettlement are largely handled by nine domestic resettlement agencies, many of them faith-based organizations such as the Church World Service and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Representatives of these organizations meet and review the biographical data of the refugees selected by the State Department's Refugee Support Centers abroad to determine where they should be resettled. As part of this process, federal law requires that resettlement agencies consult with local authorities [PDF], including law enforcement, emergency services, and public schools.

While this consultation is required, the 1980 Refugee Act gives the federal government final authority over whether to admit refugees and where they should be resettled. In the wake of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, which were carried out by EU citizens who may have returned to Europe from the Middle East via refugee flows, more than thirty U.S. governors protested the resettlement of any Syrian refugees in their states. Legal experts say that while states cannot directly block federal government decisions on where to place refugees, they can complicate the process by directing state agencies to refuse to cooperate with resettlement agencies, as the governors of Texas and Michigan did in 2015.

Do refugee populations pose security risks to the United States?

Out of the more than three million refugees accepted by the United States over the past four decades, a handful have been implicated in terrorist plots. According to a 2016 study by the libertarian-leaning CATO Institute, of the 154 foreign-born terrorists who committed attacks in the United States since 1975, twenty were refugees. Of these attacks, only three proved deadly, and all three took place before 1980, when the Refugee Act created the current screening procedures.

Many of those responsible for recent attacks have been U.S. citizens, including the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooter, one of the perpetrators of the 2015 San Bernardino attacks, and the 2009 Fort Hood shooter. The 9/11 hijackers were in the country on tourist or business visas. Others were the children of asylees, including the 2016 Manhattan bomber, whose father had been an Afghan refugee, and the Tsarnaev brothers, who carried out the Boston Marathon bombing and whose parents fled war-torn Chechnya.

Trump administration officials often voiced concerns over the vetting process for incoming refugees. But Biden and other critics condemned Trump's rhetoric as scaremongering, and Biden campaigned on restoring U.S. leadership on global refugee resettlement. In February 2021, as part of his administration's plan to rebuild and enhance the country's refugee program, he pledged to improve USRAP vetting to make it "more efficient, meaningful, and fair."

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Until recently, the United States was the world's top country for refugee admissions. From taking in hundreds of thousands of Europeans displaced by World War II to welcoming those escaping from communist regimes in Europe and Asia during the Cold War, the United States has helped define protections for refugees under international humanitarian law.

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The H-1B program allows immigrants/foreign workers in the US with education to temporarily employ at a factory.

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We use the information provided in Sections 2 and 3 (or Part C) of the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement to help us determine if a petition is subject to the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas (commonly known as the "regular cap"). An exemption from the H-1B cap for beneficiaries who have earned a U.S. master's degree or higher (commonly known as the "advanced degree exemption") is available until the number of beneficiaries who are exempt on this basis exceeds 20,000. Sections 2 and 3 can be found on pages 19-21 of Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.
Cap Eligible Petitions
This is the number of petitions that USCIS has accepted for this particular type of cap. It includes cases that have been approved or are still pending.

Cap Amounts

Congress set the current annual cap for the H-1B category at 65,000. Not all H-1B nonimmigrant visas are subject to this annual cap. Please note that up to 6,800 visas are set aside from the 65,000 each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore free trade agreements. Unused visas in this group become available for H-1B use for the next fiscal year.

H-1B workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam may also be exempt from the H-1B cap (see the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), Public Law 110-229). H-1B workers in Guam and the CNMI are exempt from the H-1B cap if their employers filed the petition before Dec. 31, 2029. Employers cannot file a petition or an extension request for an employee more than six months before the intended employment start date.

We will begin accepting H-1B petitions that are subject to the FY 2020 cap on April 1, 2019. You may file an H-1B petition no more than six months before the employment start date requested for the beneficiary.

Please follow these steps:

1. Complete all sections of the Form I-129 petition, including the H Classification Supplement and the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement. You can find the H Classification Supplement on pages 13-14 of Form I-129 and the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement on pages 19-21. Current versions of forms are available at uscis.gov/forms.

2. Make sure each form has an original signature, preferably in black ink. Ensure all signatures comply with Policy Memorandum PM-602-0134.1: Signatures on Paper Applications, Petitions, Requests, and Other Documents Filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (PDF, 118 KB).

3. Include signed checks or money orders with the correct fee amount. Please submit separate checks for each fee associated with the filing.

4. Submit all required documentation and evidence with the petition at the time of filing to ensure timely processing.

5. Ensure that the Labor Condition Application (LCA) properly corresponds to the position in your petition.

6. You must file the petition with the correct USCIS service center. See the section below on Where to Mail Your H-1B Cap-Subject Petition.

Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that Form I-129 is completed accurately and submitted properly.

Labor Condition Application (LCA)

When filing your H-1B petition with USCIS, you must include a signed, certified Department of Labor LCA (ETA 9035). We will also accept a copy of the signed, certified LCA. Note: USCIS encourages petitioners to keep Department of Labor LCA processing times in mind when preparing the H-1B petition and to plan accordingly. If the LCA is certified for multiple workers, you must provide the name and USCIS case receipt number of any foreign worker who has previously used the LCA.

Please see the Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification website for more information on the LCA process.

Evidence of Beneficiary's Educational Background

You must submit evidence of the beneficiary's education credentials (with English translations when applicable) at the time you file your petition. If the beneficiary has met all of the requirements for a degree, but the degree has not yet been awarded, you may submit the following alternate evidence:

A copy of the beneficiary's final transcript; or

A letter from the registrar confirming that the beneficiary has met all of the degree requirements. If the educational institution does not have a registrar, then the letter must be signed by the person in charge of educational records where the degree will be awarded.

If you indicate that the beneficiary is qualified based on a combination of education and experience, please provide substantiating evidence at the time you file your petition.

A Copy of the H-1B Petition

If the beneficiary will be applying for a nonimmigrant visa abroad, USCIS strongly encourages you to submit a copy of your H-1B petition and all supporting documents with your petition. If you receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) then you should also submit a copy of your response.

We also strongly encourage you to also submit a copy of the petition and any subsequent response to a RFE or NOID even if the beneficiary is requesting a change of status to H-1B or an extension of stay. This may assist the beneficiary if he or she later decides to seek a visa abroad or the H-1B petition is approved but the change of status or extension of stay request is denied.

If you do not submit a copy, this may delay processing for this petition or for the visa abroad.

You can check the Department of State website to make sure that the consulate indicated on Form I-129 is able to process the beneficiary's nonimmigrant visa application. You can also check for any instructions specific to that consulate.

Employers may not file multiple or duplicative H-1B petitions for the same employee. To ensure fair and orderly distribution of available H-1B visas, we will deny or revoke multiple or duplicative petitions filed by an employer (including its related entities) for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees. For additional information, please see PM-602-0159, Matter of S- Inc., Adopted Decision 2018-02 (AAO Mar. 23, 2018) (PDF, 119 KB).

You must file your petition with the correct service center, depending on the petitioner's primary work location. We have specific mailing addresses for cases that are subject to the H-1B cap. To determine where you must mail your petition, see our Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker page.

Note: We have a separate mailing address for certain types of educational or nonprofit organizations that file cap-exempt H-1B petitions.

Please read the filing instructions very carefully. If you file your petition at the wrong location, we may reject it. Rejected petitions will not retain a filing date and will not be counted toward the H-1B cap.

If you filed an FY 2020 H-1B cap petition in a timely manner, but received notification from the delivery service that suggests that there may be a delay or damage to the package, you may file a second H-1B petition with a new fee payment and the following:

An explanation why you are filing a second petition, with supporting evidence, such as the notice from the delivery service; and

A request to withdraw the first petition filed for the FY 2020 H-1B cap.

If you do not include these items, we will consider you to have submitted duplicate filings. We will deny or revoke multiple or duplicative petitions filed by an employer (including its related entities) for the same H-1B worker in the same fiscal year and will not refund the filing fees. See also Delivery Service Error Guidance.

There are different fees depending on the type of H-1B petition you are submitting. Please refer to the page for detailed instructions on H-1B fees. All petitioners must pay a H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker base filing fee for each petition filed. Go to the Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker web page for the current filing fee amount.

In addition to the base filing fee, you may need to pay one of the following fees for a petition subject to the cap:

American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) fee:

$750 for employers with 1 to 25 full-time equivalent employees, unless exempt

$1,500 for employers with 26 or more full-time equivalent employees, unless exempt

The ACWIA fee information is available in Section 2 of the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement on pages 19-21 of Form I-129.

Fraud Prevention and Detection fee:

$500 to be submitted with a request for initial H-1B status or with a request for a beneficiary already in H-1B status to change employers. (This fee does not apply to Chile/Singapore H-1B1 petitions.)

Public Law 114-113 fee:

$4,000 for petitioners who:
Employ 50 or more employees in the United States and more than 50% of those employees are in H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant status. You must submit this fee with a request for initial H-1B status or a request for a beneficiary already in H-1B status to change employers

Checks

Check must be:

Payable to the Department of Homeland Security;

Dated within the last six months; and

Include the proper amount and signature.

We prefer that you submit a separate check for each fee. For example, if you are required to pay the base filing fee, the fraud fee, the ACWIA fee, and the premium processing fee, you should submit four separate checks. If you only submit one check as combined payment for all applicable fees and certain fees do not apply or are incorrect, we will reject your H-1B petition.

Money Orders

Money orders must be properly endorsed.

Incorrect Filing Fee

We will reject all petitions submitted with the incorrect filing fee.

Premium processing will be offered in a two-phased approach during the FY 2020 cap season so USCIS can best manage the premium processing requests without fully suspending it as in previous years. The first phase will include FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a change of status and the second phase will include all other FY 2020 cap-subject petitions.

Starting April 1, H-1B FY 2020 cap-subject petitioners requesting a change of status on their Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, may request premium processing by concurrently filing Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. However, to prioritize data entry for cap-subject H-1B petitions, USCIS will not begin premium processing for these petitions immediately. USCIS will begin premium processing for these petitions no later than May 20, 2019, and will notify the public before premium processing begins for these petitions. If a petitioner does not file Form I-907 concurrently with an FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petition requesting a change of status, the petitioner must wait until premium processing begins to submit Form I-907. Until premium processing begins for these petitions, USCIS will reject any Form I-907 that is not filed concurrently with a cap-subject Form I-129. Petitioners must appropriately select response "b" for Item 4 in Part 2 of Form I-129 to be eligible to concurrently file Form I-907.

Premium processing for all other FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions will not begin until at least June 2019. Cap-subject petitioners not requesting a change of status may not submit their premium processing request concurrently with their H-1B petition. These petitioners will be eligible to upgrade to premium processing by filing Form I-907 once premium processing begins for this group. USCIS will notify the public with a confirmed date for premium processing for cap-subject petitioners not requesting a change of status.

Clearly label all H-1B cap cases, preferably in red ink, on the top margin of Form I-129. Use the following codes:

Write "Regular Cap" on petitions subject to the 65,000 regular cap, not including Chile/Singapore cap cases.

Write "C/S Cap" on Chile/Singapore H-1B1 cases.

Write "U.S. Master's" on petitions subject to the 20,000 advanced degree exemption for beneficiaries with U.S. master's degrees or higher.

A separate check is preferred for each filing fee (Form I-129, Fraud Fee, ACWIA fee, and Public Law 114-113). Staple checks to the bottom right corner of the top document.

Preferred order of documents at time of submission:

1. Form G-28 (if represented by an attorney or accredited representative)

2. Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker

3. Addendums/Attachments

4. H Classification Supplement to Form I-129 and/or Free Trade Supplement (for H-1B1 Chile-Singapore petitions)

5. H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement

6. All supporting documentation to establish eligibility. Provide a table of contents for supporting documentation and separate the items as listed in the table.

7. Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) if the beneficiary is in the United States

8. SEVIS Form I-20 if the beneficiary is a current or former F-1 student or F-2 dependent

9. SEVIS Form DS-2019 if the beneficiary is a current or former J-1 or J-2

10. Form I-566 if the beneficiary is a current A or G nonimmigrant

11. Department of Labor certified LCA, Form ETA 9035

12. Employer/attorney/representative letter(s)

13. Other supporting documentation

14. Copy of the petition, if necessary. Clearly mark it as "COPY" so that it is not mistaken for a duplicate filing.

How to mail multiple petitions together

If you will include multiple petitions in the same package, please place the individual petitions into separate envelopes within the package. Mark the individual petition envelopes with the following labels to identify the type of petition:

Master's (Advanced degree exemption)

Regular

Chile/Singapore

Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative

If the petitioner will be represented by an attorney or other accredited representative, submit a properly completed Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative. Please make sure you file one of the most recent versions of the Form G-28 (edition date: 09/17/18 or 05/23/18). For further information on Form G-28, please see our Filing Your Form G-28 page.

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker

Complete all sections of the form accurately.

H-1B cap petitions and advanced degree exemption petitions for the FY 2020 cap must include an employment start date of no earlier than October 1, 2019. Do not file petitions earlier than six months before the requested employment start date. We will reject H-1B petitions requesting an earlier employment start date or a start date of "As Soon As Possible" or "ASAP."

Ensure that the petition is properly signed.

Petitioners should enter their own address in Part 1, question 3 of the Form I-129. This will ensure that the I-797 receipt and approval notices are sent to the petitioner and, if applicable, to the attorney/representative.

Please note: Using an address other than the petitioner's address as the mailing address may cause processing delays related to USCIS's Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE). VIBE automatically uses the address provided on the petition to validate the petitioner's current location. If petitioners use an attorney's address on the Form I-129 petition, include a cover letter that clearly indicates the current address of the petitioner. This information will assist immigration services officers in completing a manual check in VIBE using the petitioner's address. If a petitioner uses an attorney's address as their mailing address on the form, then the petitioner will not receive any Form I-797 notices.

Ensure that the beneficiary's name is spelled properly and that his or her date of birth is displayed in the proper format (mm/dd/yyyy). Also, review the country of birth and citizenship and the I-94 number (if applicable) for accuracy.

If the beneficiary will seek a visa at a consular office abroad, include a copy of the petition and supporting documentation with the filing. For cases where the beneficiary will seek a change of status or extension of stay in the United States, you may still submit a copy. You may choose to do this in case the beneficiary decides to seek a visa at a consular office abroad after the change of status or extension of stay is approved.

If the beneficiary is seeking an extension of stay or change of status, the petition should include evidence (such as a Form I-94 or Form I-797 approval notice) to establish that the beneficiary will have maintained a valid nonimmigrant status through the employment start date being requested.

The petitioner should include a copy of the beneficiary's valid passport.

H Classification Supplement to Form I-129

You can find the H Classification Supplement on pages 13-14 of Form I-129.

Please be sure to complete all sections of the form accurately.

In listing previous periods of stay in H or L nonimmigrant classification (question 3), please also include the actual nonimmigrant classification held (such as H-1B or L-1).

The petitioner must sign the form, preferably in black ink.

H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Supplement

You can find the H-1B Collection and Filing Fee Supplement on pages 19-21 of Form I-129.

Please be sure to complete all sections of the form accurately.

Make sure the Form I-129 has an edition date of 10/23/14, or later.

Be sure to answer if the beneficiary has earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. educational institution as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001(a). Answer in the below sections in the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement on pages 19-21.
Section 1, question 2, and Section 3, question 2

If you answer "No" to the question about whether the beneficiary will be assigned to work at an off-site location, then you do not need to respond to the remaining two questions in the section. This is the first question in Section 4 on page 21.

If you filed an H-1B cap petition in a timely manner but received notification from the delivery service that suggests that there may be a delay or damage to the package or that the package was misrouted, you may file a second H-1B petition with a new fee payment and the following:

An explanation as to why a second petition is being filed, with supporting evidence, such as the notice from the delivery service; and

A request to withdraw the first petition filed for the H-1B cap.

If you do not include these items, you will be considered to have submitted duplicate filings. USCIS will deny or revoke multiple or duplicative petitions filed by an employer (including its related entities), for the same H-1B worker in the same fiscal year and will not refund the filing fees.

If the cap is met within the first five business days of April, USCIS will reject any petitions received after the cap is met, including second H-1B petitions filed because of a delivery service mishandling as described above.

In addition, if you submit a second H-1B petition and withdraw the first, USCIS will not adjudicate the withdrawn petition and will return it to you, regardless of whether the petition has already been receipted.

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We use the information provided in Sections 2 and 3 (or Part C) of the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement to help us determine if a petition is subject to the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas (commonly known as the "regular cap").

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The majority are being offered to higher educated immigrants, there will be less visas available to lower educated immigrants since they are being saved for the highly educated.

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trump admin proposes changes to popular h-1b program - cnn

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Trump administration proposes changes to popular H-1B program

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The Trump administration wants to reform a popular American work visa program.

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list all the changes made to make things harder for them

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This page provides access to various policy and procedural memoranda which gives guidance to USCIS adjudicators in their work of processing applications and petitions for immigration benefits while still protecting national security.

ATTENTION: Policy memos that have been partially or fully superseded by the USCIS Policy Manual have been stamped and republished. If you have bookmarked affected memo PDF files, you will now see the updated stamped version of the memo indicating that you should visit www.uscis.gov/policymanual for current policy.

Subscribe to get notifications of policy memo updates:

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This page provides access to various policy and procedural memoranda which gives guidance to USCIS adjudicators in their work of processing applications and petitions for immigration benefits while still protecting national security. ATTENTION: Policy memos that have been partially or fully superseded by the USCIS Policy Manual have been stamped and republished.

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video shows the separation which will occur

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What Trump immigration policy means for children who cross the border

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this report list every single life changing effect he has had on the immigrants

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U.S. immigration policy has undergone a sea change since the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2017. Although his public statements have largely focused on a few major objectives toward which he has made only limited headway-such as building a wall along the entirety of the U.S.-Mexico border-the administration has taken other steps to redefine U.S. immigration policies that are less visible but no less important.

This report examines the wide range of changes the Trump administration has set in motion, from enhanced enforcement measures and new application vetting requirements, to cuts in refugee admissions and the scaling back of temporary protections for some noncitizens.

Despite the attention Trump has dedicated to immigration matters, this analysis finds that the fragmented nature of the U.S. political system has made it difficult for his administration to pursue some of its most ambitious aims. Congress has thus far shown little inclination to pass major immigration legislation, and the courts have halted or slowed key initiatives, including early iterations of the travel ban and the separation of families as part of a "zero-tolerance" border policy. States and localities have also taken divergent approaches to local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, with some passing laws to curtail coordination and others to facilitate it. Still, through incremental changes and presidential discretion, the administration may in the long term be able to significantly redefine who comes to the country and who is removed from it.

I. Introduction II. What Has Changed
A. Enhancing Immigration Enforcement

B. Cutting Back on Humanitarian Programs

C. Increasing Vetting and Obstacles for Legal Immigration

D. Ending DACA
III. The Impact of Expectations and Anxiety IV. Congressional Inaction and Resistance V. Pushback from Local and State Governments VI. The Role of the Courts VII. Conclusion

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Sarah Pierce, Jessica Bolter, Andrew Selee 

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U.S. Immigration Policy under Trump: Deep Changes and Lasting Impacts

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President Trump has made reshaping the U.S. immigration system a top priority. Yet the fragmented nature of policy-making in the United States-with power split between branches and levels of government-has made it difficult to pursue some of his most ambitious proposals.

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"The Trump team insists the actions of the deportation force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is simply a matter of applying the law and delivering a key election pledge" (Strasser 1).

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The missing - aftermath of Trump's crackdown

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In a rural county that voted for Trump, people are shocked to see friends and schoolmates deported.

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timeline of events that have to do with immigration since trump came into office 

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timeline of events that have to do with immigration since trump came into office 

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very in-depth and well organized.

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Tracking the impact of the president’s policies

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he is causing 70,000 immigrants to lose the small source of income they have.

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March 27 at 12:16 PM
President Trump insists he wants to attract high-skilled legal immigrants, even while pushing for a wall on the southern border - but his administration is moving to deprive thousands of highly trained immigrants of the right to work.

The argument for throwing these well-educated newcomers - holders of H-4 visas - out of the workforce is that it would open jobs for unemployed and underemployed U.S. citizens.

It's a lousy rationale. Our research shows that this proposal would not create a single net job, and it would also cost the U.S. economy -- and taxpayers -- billions of dollars a year in lost revenue and reduced economic growth. It will also likely force immigrants -- actively encouraged, up to now, to move here -- to uproot themselves.

Congress created the H-1B visa program in 1990 to attract more high-skilled immigrants into the country. Companies were having trouble filling jobs in technical occupations like systems engineers and software developers, occupation that then (and now) had low unemployment rates. Turning to foreign-born workers is an effective way to plug this hole. Trained, experienced foreign workers are also much more likely to start new businesses, creating new jobs in the process.

Since a good proportion of H-1B workers happen to be married, Congress created an H-4 visa for their spouses. At its inception, the law prohibited H-4 visa holders from working, but the work exclusion came to be a problem. Most spouses of H-1B visa holders also tend to have substantial technical skills as well, and find coming to the United States without being able to pursue a career a considerable sacrifice. Their inability to work was making it more difficult to attract H-1B visa holders.
[Trump's immigration policy has foreign tech talent looking north of the border]
To remedy this, in 2015, the Obama administration issued a rule that permitted H-4 holders to obtain employment, and nearly 70,000 H-4 visa holders now have a job. However, the Trump administration's proposed rule would force them to stop working.

To understand the economic impact of a work ban, we asked two different immigration groups to help us survey H-4 visa holders. We received almost 5,000 responses -- an incredibly large proportion of the roughly 130,000 people who currently have the visa.

Almost five out of six of our respondents had already obtained employment authorization documents (EADs), and three-fourths of these currently hold jobs. Unsurprisingly, most work in occupations tied to technology or engineering in some way. Almost half are employed in IT-math-stats occupations, which have chronic worker shortages. These occupations' 2018 unemployment rate of only 2.13 percent indicates that the only unemployed workers in these areas are the ones in the process of changing jobs.

Another 20 percent of H-4 workers are employed in legal, engineering, management, or healthcare practitioner occupations, with an even lower average 2018 unemployment rate of only 1.67 percent. Fewer than 4 percent of these workers are employed in occupations with 2018 unemployment rates above the national average last year of 3.9 percent: manufacturing, sales, personal care, transportation, construction, building maintenance, food preparation or farming.

The fact that so many H-4 workers are in such hard-to-fill occupations means that the average income for this cohort is quite high -- about $80,000 in our sample, fully 30 percent above the median income for U.S. workers. It also means that if these workers lost their ability to work, the jobs they currently hold would mostly go unfilled. We estimate that only 7 to 10 percent of the jobs vacated would be filled by U.S. workers.
[Filipino teachers had to leave Baltimore amid new U.S. immigration policies. Now, most are back.]
In addition, about 2 percent of H-4 workers have started their own businesses, which on average employ five workers each. Since their employees' jobs would also be lost if the H-4 employers could not work, these jobs that would be lost by U.S. workers would almost exactly offset any employment gains from filling empty H-4 jobs.

Interviews we did after our survey revealed that a significant number of families with an H-4 visa have made life-altering decisions predicated upon the ability of the visa holder to join their H-1B visa-holding spouse in obtaining work authorization, such as purchasing a house, beginning a business or having a child.

Numerous respondents also told us that coming to the United States without being able to work was frustrating and stressful, and that it was difficult to contemplate a return to that status.

Ari Banerjee and his wife came to the U.S. to attend graduate school and decided to remain when she received a job offer that came with an H-1B visa. After receiving his work permit, Ari started a digital marketing firm that now employs nine workers. If he loses his work authorization he would close his company or move it to another country.

Priya Chandrasekaran married her H-1B spouse -- a software engineer for Microsoft -- in 2010 and came to the United States soon after to be with him. Although Priya had a Bachelors in business management, graduate training, and six years of work experience in India, she was initially unable to pursue her career because of the H-4 work ban in place at the time. When that changed Priya jumped at the opportunity to work, and since going to work in 2015 she has become a CPA and had a second child, and their family purchased their first home.

The uncertainty about her work status led Priya to delay plans to pursue an MBA because the couple can't afford the tuition without her income -- even their mortgage may be a stretch. If the administration terminates the H-4 EAD program the family will explore moving to a country where Priya can work as well.

Many H-4 spouses used the word "depressed" to describe their frustration at the prospect of being unable to work while living in the United States.

Besides being harmful to their families, rescinding the work authorization for the H-4 visa would impose costs both on our economy and tax coffers. Executive Order 12866 requires that any new rule issued by an administration -- or the rescission of an existing rule -- must be able to pass a cost-benefit analysis. The data show that this doesn't come close to passing.

We estimate that the lost earnings for this group alone would be about $5.5 billion a year. What's more, fully one-fourth of our respondents said that their family would consider leaving the United States if the work authorizations were rescinded. That would cut economic output by another $2 billion. The reduction in employment that would ensue would cost the government about $2-$3 billion in lost tax revenues annually. And crucially, as we've already shown, we find no evidence that this action will create jobs for U.S. citizens.

The president is right when he states that we should do more to attract skilled immigrants to the country. The United States has a shortage of workers with degrees or training in STEM fields, and attracting such workers from abroad would fill jobs that would otherwise go wanting.

However, ending the ability of H-4 visa holders to work goes against the president's ostensible goal of increasing skilled foreign workers in our economy. It would reduce economic growth and tax revenue while doing absolutely nothing to create new jobs.
Read more: [How Trump is changing the face of legal immigration] [Why H-1B visas are so controversial] [Trump's 'Buy American and Hire American' initiative won't actually help workers]

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Perspective | Trump says he wants skilled immigrants. He's about to stop 70,000 from working.

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March 27 at 12:16 PM President Trump insists he wants to attract high-skilled legal immigrants, even while pushing for a wall on the southern border - but his administration is moving to deprive thousands of highly trained immigrants of the right to work.

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shows the control aspects of immigration. what's been done to "fix" it

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Controlling immigration was one of U.S. President Donald Trump's primary arguments during the 2016 election, with him campaigning to limit entries into the U.S. and proposing building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The political debate continues to rage today: Funding for Trump's proposed $5-billion border wall remains a matter of contention between lawmakers.

According to the United Nations, nearly 50 million people in the U.S. are foreign born, which accounts for about 15 percent of the total population. That percentage lies in between Canada and the U.K., where immigrants represent 22 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

In 1970, foreign-born individuals made up less than 5 percent of the American population.

It's an incredibly complicated topic, one that touches on many public debates, and there's significant political disagreement about to what extent immigration affects a nation's economy - positively or negatively.

Still, some studies have concluded that there's a net economic benefit when new immigrants come to a country. Although an increase in labor supply may depress some wages initially, immigrants are often filling roles that nations - such as the U.S. - need to succeed.

A report from the International Monetary Fund found a "1 percentage point increase in the share of migrants in the adult population increases GDP per person in advanced economies by up to 2 percent in the longer term."

To learn more about the different ways immigration impacts an economy, check out the video above.

To view this site, you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser, and either the Flash Plugin or an HTML5-Video enabled browser. Download the latest Flash player and try again.

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Here's what research shows about immigration's impact on an economy

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Controlling immigration was one of U.S. President Donald Trump's primary arguments during the 2016 election, with him campaigning to limit entries into the U.S. and proposing building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The political debate continues to rage today: Funding for Trump's proposed $5-billion border wall remains a matter of contention between lawmakers.

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they are going to lose alot of money and protection if they refuse to pay for a wall which wont benefit them

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March 27 at 12:16 PM
President Trump insists he wants to attract high-skilled legal immigrants, even while pushing for a wall on the southern border - but his administration is moving to deprive thousands of highly trained immigrants of the right to work.

The argument for throwing these well-educated newcomers - holders of H-4 visas - out of the workforce is that it would open jobs for unemployed and underemployed U.S. citizens.

It's a lousy rationale. Our research shows that this proposal would not create a single net job, and it would also cost the U.S. economy -- and taxpayers -- billions of dollars a year in lost revenue and reduced economic growth. It will also likely force immigrants -- actively encouraged, up to now, to move here -- to uproot themselves.

Congress created the H-1B visa program in 1990 to attract more high-skilled immigrants into the country. Companies were having trouble filling jobs in technical occupations like systems engineers and software developers, occupation that then (and now) had low unemployment rates. Turning to foreign-born workers is an effective way to plug this hole. Trained, experienced foreign workers are also much more likely to start new businesses, creating new jobs in the process.

Since a good proportion of H-1B workers happen to be married, Congress created an H-4 visa for their spouses. At its inception, the law prohibited H-4 visa holders from working, but the work exclusion came to be a problem. Most spouses of H-1B visa holders also tend to have substantial technical skills as well, and find coming to the United States without being able to pursue a career a considerable sacrifice. Their inability to work was making it more difficult to attract H-1B visa holders.
[Trump's immigration policy has foreign tech talent looking north of the border]
To remedy this, in 2015, the Obama administration issued a rule that permitted H-4 holders to obtain employment, and nearly 70,000 H-4 visa holders now have a job. However, the Trump administration's proposed rule would force them to stop working.

To understand the economic impact of a work ban, we asked two different immigration groups to help us survey H-4 visa holders. We received almost 5,000 responses -- an incredibly large proportion of the roughly 130,000 people who currently have the visa.

Almost five out of six of our respondents had already obtained employment authorization documents (EADs), and three-fourths of these currently hold jobs. Unsurprisingly, most work in occupations tied to technology or engineering in some way. Almost half are employed in IT-math-stats occupations, which have chronic worker shortages. These occupations' 2018 unemployment rate of only 2.13 percent indicates that the only unemployed workers in these areas are the ones in the process of changing jobs.

Another 20 percent of H-4 workers are employed in legal, engineering, management, or healthcare practitioner occupations, with an even lower average 2018 unemployment rate of only 1.67 percent. Fewer than 4 percent of these workers are employed in occupations with 2018 unemployment rates above the national average last year of 3.9 percent: manufacturing, sales, personal care, transportation, construction, building maintenance, food preparation or farming.

The fact that so many H-4 workers are in such hard-to-fill occupations means that the average income for this cohort is quite high -- about $80,000 in our sample, fully 30 percent above the median income for U.S. workers. It also means that if these workers lost their ability to work, the jobs they currently hold would mostly go unfilled. We estimate that only 7 to 10 percent of the jobs vacated would be filled by U.S. workers.
[Filipino teachers had to leave Baltimore amid new U.S. immigration policies. Now, most are back.]
In addition, about 2 percent of H-4 workers have started their own businesses, which on average employ five workers each. Since their employees' jobs would also be lost if the H-4 employers could not work, these jobs that would be lost by U.S. workers would almost exactly offset any employment gains from filling empty H-4 jobs.

Interviews we did after our survey revealed that a significant number of families with an H-4 visa have made life-altering decisions predicated upon the ability of the visa holder to join their H-1B visa-holding spouse in obtaining work authorization, such as purchasing a house, beginning a business or having a child.

Numerous respondents also told us that coming to the United States without being able to work was frustrating and stressful, and that it was difficult to contemplate a return to that status.

Ari Banerjee and his wife came to the U.S. to attend graduate school and decided to remain when she received a job offer that came with an H-1B visa. After receiving his work permit, Ari started a digital marketing firm that now employs nine workers. If he loses his work authorization he would close his company or move it to another country.

Priya Chandrasekaran married her H-1B spouse -- a software engineer for Microsoft -- in 2010 and came to the United States soon after to be with him. Although Priya had a Bachelors in business management, graduate training, and six years of work experience in India, she was initially unable to pursue her career because of the H-4 work ban in place at the time. When that changed Priya jumped at the opportunity to work, and since going to work in 2015 she has become a CPA and had a second child, and their family purchased their first home.

The uncertainty about her work status led Priya to delay plans to pursue an MBA because the couple can't afford the tuition without her income -- even their mortgage may be a stretch. If the administration terminates the H-4 EAD program the family will explore moving to a country where Priya can work as well.

Many H-4 spouses used the word "depressed" to describe their frustration at the prospect of being unable to work while living in the United States.

Besides being harmful to their families, rescinding the work authorization for the H-4 visa would impose costs both on our economy and tax coffers. Executive Order 12866 requires that any new rule issued by an administration -- or the rescission of an existing rule -- must be able to pass a cost-benefit analysis. The data show that this doesn't come close to passing.

We estimate that the lost earnings for this group alone would be about $5.5 billion a year. What's more, fully one-fourth of our respondents said that their family would consider leaving the United States if the work authorizations were rescinded. That would cut economic output by another $2 billion. The reduction in employment that would ensue would cost the government about $2-$3 billion in lost tax revenues annually. And crucially, as we've already shown, we find no evidence that this action will create jobs for U.S. citizens.

The president is right when he states that we should do more to attract skilled immigrants to the country. The United States has a shortage of workers with degrees or training in STEM fields, and attracting such workers from abroad would fill jobs that would otherwise go wanting.

However, ending the ability of H-4 visa holders to work goes against the president's ostensible goal of increasing skilled foreign workers in our economy. It would reduce economic growth and tax revenue while doing absolutely nothing to create new jobs.
Read more: [How Trump is changing the face of legal immigration] [Why H-1B visas are so controversial] [Trump's 'Buy American and Hire American' initiative won't actually help workers]

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Perspective | Trump says he wants skilled immigrants. He's about to stop 70,000 from working.

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March 27 at 12:16 PM President Trump insists he wants to attract high-skilled legal immigrants, even while pushing for a wall on the southern border - but his administration is moving to deprive thousands of highly trained immigrants of the right to work.

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this article shows the legal aspects that will and have been changed. the statistics are very informative.

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How Trump is changing the face of legal immigration

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With all eyes on the border, smaller changes to the intake of legal immigrants are going largely unnoticed.