Inquiry Question: How do citizens of 3rd World countries view the United States in terms of

opportunity? Do we deserve the title of Land of Opportunity?

http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/how-united-states-immigration-system-worksfact-sheet
I. Family-Based Immigration
Family unification is an important principle governing immigration policy. The family-based immigration category
allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to bring certain family members to the United States.
There are 480,000 family-based visas available every year. Family-based immigrants are admitted to the U.S. either
as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through the family preference system.
There is no numerical limit on visas available for immediate relatives, but 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).
parents of U.S. citizens (petitioner must be at least 21 years old to petition for a parent).
There are a limited number of visas available every year under the family preference system, and petitioners must
meet certain age and financial requirements. The 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).

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

Permanent Immigration
Permanent employment-based immigration is set at a rate of 140,000 visas per year, and these are divided into 5
preferences, each subject to numerical limitations. Below is a table summarizing the employment-based preference
system:
Permanent Employment-Based
Preference System

Preference Category

Eligibility

Yearly Numerical
Limit

Persons of extraordinary ability in the arts, science,

education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors
and researchers, some multinational executives.

40,000*

Members of the professions holding advanced degrees,

or persons of exceptional abilities in the arts, science, or
business.

40,000**

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.

40,000***
Other unskilled
laborers restricted
to 5,000

Certain special immigrants including religious workers,

employees of U.S. foreign service posts, former U.S.
government employees and other classes of aliens.

10,000

Persons who will invest $500,000 to $1 million in a jobcreating enterprise that employs at least 10 full time U.S.
workers.

10,000

*Plus any unused visas from the 4th and

5th preferences.
**Plus any unused visas from the 1st
preference.
***Plus any unused visas the 1st and 2nd
preference.

Worldwide level of employment-based

immigrants: 140,000 for principal
applicants and their dependents.

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 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
of the United States and Congress), and whether or not they have family members in the U.S.
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, the President set the worldwide refugee ceiling at 70,000, and the regional allocation was
as follows:
Africa

12,000

East Asia

17,000

Europe and Central Asia

2,000

Latin America/Caribbean

5,000

Near East/South Asia

31,000

Unallocated Reserve

3,000

TOTAL

70,000

V. Other Forms of Humanitarian Relief

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) 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, 12, or 18 months and can be extended beyond that if unsafe conditions in the country
persist.
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.
Certain individuals may be allowed to enter the U.S. through parole, even though he or she 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.

VI. 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 5 years (or 3 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 for 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, and pay
an application fee, among other requirements.

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/im
migration/interv/toc.php

Michael D interviews Paul D, Philippines

As a young man of twenty-six, tanned by the tropical sun of the Philippines, it was most likely the biting cold of Alaska
that first informed Paul Dango that something was different in America. And even more peculiarities further inland
would solidify his suspicions that he had set foot on a different country, not to mention continent. His mother, who
preceded him in visiting America, had told him that America was a land of speeding cars and stretching skyscrapers,
of vastness and constant motion; and when his plane would take him into the continental United States, Dango would
see these things. But it is the unseen things, he reflects, that make America the most different.
Among these unseen things, and perhaps most important, is the ability to pursue one's dreams. America allows,
according to Dango, one to focus his or her energy on what he or she wants. He says that America loves winners; it
loves people who try. And because America loves those who excel, our nation will always help those who want to
prevail. That is why it helped Dango; his drive and motivation earned him a warm welcoming into America.
Of course, that is not to say that Dango did not have to adjust a little. There were times when he remembers being
(and at times, still is) the only 'brown guy' in a 20-mile radius, and although he did not experience tangible
discrimination, he most likely felt some prejudice. At other times, cultural disparities stood between him and a clear
understanding of America. Coming from a nation and culture that treasured family above all else, he could not
understand the idea of a nursing home, which sent the elderly generation away to be cared for by strangers.
Although Dango remains proud of his Filipino ancestry, he has assimilated into the United States, and these cultural
disparities have somewhat faded away. Today, he claims he lives the American Dream; it would be hard to argue
with him about this. Twenty-five years ago, he lived in a country where most are below the poverty level. Today, he
owns a house; he provides for his family; he is proud of the education his children receive. He credits his success to
his applying himself and believing in his talents. But he does not take all the credit; he realizes that hard work would
mean nothing if America didn't 'do its part.

Finesse M interviews Sylinah M, Liberia

I interviewed Sylinah M. She is a high school student and is 14 years old. She came here from Liberia at the age of
12. She traveled to the United States by plane with her parents in November 2004. When Sylinah M. finally arrived in
the USA, what made things better for her was having her new friends and parents nearby. No one actually mthings
hard for her when she moved to the USA.
Her hopes and dreams were to come here to get a better education and be successful. What surprised her most was
when people acted differently than in Liberia. Now she is taking steps to become an American citizen and she is
constantly learning new things about American culture, even though she still has her same values and practices that
she is accustomed to. Also she still practices her ethnic/cultural holidays here in the United States.
Sylinah and her family never had hard times speaking English because they had already learned English in Africa.
She speaks two languages in her house in Colorado: English and Liberian.

Erin G interviews Gill M, Djibouti

Gill is 19 years old. He moved to America 3 months ago, in February of 2006. He has a daughter named Asia who is
one-year old. He came to America to find a new life style and to have his daughter raised with certain freedoms and
rights. He didn't want her to suffer like he did in Africa. Gill came from Djibouti, Africa. His journey to America was
very hard and very long.
Gill came to America by ship. He actually went on several ships but he always got kicked off. He was almost beaten
to death when he was caught trying to board one ship. The man who caught him said that ''colors'' don't belong on
the ship - only the rich do. Gill kept trying. He tried every day until he could find a way out and leave for the safety he
hoped to find in America. He didn't care if he came illegally or legally - he just wanted to get out of where he was
living and give his daughter a better life.
In February 2006, he finally found a ship he was able to get onto with his daughter. He told people that they were
Americans and they had to get back because his daughter was very sick and he needed to get her American help.
After that, he was on his journey. He was so worried he was going to get caught that he and his daughter hide in a
corner for 7 days. All they ate on their way over here was a piece of bread. Gill says that he was used to not eating so
he always tried to feed his daughter whatever he could find. Finally on February 20, 2006, he arrived in America. He
looked down at his daughter and told her, ''Here is your life - you are home now.'' He walked off the boat and into
Florida. He was so relieved to walk into freedom.
After he arrived, he called his mother who had come to the U.S. three years earlier and was living in Colorado. She
was so shocked to hear that he was here! She told him to come and live with her and gave him a plane ticket to
Denver, Colorado. When he got to Colorado with his daughter his mother grabbed her granddaughter and hugged
her son so tight - as though she never wanted to let them go.
Gill soon found a job at Burger King, where he is now a manager. He was helped by the fact that he knew English
and speaks it well. He learned English in Africa. He loves the money he is making for himself and his daughter, and
he never wants to go back to his home country. He was ready to begin his new life with his daughter and his mother,
whom he hadn't seen for 3 years. He is very happy and he now wants to do what it takes to become a legal immigrant

Articles
New York Times Chronology of Coverage on Immigration:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration-andemigration/index.html
October 22nd, 2014
Dozens of roughly 2,500 unaccompanied immigrant children who have been released to relatives or other sponsors
after crossing United States border have been unable to enroll in school, blocked by bureaucratic barriers despite
their eligibility; despite federal guidelines, schools districts are requiring documents that are often difficult for parents
to obtain.
October 18th, 2014
Obama administration says that beginning in 2015 it will reduce lengthy delays facing thousands of Haitians who
have already been approved to join family members in United States and become legal permanent residents; more
than 100,000 have been approved for residency visas, known as green cards, but annual caps have forced waits of
up to a dozen years for some.