News Update - May 18, 2007
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
Senate Negotiators Announce Agreement on Comprehensive Immigration
Reform Legislation –White House Approves
Senate negotiators reached a bipartisan agreement yesterday under
which most of the 11-12 million undocumented workers in this country
will be able to obtain legal status under a new "Z" visa
category so long as they entered the U.S. prior to January 1, 2007,
are currently employed, and pay fees and penalties totaling $5,000.
The agreement has White House approval. The "Z" visa is
to be valid for four years and renewable. The approximate time for
a "Z" visa holder to obtain a green card will be between
8-13 years after the current immigrant backlogs are eliminated and
the "Z" applicant meets the requirements under a new merit
immigration quota system, applies for adjustment of status in his/her
country of origin, and pays a $4,000 penalty. The DREAM Act and
AgJobs are also part of this legislation. The DREAM Act would allow
persons who entered the U.S. as minors and have met certain study
requirements to eventually obtain permanent residence and AgJobs
would allow farmworkers to do the same. Other provisions as stated
in our previous news updates include heavy emphasis on border security
for 18 months before most of the benefits can begin, elimination
of four family categories and significant reduction of immigration
for parents of U.S. citizens, movement to a point system for most
future immigration, and creation of a new "Y" guest worker
program.
The action will now move to the floor of the Senate where debate
is set to begin on Monday. A number of groups on both the left and
the right are dissatisfied with different portions of the agreement
and debate is expected to be contentious although the bill is widely
expected to be passed in that chamber of Congress. Stay tuned.
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