{ "id": "R42866", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R42866", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584975, "date": "2018-05-11", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T21:26:40.355585", "title": "Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview", "summary": "Four major principles currently underlie U.S. policy on legal permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees and asylees, and the diversity of immigrants by country of origin. These principles are embodied in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and are reflected in different components of permanent immigration. Family reunification occurs primarily through family-sponsored immigration. U.S. labor market contribution occurs through employment-based immigration. Humanitarian assistance occurs primarily through the U.S. refugee and asylee programs. Origin-country diversity is addressed through the Diversity Immigrant Visa. \nIn addition to the primary components of permanent immigration discussed above, there are several other pathways to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, though they account for relatively few immigrants. The most prominent among these are cancellation of removal for aliens in removal proceedings, U nonimmigrant visas for alien crime victims who assist law enforcement agencies, and T status for alien victims of human trafficking.\nThe pool of people eligible to immigrate to the United States as LPRs each year typically exceeds numerical limits established by the INA for most immigrant pathways. In an effort to process the demand for LPR visas fairly and in accordance with the national interest, the INA imposes a complex set of numerical limits and preference categories within major immigrant pathways that admit LPRs to the United States on the basis of family relationships, needed skills, and geographic diversity. \nThe INA limits worldwide permanent immigration to 675,000 persons annually: 480,000 family-sponsored immigrants, made up of family-sponsored immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (\"immediate relatives\u201d), and a set of ordered family-sponsored preference immigrants (\"preference immigrants\u201d); 140,000 employment-based immigrants; and 55,000 diversity visa immigrants. This worldwide limit, however, is referred to as a \u201cpermeable cap,\u201d because certain categories of LPRs are not subject to numerical limitations. These include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens within the INA\u2019s family-sponsored immigration provisions, as well as refugees whose number is determined by the President in consultation with Congress. In addition, the number of persons granted asylum is not numerically constrained. Consequently, the number of persons receiving LPR status each year regularly exceeds the INA\u2019s statutory worldwide level for permanent immigration.\nThe INA further specifies that countries are held to a numerical limit of 7% of the annual worldwide level of family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants, known as the per-country limit or country cap. The cap is intended to prevent one or just a few countries from dominating immigrant flows.\nIn FY2016, almost 1.2 million aliens became LPRs. Of this total, 68% became LPRs through family-sponsored provisions of the INA. Other major LPR categories included refugees and asylees (13%), employment-based immigrants (12%), and diversity visa immigrants (4%). While 618,078 LPRs (52%) in FY2016 were granted LPR status upon their admission to the United States from abroad, 565,427 (48%) adjusted to LPR status from a temporary (i.e., nonimmigrant) status from within the United States. In FY2016, Mexico accounted for the largest proportion (15%) of LPRs who were admitted from abroad or adjusted status from within the United States. Other top immigrant source countries included China (7%), Cuba (6%), India (5%), and the Dominican Republic (5%). \nAt the start of FY2018, approximately 4.1 million approved LPR visa petitions\u2014almost all family-sponsored petitions\u2014were pending with the Department of State\u2019s National Visa Center because of the numerical limits in the INA. Approximate wait times for numerically limited family and employment preference visas range widely depending on the specific preference category and country of origin. Prospective family-sponsored immigrants from China, Mexico, India and the Philippines have the most substantial wait times before a visa is scheduled to become available to them.\nSome have advocated for a significant reallocation of the visa categories or a substantial increase in legal immigration to satisfy the desire of U.S. families to reunite with their relatives abroad and to meet the labor force needs of U.S. employers. Proponents of family-sponsored migration often maintain that proposals to increase immigration should include additional family-sponsored visas to more quickly reunify families by reducing wait times\u2014currently up to years and decades\u2014for those already \u201cin the queue.\u201d \nThose who favor reduced immigration have supported proposals to limit family-sponsored LPRs to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, to confine employment-based LPRs to highly skilled workers, to admit employment-based immigrants using some type of merit-based system, and to eliminate the diversity visa.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42866", "sha1": "5229de05fd29e53f4ac78de7d38648ab6001b462", "filename": "files/20180511_R42866_5229de05fd29e53f4ac78de7d38648ab6001b462.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42866_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180511_R42866_images_768ffafaf1e62f822c2eab4bfee00e83930137f8.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42866_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180511_R42866_images_21f3ed202b751200e87ff1cf21e257f0d0cf1e2e.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42866_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180511_R42866_images_f8bc2743f999ee6369518373bf476a3541044b74.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42866_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180511_R42866_images_e3e3bfdb3eca40dc9ef9123b167d826d96e6fbc7.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42866", "sha1": "95193735ad9d1cdc94d87106aed8d1c2cadb46d5", "filename": "files/20180511_R42866_95193735ad9d1cdc94d87106aed8d1c2cadb46d5.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4822, "name": "Immigration Legal Admissions" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4931, "name": "South & Southeast Asia" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 452507, "date": "2016-05-11", "retrieved": "2016-05-24T19:09:27.139941", "title": "Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview", "summary": "The pool of people eligible to immigrate to the United States as legal permanent residents (LPRs) each year typically exceeds the worldwide level set by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In an effort to process the demand for LPR visas fairly and in the national interest, LPR admissions are subject to a complex set of numerical limits and preference categories that give priority for admission on the basis of family relationships, needed skills, and geographic diversity. The INA further specifies that each year, countries are held to a numerical limit of 7% of the worldwide level of U.S. immigrant admissions, known as per-country limits or country caps. \nIn FY2014, just over 1 million aliens became U.S. legal permanent residents (LPRs). Of this total, 64% entered the United States on the basis of family ties. Other major categories of LPRs were employment-based (15%), refugees and asylees (13%), and diversity migrants (5%). In FY2014, Mexico was the source country of 13% of LPRs who were admitted or adjusted status. Other top countries were India (8%), China (7%), the Philippines (5%), and Cuba (5%). These top five countries made up 38% of all LPRs who were admitted or who adjusted status in FY2014. Rather than newly arriving from abroad, 53% (535,126) were adjusting to LPR status from a temporary (i.e., nonimmigrant) status within the United States.\nAt the start of FY2015, 4.6 million approved LPR visa petitions\u2014mostly family based petitions\u2014were pending with the National Visa Center because of the numerical limits in the INA. This figure does not represent a processing backlog; rather, it is the number of persons who have been approved for visas that are not yet available due to the numerical limits in the INA. Approximate wait times for numerically limited family and employment preference visas range widely depending on the specific category and country of origin. Prospective family-sponsored immigrants from the Philippines have the most substantial wait times before a visa is scheduled to become available to them; consular officers are now considering the petitions of the brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens from the Philippines who filed almost 24 years ago.\nSome have advocated for a significant reallocation of the visa categories or a substantial increase in legal immigration to satisfy the desire of U.S. families to reunite with their relatives abroad and to meet the labor force needs of employers hiring foreign workers. Proponents of family-based migration often maintain that any proposal to increase immigration should also include additional family-based visas to reduce wait times\u2014currently up to years and decades\u2014for those already \u201cin the queue.\u201d Arguing against these competing priorities for increased immigration are those who favor reduced immigration, including proposals to limit family-based LPRs to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, to confine employment-based LPRs to highly skilled workers, and to eliminate the diversity visas.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42866", "sha1": "fa45ecac627a16c6bb718e84abbe1a8b47ba64ef", "filename": "files/20160511_R42866_fa45ecac627a16c6bb718e84abbe1a8b47ba64ef.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42866", "sha1": "ba22bd6463585fd6bad3264d4360f59a0dfb2d14", "filename": "files/20160511_R42866_ba22bd6463585fd6bad3264d4360f59a0dfb2d14.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 468, "name": "South Asia" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 676, "name": "Immigration Policy" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 447731, "date": "2014-10-29", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:58:58.132567", "title": "Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview", "summary": "The pool of people who are eligible to immigrate to the United States as legal permanent residents (LPRs) each year typically exceeds the worldwide level set by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In an effort to process the demand for LPR visas fairly and in the national interest, LPR admissions are subject to a complex set of numerical limits and preference categories that give priority for admission on the basis of family relationships, needed skills, and geographic diversity. The INA further specifies that each year, countries are held to a numerical limit of 7% of the worldwide level of U.S. immigrant admissions, known as per-country limits or country caps. \nIn FY2013, just under 1 million aliens became U.S. legal permanent residents (LPRs). Of this total, 65.6% entered the United States on the basis of family ties. Other major categories of LPRs were employment-based (16.3%), refugees and asylees (12.1%), and diversity migrants (4.6%). In FY2013, Mexico was the source country of 13.6% of LPRs who were admitted or who adjusted status. Other top countries were China (7.2%), India (6.9%), the Philippines (5.5%), and the Dominican Republic (4.2%). Rather than newly arriving from abroad, 53.6% (530,802) were adjusting to LPR status from a temporary (i.e., nonimmigrant) status within the United States.\nThere were 4.4 million approved LPR visa petitions pending with the National Visa Center at the end of FY2013 because of the numerical limits in the INA, most of which are family-based petitions. These data do not constitute a backlog of petitions to be processed; rather, these data represent persons who have been approved for visas that are not yet available due to the numerical limits in the INA. Visas are generally available for unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens who filed in FY2006, but there are even longer waits for unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens from Mexico and the Philippines. Prospective family-sponsored immigrants from the Philippines have the most substantial waiting times before a visa is scheduled to become available to them; consular officers are now considering the petitions of the brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens from the Philippines who filed almost 24 years ago.\nMost agree that revision of the system of permanent legal immigration should be one of the major components of a comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) proposal, along with increased border security and enforcement of immigration laws within the U.S. interior, reform of temporary worker visas, and options to address the millions of unauthorized aliens residing in the country. Congress is considering proposals to alter the legal immigration system\u2014either in the form of CIR or in the form of incremental revisions aimed at strategic changes. \nSome are advocating for a significant reallocation of the visa categories or a substantial increase in legal immigration to satisfy the desire of U.S. families to reunite with their relatives abroad and to meet the labor force needs of employers hiring foreign workers. Yet, proponents of family-based migration maintain that any proposal to increase immigration should also include the option of additional family-based visas to reduce waiting times\u2014currently up to years or decades\u2014for those already \u201cin the queue.\u201d Arguing against these competing priorities for increased immigration are those who favor reduced immigration, including proposals to limit family-based LPRs to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, to confine employment-based LPRs to highly skilled workers, and to eliminate the diversity visas.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42866", "sha1": "3fc7bf4c024914382cf852c4819bff31641e9fa9", "filename": "files/20141029_R42866_3fc7bf4c024914382cf852c4819bff31641e9fa9.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42866", "sha1": "37fdc52eba19c2f29832a4aaeed4284308bec2ff", "filename": "files/20141029_R42866_37fdc52eba19c2f29832a4aaeed4284308bec2ff.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 468, "name": "South Asia" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 676, "name": "Immigration Policy" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821866/", "id": "R42866_2012Dec17", "date": "2012-12-17", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20121217_R42866_ee735879897492ae2df54e61606cf0aa133694b9.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20121217_R42866_ee735879897492ae2df54e61606cf0aa133694b9.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Immigration Policy" ] }