What are the Factors that affect Immigration?

675,000 immigrations are permitted annually to the United States in accordance with the Immigration and Naturalization Act. In addition, Congress and the US president determine the number of refugees that are granted asylum every year. Immigration lawyers reiterate that the objective of the country’s immigration policies is to protect refugees, reunite families, and permit the entry of workers to cover up for any shortage of skills in the country.

Different Categories of Immigration

Family based immigration: Under this quota US citizens as well as LPRs or Lawful Permanent Residents can bring their family members to the US. There are 480,000 visas available in this category. However, there is no fixed quota for immediate family which includes adult married and unmarried children, spouses, brothers, and sisters.

Immigration based on employment: The US provides temporary visas to skilled workers. There are about 20 types of visas for skilled workers. The most common types are:

• Intra - company visas
• Visas provided to performers, athletics, and entertainers
• Visas provided to religious workes
• Diplomatic visas
• Visas given to nurses and agriculturalists

Most visas in the temporary worker category are sponsored by companies seeking highly skilled workers for temporary assignments in the country. America does not give enough of these Visas out. America educates people like this but then does not allow them to remain in the country. America’s immigration system is broken in this regard. Many people wonder why it allows unskilled immigrants in the country when America has enough unskilled people but America does not have enough of skilled and high tech professionals and lacks enough people to fill the engineering ranks as well.

How come the White House cannot compromise and get this done? Many people believe everything the White House does is for ideological purposes and does not care to do things for the good of the country. 

Permanent immigration: This is a type of immigration that is employment based. 140,000 visas are granted per year. There are five types of people considered for these visas:

• People who possess extraordinary abilities.
• People who have an advanced degree and knowledge in a specific field.
• Specially skilled workers who can overcome the skill shortages (America needs more of this).
• Religious workers and embassy staff.
• Entrepreneurs who can generate a turnover of $500,000 to $1 million through an investment and can create at least 10 jobs.

To know if you qualify in any of these above categories you ought to seek advice from an immigration attorney (http://immigration.usattorneys.com/). The website just presented to you is a brilliant legal resource tool. It has helped many people achieve their dreams and obtain the right answers. 

Remember there are limitations on the number of immigrants permitted from each country. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) the cap is around 7% of the total number of people applying for permanent visas.

Visas Awarded to Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Refugees are given permanent immigration status if a life threatening situation prevails in their home country. Often members of a particular race, religious or social groups, as well as political parties face persecution in their home country. Those who face life-threatening conditions in their home country are given priority. The limits of such admissions are decided by the Congress.

Asylum seekers are people who are already in the US but can never return to their place of origin because of a policy of persecution by the native government. They can become LPRs or lawful permanent resident after one year according to immigration lawyers.

Visas Granted on Humanitarian Grounds

Temporary visas are often given to those who find it difficult to return to their country of origin because of war, natural disaster, or epidemics. The visas are valid from 6 to 18 months but can be extended if the situation does not improve. Deferred enforced departure protects an individual from deportation to countries where the above conditions are prevalent.

The Diversity Visa Lottery program is open to applicants from specific countries that have a lower number of people immigrating to the US. Immigration lawyers say that around 50,000 of these visas are handed out each year to individuals with exceptional education records, skill sets, and at least 5 years of experience.

For the most part, there are several categories of individuals that are granted visas to the US. The only exception is possibly those with a criminal record.