Trump's new immigration plan may exclude millions of people from the green card waiting list

The new immigration plan of US President Donald Trump provides that more than 4 million people who have been waiting for green cards for years, citing family ties or a work contract, will be excluded from the waiting list, writes Forbes.

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“Immigrants who are in line for a green card will lose their place in line and will have to reapply under the new points-based system. The White House said people currently waiting for green cards would receive extra points, but did not provide other details,” the Berry Appleman & Leiden analysis said.

On May 16, Trump said that people who apply for green cards based on family ties or work contracts will be removed from the list and will have to apply for Build America visas, using a points system.

It is expected that Trump’s plan will be passed to Congress, which means that it may be amended. Most likely, the Democrats will oppose the restrictions on obtaining visas on the basis of family ties and the elimination of those already applying for a green card from the waiting list.

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For companies, the key problem of the scoring system is that if it does not work or has unintended consequences, it will be practically impossible to fix it.

The last time an important green card law was passed was in 1990. The Immigration Act of 1990 established the annual number of green cards that are issued at 140, based on the country's employment rate, as well as 65 H-000B work visas. These limits proved inadequate because policymakers failed to anticipate the huge demand for highly skilled technical personnel.

Based on family connections, 3,6 million people are waiting to receive green cards. Approximately 2,2 million people have applied because they have siblings living in the United States, about 950 are adult children of U.S. citizens, and about 470 are spouses or minors or non-married adults. married children of legal permanent residents. Applications from these people will be excluded from the queue. The largest number of visa applications in this category are from countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, India, Vietnam and China.

In addition, US Department of State data show that tens of thousands of people outside the United States expect to receive green cards on the basis of working contracts. Also, half a million or more people will be forced to leave the United States if they do not score enough points. It remains unclear how the new rules will work for those who already have H-1B status, and how it will be extended after the six-year term of the visa.

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The new plan will lead to the fact that, for example, an engineer who has been waiting for the 7 green card for years will have to compete with migrants who applied to the card on the basis of family ties and with people who have applied recently.

If we consider that annually applications for receiving green cards are submitted by 2-3 million people, it is possible that people who are excluded from the waiting list, even if they are awarded additional points, will be able to score a high enough "point" for permanent residence in USA.

In general, individuals, families and employers only have to hope that the new system will work without fail. If this is not the case, then it may take a long time before changes are made to correct any deficiencies discovered after the implementation of the system.

The Trump administration assures that the new plan will not lead to a decrease in migration levels, but it is impossible to confirm this for sure. An analysis of State Department data by the National Foundation for American Policy found that changes to foreign affairs guidance in January 2018 likely led to a 2017 percent decline in migration in fiscal years 2018-7 in the immediate family category and by 10 or 122% of the number of K-29 Fiancé(e) (fiancé or fiancé visa).

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The Department of National Security proposed by the Department of National Security may affect migrants in the long run and make it difficult for spouses and children of US citizens to get visas. (At the suggestion of the administration, parents of US citizens will no longer be considered “next of kin”).

The irony is that the four million people who waited patiently for immigration and played by the rules just said that they had wasted their time.

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