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Immigrants – a key factor in America's strength!

author:Meijieva Consulting

Buffett, known as "The Oracle of Omaha," once said in an interview: "I am very lucky that the probability that I was born in the United States in 1930 was 2%. My birth was like winning the lottery because I was born in the United States, and my chances were completely different if I were in another country. As a descendant of immigrants, he once commented that one of the key factors in America's strength is immigration.

U.S. immigration policy is characterized by its flexibility and inclusiveness, especially for highly skilled and highly educated immigrants, with many types of visa and green card policies. Such as EB1-A, H-1B, O-1 visa, etc.

Immigrants – a key factor in America's strength!

01. Evolution of U.S. immigration policy

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman submitted the "21-Point Postwar Recovery Plan" to Congress, which was the first time that the development of high technology was considered in a strategic position. The postwar demand for talent in the United States was particularly evident in the formulation of three immigration laws. The three immigration laws were enacted in 1952, 1965 and 1990.

The first major postwar U.S. law to attract skilled immigrants was the Immigration Act of 1952. The law stipulates that 50 percent of all immigration quotas should be used to meet the needs of the United States for highly educated and talented skilled workers. This is the first time that skilled migrants have such a large share in the quota system.

The Immigration Act of 1965 improved the quality of immigrants by prioritizing highly educated, gifted immigrants, as well as skilled and unskilled labor desperately needed in the United States. It is worth noting that the United States attracted a large number of immigrants from Asia during this period, and professional technicians and managers accounted for a large proportion.

The Immigration Act 1990 clearly assigns priority to skilled migrants. The first category gives priority to persons with special talents in science, art, education, business, sports, etc., distinguished professors and researchers, and senior managers of multinational enterprises. The second category of priority is given to technical professionals with a master's degree or exceptional aptitude in science, art and commerce. Technicians, professionals and other workers were given a third priority. The annual quota for skilled migrants is 140,000 people, or 32 per cent of the total quota.

That same year, Congress created the H-1B work visa program, which allows aliens with a bachelor's degree or higher to work in the United States. However, depending on the interests of all parties, the maximum number of visas has changed from time to time: in 1990 it was set at 65,000, in 2000 it was increased to 195,000, and then it was reduced back to 65,000.

In May 2006, Congress passed the first new immigration bill of the 21st century, adding 115,000 H-1B visas and 290,000 green cards. At the same time, all foreign students who receive science, technology, engineering and mathematics education with a master's degree or higher at a U.S. university can quickly obtain U.S. citizenship without being subject to temporary work visas and green card quotas as long as they are willing to stay in the U.S. after graduation.

After 9/11, the United States introduced the Legislation to Strengthen American Competition in the 21st Century.

02. How the United States attracts talent - family-type immigration

If you were born in Beijing, you do not necessarily have a Beijing hukou, but you must be a U.S. citizen if you were born in the United States. Many celebrities let their children be born in the United States and let them freely choose their nationality after the age of 18. In addition, there are some parents who plan their immigration status early, and their children will receive green cards as secondary applicants, and such applications can be collectively referred to as kinship immigration.

Family-based immigration, also known as family immigration, includes the immediate family and siblings of citizens, as well as the spouse and minor children of permanent residents.

Immediate family members of U.S. citizens

There is no quota or waiting list for immediate family members of U.S. citizens to apply for green cards; Apply for approval. If the beneficiary is in the United States, only I-130 and I-485 adjustment of status need to be filed; If the beneficiary is not in the U.S., the I-130 needs to be filed, approved and transferred to the local consulate.

Applying for a Green Card for a Spouse: After filing the I-130, you can apply for I-485 adjustment to green card status, or you can file an I-129F for a K-3 spouse visa. If you have a temporary green card and have been married less than 2 years before the date of approval, you must file an I-751 to convert to a full green card within 90 days before it expires.

Children who file a green card application for their parents (including stepparents and adoptive parents) must be at least 21 years old.

Non-immediate family members of U.S. citizens

Children (including adopted children and stepchildren) of U.S. citizens who are over the age of 21, married children (including adopted children and stepchildren) under the age of 21, and brothers and sisters (including half-brothers and half-siblings) of U.S. citizens are non-immediate family members. These petitions are capable, subject to a backlog and are F-1. (Among them, the adoption must have occurred before the age of 16)

Spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21 of permanent residents fall under the second priority category (A), F2A. The spouse and fiancée of a citizen can apply for a K-3/K-1 visa, while the spouse of a green card does not have a specific visa and needs to rely on B1/B2, F, J, OPT, etc. to maintain legal status or wait outside the United States.

Unmarried children over the age of 21 of permanent residents fall under the second preference category (B), F2B.

Other relatives of permanent residents, such as parents, married children, siblings, etc., cannot apply for family-based immigration.

03. How to attract talents in the United States - occupational immigrants

The United States attracts talent from all over the world to immigrate to the United States through a variety of immigrant visas. Among them, employment-based immigration includes applicants seeking employment by employers, that is, job immigration, or creating job opportunities for others, that is, investment immigration. According to the applicant's own conditions and background, it can be divided into EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, EB-5 according to priority.

EB-1 is the first priority category and no labor certification is required to file for the application. Among them, EB-1A/B application for I-140 expedited service can be approved within 15 days; EB-1C petition for I-140 expedited service, approved within 45 days. EB-2 NIW can also apply for I-140 expedited service.

(1) EB-1A: Exceptional Talent

EB-1A stands for First Priority A for Occupational Immigrants and refers to exceptional talent. The advantage of EB-1A over other immigration categories is that it is not required to seek employment in the United States and can file Form I-140 on its own. Applicable to talents who have won major international awards, such as Nobel, Oscar, Olympic medal level, if they do not meet the above requirements, they need to meet at least 3 of the 10 criteria stipulated by the Immigration Bureau.

10 criteria for exceptional talent

(1) The applicant has won a national or internationally recognized award in the field in which he or she is engaged: the value of the team award is not as good as the individual award; Local awards do not meet the conditions

(2) The applicant is a member of a national professional association

(3) Publish articles in the field of work in professional publishing houses or major media

(4) Professional review in the industry

(5) Original contributions that are significant in the field in which they are engaged

(6) Publish academic articles in industry, professional or major publishing houses and media

(7) Exhibition of works (photography exhibitions, art exhibitions and other art fields)

(8) Key role and leadership in a prestigious organization or institution

(9) Higher income than peers

(10) Commercial value in the performing arts (film box office, record sales, etc.)

In exceptional cases, if the above criteria do not apply to your personal circumstances, "analogous evidence" may also be submitted to qualify for extraordinary ability in EB1A.

(2) EB-1B Distinguished Professor or Researcher

The criterion for a distinguished professor or researcher is to demonstrate that his or her research in a particular academic field of study is internationally recognized; Teaching or researching in the academic field for more than 3 years; I-140 filed by the U.S. employer for a U.S. school or research institution; Meet at least 2 of USCIS's 6 criteria.

6 criteria for outstanding professors or researchers

(1) Outstanding Achievement Award

(2) It is a member of a professional body, and the requirements of these institutions for membership are outstanding achievements

(3) Be published by others in a professional publication describing the applicant's work in their academic field

(4) Participate in or independently review the work of others in the same or related professional fields

(5) Have made significant contributions in their professional field or academic field

(6) Publish academic books or papers in their professional field

(3) EB-1C multinational managers or executives

The manager or executive of the multinational corporation must be employed in a U.S. company and can only be applied for by a corporation that has operated in the U.S. for at least 1 year and has branches/subsidiaries overseas. The applicant has worked as a senior executive in the U.S. company's overseas company for at least 1 year in the past 3 years, with the minimum position being a manager.

The U.S. company applies for an L-1A visa (internal transfer of senior management) for the employee, and the spouse and minor, unmarried children can apply for the L-2 visa at the same time. After the L-1A enters the United States, the employer can file an I-140 petition for immigration.

(4) EB-2 Advanced Academic Specialist or Outstanding Ability

Advanced Degree Specialists or Outstanding Abilities are specialists with advanced degrees or individuals with outstanding ability in the sciences, arts, or business fields, and require a labor certification issued by the Department of Labor in addition to the NIW National Interest Waiver.

Labor certification is processed primarily to protect workers and the labor market in the United States, and two main considerations are made: ensuring that no U.S. worker can take the job; The introduction of this foreign worker will not negatively affect workers with similar jobs in their home country.

(5) EB-2 NIW National Interest Waiver Immigration

NIWs are not required to apply for labor certification and employer support. The main consideration is whether the work of the worker in the United States will contribute to the national interests of the United States.

(6) EB-3 skilled workers, specialists, and other workers

Similar to EB-2, EB-3 has lower academic requirements than EB-2. The minimum requirement for EB-3 is a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and more than two years of work experience or skills training. There is no NIW exception to EB-3, and applicants must first apply for labor certification.

(7) EB-4 Special Immigration

Form I-360 is filed by the applicant's employer. Special immigrants include: Afghan/Iraqi interpreters, radio and television workers, employees of international organizations, Iraqis assisting the U.S. government, foreign military personnel subject to entry under the SOFA Agreement, Panama Canal employees, National Interest Exemption (NIW) physicians, religious workers, etc.

(8) EB-5 Immigrant Investor

Investment applicants are required to file Form I-526 and invest in a commercial corporation that creates at least 10 full-time jobs with an investment of $1.05 million, or $800,000 in a low-employment area/rural area.

04. Other immigration routes

Lottery immigration

The U.S. government wants immigration to remain diverse, and if the applicant was born in a country with a low immigration rate (fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the past 5 years), they can participate in a lottery immigration program, which has a total of 50,000 places per year. Immigrants of Chinese mainland are not eligible.

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