Z Visa
 Recent
news on the immigration reform includes two major issues: border control and
immigration amnesty. An announcement that was made by U.S. senators on May 17th, 2007
reveals an agreement on the how to legalize the undocumented workers in the
United States and secure the borders. President Bush praises the agreement and
encourages lawmakers to approve the measure. President Bush says that he is
ready to sign an immigration bill which would improve the borders and legalize illegal
aliens in the United States. This may be the last chance to reform the
immigration system before next year’s elections.
The immigration reform agreement is not an
amnesty, but a comprehensive immigration reform that
will deal
with 12 to 20 million (the exact number is unknown) undocumented workers in the
United States. A new visa category will be created (called Z visa), which
will be issued only to
undocumented workers. The purpose of the Z visa is to make
sure that all undocumented works will be assigned a visa category allowing them to legally
live and work in the United States while their cases are being reviewed.
In order to qualify for a Z visa, applicants must be able to proof that they arrived in the
United States before January 1st, 2007. The Z visa is renewable in four year
increments, and it may lead to permanent residency (a
Green Card).
 "The agreement we just reached is the best possible chance we will have
in years to secure our borders, bring millions of people out of the shadows and
into the sunshine of America"
May
17, 2007
Ted Kennedy -- Senator from Massachusetts
Member of the Democratic Party |
The Z visa comes with a fine of $5,000 per person, and the individual must
return to their home country to legally be admitted into the United States.
Families of undocumented workers will only have to send home one person; the
head of the family. The time lag between the issuance of the Z visa and the
return trip may be as long as two years, which means that the undocumented
worker will be able to legally work in the United States until her or she must
leave the country to stay in compliance with the Z visa rules. However, the
amount of years that must be spent out of the country may be more than 5 years
before the individual can legally return. The amount of Z visas that will be
allowed per year is much larger than any other visa program and may be as many
as 500,000 per year.
Once an individual has had the background check, been approved, left the country
for a number of years and returned legally, he or she may be able to obtain in
U.S. residency in 8 to 13 years. Mexico has by far the largest number of
undocumented immigrants in the United States, and their authorities praise this
new proposed immigration bill and call it an “important step”.
SIGN UP FOR THE FREE US IMMIGRATION NEWSLETTER
Sign up for the United States Immigration Newsletter
and receive the latest immigration news, including details about the Immigration Reform and the Z visa.
|
Additional temporary work programs include point based system similar to work
programs available in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, where
individuals can immigrate based upon their skills, education, knowledge of the
English language, instead of family ties in the United States. To balance the need for
low and high skilled workers, the current H-1B Visa cap is also estimated to
rise to 115,000 visas per year from the current 65,000 visas being offered.
Important: The proposed "Z Visa" is part of the comprehensive immigration
reform bill currently being debated in the United States senate. Subscribe to
the free US Immigration Newsletter for the latest
immigration reform and amnesty news.
Related Articles:
|
IMMIGRATION CART | 
MY ACCOUNT
Back to Immigration Articles