Grassley wants a real discussion

Sen. Chuck Grassley has thrown the brakes on HR3012, and I think that's the one thing that the Indian immigrant lobby didn't want to happen.  He's working to craft amendments to the bill, so that it serves more than one constituency of foreigners.

"I have concerns about the impact of this bill on future immigration flows, and am concerned that it does nothing to better protect Americans at home who seek high-skilled jobs during this time of record high unemployment," said Grassley, last week, in the Senate in announcing his action.

http://m.computerworld.com/s/article/9222416/Grassley_wants_worker_protections_in_green_card_bill_?mm_ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fm%2Fsearch%3Ftbm%3Dnws%26gl%3Dus%26client%3Dsafari%26source%3Dmog%26hl%3Den%26aq%3Df%26oq%3D%26aqi%3Dp2g4-k0d0t0%26fkt%3D161754%26fsdt%3D166884%26cqt%3D%26rst%3D%26htf%3D%26his%3D%26maction%3D%26q%3Dgrassley%26flip%3D0

Let me be clear...the immigration system in the United States has serious flaws.  There are problems with the whole thing, from illegal aliens, to non-immigrant/guest worker programs like H1B, to permanent residence.  Rushing through with legislation that tinkers about the edges is likely to have far more negative unintended consequences than anything that it intends to solve.

I for one look forward to a vigorous discussion of the issues surrounding non-immigrant and immigrant visas in the United States.

Reciprocity is Fair

There are over a million Americans living in Europe, many more than those living in countries like India or China. Many of these European Countries and other countries like Australia provide thousands of work permits to Americans and provide a relatively short path to permanent residency. 

Currently, over 35% of the green cards through employment in the US go to Indian Citizens. If HR 3012 becomes a law, 85% of the green cards available through employment will be assigned to Indian Citizens. This excessive amount of green cards assigned to a single country would considerably increase the amount of time it takes immigrants from other countries to obtain a residency permit in the US.


Indeed, were the same people to immigrate to India as are coming to the US, they would only be able to obtain a 3 year "E" visa, not permanent residence, in India.  That 3 year visa may be extended on a year-to-year basis for a maximum of 5 years.  This is analogous to the H-1b visa for people to come to the US, with 3 years plus a single 3 year extension. (India Visa FAQ)

How is it fair for countries like Germany, France, Spain or Australia that provide thousands of work permits and permanent residency permits to Americans in 1-2 years, that their citizens would need to wait over 12 years to obtain a residency permit in the US?

Legal immigration is not only about high skilled IT professionals coming from India. There are many doctors, architects, lawyers, scientists coming from many other countries. It is important to look at this bill from a global international affairs perspective. One can make many arguments about what is fair for immigration. For instance, wouldn't it be fair to provide more green cards to countries that provide more residency permits to Americans? 

Please analyze this bill carefully. Look at the big picture for immigration and ask yourself if one country obtaining 85% of the green cards, while other countries receive less than 1% is fair.


Perhaps the furor over country caps is a time to do a deeper look at situations.  Why does the United States grant permanent residency to citizens of countries that don't reciprocate?  Maybe it's time for an immigration reciprocity arrangement, where rights extended to foreigners do not exceed those rights that US citizens are granted in the foreign country.  That way countries like France, Canada, and the UK, where Americans are afforded speedy paths to permanent residency would have those privileges reciprocated by the US.  While countries that deny permanent residency, like India, would likewise have those policies applied to their citizens.

Why the rush?

One thing that strikes me as odd about HR3012 is that it's being rushed through the process.

The bill was pushed forward in the House of Representatives.  It was not considered in subcommittee.  The amendments offered in the Judiciary Committee markup weren't even allowed to be considered, but were rejected by the Chair as being "not germane".  They couldn't even have it considered in the House under regular order, but had to consider it under Suspension of the Rules.

What is in there that they don't want you to know about?  Is it that they don't want you looking at who is pushing the bill?  Is it that the bill is tailor designed to benefit two countries (India and China) only to the detriment of all others?

The Senate needs to consider this bill carefully and not rush a bad piece of legislation through.