Immigration Issues Post US Elections

Immigration policies to change

With Republicans experiencing a resounding loss, one of the clear aims is to recover lost ground with immigration electorate in the United States. They now intend to pass legislation for immigrant benefits, such as expansion of visa criteria for science and technology students. This would allow those already carrying green cards to bring their family along with them when they travel abroad.

Many GOP leaders are keen on revamping the country’s immigration system with a clear focus on the Hispanic community. This was one vote rich area that was alienated during the Republican presidential campaign because of the hardline stance. Now, the move of discussing the immigration bill in a Democrat majority Congress would be a clear commitment to that end.

One of the primary measures to be undertaken is to provide 55,000 visas for graduates of high technology courses and degrees. It also proposes changes to allow expedited immigration for immediate family members for these visa holders in order to be reunited as a family in a shorter period of time compared to current schedules.

Despite these moves, another blow to this improvement was when a student from Assam was declined issuance of a visa when six other fellow students were allowed to have visas to enter the US. The group was scheduled to visit the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA.

According to the latest reports, Ratul Khan was denied a visa on the reason of having the surname “Khan”. Khan together with other students were the top ten students in class and was rewarded a trip to NASA under a government program.

As protests were lodged for the reason for denial, no changes to the visa status has been acted upon by the US Consulate. With mounting pressure from Washington, these and other similar incidents would be avoided or headed off as the US opens up its doors to high technology achievers to visit and even reside in the country. The failure though to address smaller issues may end up derailing the larger ones in the long run, especially as India is continuously growing economically.

Tagged as: Congress, immigration, India, legislation, Republicans, United States, visa