Emily Assunta White in D.C.

Stern & Curray attorney, Emily Assunta White, recently traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with Colorado members of Congress about the pressing need for immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for the 11 to 15 million people in the United States without lawful immigration status.  Emily has attended in years past, but reports that this year was by far the most productive as every Congressional office seemed to agree that something must be done to fix our broken immigration system and that it must be done soon.  Reports throughout Capitol Hill indicated that the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” bill would be introduced this week and as of late last Wednesday, the bill was finally introduced.

• Legalization for some undocumented immigrants. The bill would give legal status to undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before December 31, 2011 by creating a category called Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI). Those who are eligible for this status would pay a fine and any back taxes, and would be given work and travel authorization. After 10 years as an RPI, they could apply for a green card, and later, citizenship.
• Creation of a new visa type for temporary workers, called W visas. A W-1 would allow lesser-skilled workers a way to work in the country legally, while W-2 and W-3 visas would take the place of the H-2A agricultural worker program.
• Spouses and children of legal permanent residents would be considered immediate relatives, and derivatives of immediate relatives would be allowed. As a result, several year waiting periods for spouse and children of legal permanent residents would be eliminated. The tradeoff is that the family-based preference category for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens would be eliminated, meaning that a United States citizen could no longer apply for a sibling.
• Knowingly defrauding an immigrant, including by pretending to be an attorney or immigration representative, would become a crime.