Hurdles to Legal Immigration

When the media is filled with stories about undocumented immigrants, it causes many people to wonder why these individuals don’t complete the required paperwork to become legal U.S. citizens.  However, the truth is that becoming a citizen with a legal entry isn’t easy.  There are only a few ways people can legally immigrate to the United States.  With so many hurdles to legal immigration, it’s essential to have the best legal assistance at your side, including a qualified translation service.

Channels for Legal Immigration

There are only a few reasons someone can legally qualify to immigrate to the United States.  For the most part, temporary or permanent status is only granted to individuals for four reasons:

• Employment,
• Family reunification, 
• Humanitarian protection, or
• Lottery.

Yet, even those channels are difficult to navigate and may not result in an approved entry.  To set yourself or your client up for the best chance of success, it’s crucial to partner with a professional legal translation service like The Perfect Translation, which has experience working with the USCIS and understands the U.S. immigration process.

Employment

For a person to enter the United States for a work-related purpose, they must already have a valid offer of employment with an eligible employer.  To be eligible, the employer must be willing to act as a sponsor for the individual.  Additionally, the employer must prove that the foreigner has the qualifications for the job, such as educational achievements and employment history, and that the employer cannot find qualified U.S. citizens to fill the position.  Generally, people who meet these criteria have unique skills, such as medical professionals, actors, or corporate executives.

The U.S. does provide a number of temporary, seasonal visas for agricultural workers and other manual labor positions, but those are limited.  The employer, in those cases, often has to work with the government to obtain approval.

Family Reunification

Most legal immigrants to the United States obtained entry with a family-based visa.  U.S. citizens can seek to bring family members to the United States to keep the family together.  Qualified family members include spouses, parents, children, and siblings.  Those with “lawful permanent resident” (LPR) status can petition for their spouses and unmarried children to enter the country.

While this may be the easiest route, there are some limitations.  The petitioning family member in the U.S. must have an income greater than the poverty level that can support the family they wish to bring to the States.  The potential immigrants must also meet specific eligibility requirements, such as not currently being an undocumented immigrant already living in the U.S.

Humanitarian Protection

The United States provides a limited number of visas to refugees or asylum seekers annually.  To qualify for humanitarian protection, the applicant must be interviewed and screened by several international and U.S. agencies.  They must demonstrate a “well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, or national origin.”   The economic condition of the home country, such as poverty, does not qualify a person as a refugee or asylum seeker.

Lottery

If a person wishes to move to the United States but doesn’t meet any of the other criteria, there is one last option available–the lottery.  The annual Diversity Visa Program gives out 50,000 green cards to individuals coming from countries that have lower rates of immigration.  Some countries not eligible for the lottery include Mexico, China, the Phillippines, and India.  Qualified applicants to the lottery must have a high school education and at least two years of job experience.  The chances of getting picked in the lottery are low since over a million people apply for it yearly.  

To successfully manage the hurdles to legal immigration, choose The Perfect Translation for your paperwork.

At The Perfect Translation, our translators combine legal experience with language fluency to produce accurate legal translations efficiently and affordably.  Our team understands the process the USCIS uses to review and process immigration applications, so they are positioned to best help your clients present their cases most favorably.  Your documents will be translated correctly and formatted appropriately the first time to meet the USCIS requirements.  Contact us today for more information and a free quote.