IMMIGRATION
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
~ Albert Einstein, Winner, Nobel Prize in Physics
Albert Einstein is but one member of a long list of prominent immigrants to the United States of America: Madeline Albright, Andrew Carnegie, Carlos Santana, Charlie Chaplin, Levi Strauss, Andy Grove are a few, and of course my parents. Perhaps yours too.
“The United States accepts more legal immigrants as permanent residents than all other countries in the world combined.”
It’s a little challenging to find the first person who made that claim but the premise is believable. We are a nation of immigrants and we have long been proud of that fact. We lead the world in immigration but we are challenged by our own success.
We need a clear immigration policy to recognize the needs of all who want to live in the United States of America.
There are many forms of legal immigration pathways including:
- Family Visas
- Student Visas
- Visitor Visas
- Work Visas
Then of course there is illegal immigration. As a nation of laws illegal immigration can not persist unchecked. At the same time, we must create the incentive for people to immigrate legally to this country.
As Congressman, I will address these issues:
- Tilt the acceptance of immigrants towards those who apply for specialty work visas (H-1b)
- Facilitate the application and approval process for Employee Authorization Documents (temporary work permits)
- Facilitate the application and approval of Treaty Investors
- Change the law to allow the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to manage its budget
Many of the challenges we have with immigration, whether it’s approving Tourist Visas or Green Cards can be solved by changing an accounting rule. USCIS is a “user fee” agency which means it’s entirely paid for by immigrants who pay fees. This is important: no tax payer dollars pay for USCIS. Immigration pays for every job in USCIS and immigration itself could pay for more hands to manage the backlog.
If we can reduce the up to 20 years it takes to immigrate legally, we can encourage legal behavior.
As a nation let’s decide what our immigration policy will be, put it in place and share it with the world. People who want to come here with good intentions want to follow the law.
Companies like Falls Church, VA based CSC already process visa services for the US State Department. They could add jobs right here in the 8th district while solving our processing challenge. It’s a win-win. In immigration, Win-Win MATTERS.
