Fairfax County Immigration Law Blog

Virginia readers of this blog may be interested in the results of a recent nationwide telephone survey taken of 1,023 native-born Americans. The survey asked each respondent 10 questions that are similar to those that would appear on the civics test that immigrants in the U.S. must pass before earning citizenship. Only 65 percent were able to correctly answer at least six of the 10 questions asked.

Like the survey, the real civics test is a set of 10 questions that quizzes the applicant about U.S. history, the federal government, the constitution and other related topics. Each question, though, is open-ended and some might even have multiple correct answers. But whereas only 65 percent of native-born Americans were able to "pass" the test in the survey, 93 percent of immigrants who take the civics test as part of their quest to become U.S. citizens pass it.

Readers may recall a news story we mentioned recently about how some in Congress are considering expanding the H-1B visa program. As many may know, an H-1B visa allows companies to employ highly skilled foreign workers here in Virginia and across the United States. However, demand for the visa also goes in ebbs and flows based on a number of factors, including the state of the economy.

Beginning in April of each year, only a certain number of the visas may be handed out. In 2007 and 2008, this cap was hit within just the first few days. Yet demand fell considerably in following years, possibly due to the economic recession. In April 2011, for instance, the government received just 14,000 total H-1B visa petitions.

Under current immigration law, an undocumented immigrant living in the United States may attempt to legalize their status if they are a close relative of a U.S. citizen. However, in order to do so, they must return to their country of origin, and then submit the necessary documentation to a U.S. Embassy or consulate. While the immigration decision is made, they must stay outside of the country, and it can take a year or even more for that decision to finally come through.

Many Virginia residents have no doubt lived through this process, and they know the trouble it can cause. Family members, even spouses and children, may be separated for months at a time, creating significant hardship for all involved. However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced that a proposed change to the policy, which would mark a dramatic departure from a rule that has been in place since 1952.

Virginia readers may be interested to know that the White House has recently stepped up its efforts in a government resettlement program that assists Iraqi citizens with immigrating to the United States. The purpose of the program, established in 2007, is to resettle Iraqis who aided the U.S. government during the war in Iraq and have since come under serious threat as a result. However, the number of visas issued to those eligible dropped dramatically in fiscal year 2011 after authorities became aware of a security threat.

The program issues what are known as special immigrant visas (SIV) to those eligible. When President Bush instituted the program in 2007, he pledged to resettle up to 25,000 Iraqi citizens through it. In 2009, 2,843 SIVs were issued, and another 2,042 SIVs were issued in 2010. However, that number dramatically declined to just 706 for all of fiscal year 2011 when the government became concerned about a possible terrorist plot to exploit the program.