1965 Immigration And Nationality Act: A Case Study

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According to Fifty Years On, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Continues to Reshape the United States by Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman, and Isabel Ball, over 50 years ago in 1965 the Immigration and Nationality Act was signed into law. But what did this mean to the many immigrants wishing for the American Dream? The American Immigration Council states that eligibility would be based on family connections and employability. Anyone wanting to immigrate here legally could apply for a visa or permit either through family, work or asylum through humanitarian protection. A U.S. citizen would be able to petition for a spouse, parent, children and siblings. A Lawful Resident would be able to petition for their spouse and children …show more content…
As we know there is a limit on the number of refugees the United States accepts and for anyone to be admitted as a refugee they must first go through various agencies and must prove “well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, or national origin.”. (American Immigration Council:2016) Those who seek asylum must prove they are afraid to return to their country and an immigrant wouldn’t qualify due to only the poverty level of their country. Even though there are temporary forms of humanitarian protection, they are …show more content…
If you can fit into any of those three categories there’s still an extensive list of other requirements to fulfill. According to the AIC, there is more than a five year wait for unmarried children of U.S. citizens and more than ten for siblings, that is for most countries. U.S. citizens who petition their married children from Mexico usually wait over 20 years for a visa. There is one more legal path persons can try, the annual Diversity Visa program, they provide 55,000 green cards but unfortunately, they are not available to countries with high immigrations rates to the United States. This means that anyone living in Mexico, the Philippines, China and India don’t qualify. To qualify for this type of visa, the person applying must have a high school education and two years’ work experience which just makes the chances of obtaining a visa even slimmer. There is also a limit on the number of visas provided per country, per category