JANUARY 2024

POLICY
Immigration Update
BY N. PETER ANTONE
Our Chaldean community has
been blessed with opportunities
to immigrate to the U.S.
since the early 20th century. The first to
arrive did so via Ellis Island, like many
other immigrants at the time. Later, our
community utilized both the family
unification provisions of the immigration
law, as well as U.S. laws allowing
refugees and asylees to relocate here;
however, there are other options under
our immigration laws available both
to individuals who wish to immigrate
as well as to Chaldean employers who
need employees in this labor-tight market.
The purpose of this article is to explain
some of these options.
First, looking at the big picture,
there are two broad categories of work
or employment-based visas. Some allow
a temporary entry into the U.S.
and are generally known as “non-immigrant”
work visas. The others allow
the immigrant to get a green card and
those are called “employment-based
immigrant” visas.
Non-immigrant work visas include
the H-1b category, which is intended
for those with special focused college
degree such as engineering, accounting,
and the like (or its equivalent in
education), petitioned by a U.S. employer.
Unfortunately, because of the
limited number of those visas, there
is an annual lottery which restricts the
likelihood of inclusion in this category.
For those who are extremely qualified
due to their education or abilities
in art, business, or athletics, there is
what is called an O visa for extraordinary
individuals.
For those who may wish to train
in the U.S, there are H-3 and J training
visas, assuming there is an employer
willing to do the training. Those with
passports other than (or in addition
to) the Iraqi one (especially a passport
from a western European country)
might wish to consider an investment
visa that has a modest investment
requirement. This visa allows the immigrant
to work in a position related
to his or her investment but does not
provide for a green card.
Chaldeans who obtained a Canadian
passport might be able to utilize
a TN visa based on a treaty between
the U.S. and Canada. There might be
other available visas for more specific
purposes than those already listed. A
main limitation of the non-immigrant
visas is that they do not provide for a
green card, and most are limited in the
time allowed in the United States.
Visas that lead to a green card
are called “immigrant visas.” Unlike
many temporary visas, these are open
not only to persons with a bachelor’s
degree (or higher), but also to many
skilled workers. They require a petition
by a well-established employer.
With the right employer, they can be
more likely to be approved than the
non-immigrant visas listed above.
The downside is that the process
for them may take up to two or more
years to conclude and they require extensive
effort to prove the need for the
foreign workers. Consequently, due to
the extensive effort and advertising required,
the cost involved is substantial
and according to the law, most of the
costs must be paid by the employer.
There is also an investment-based
green card that requires an investment
of about $1 million dollars which may
be tied up and unable to be used for
several years. It also requires about 3
years to conclude.
Chaldean employers who need
more workers in this tight labor market
can utilize all the above categories
to sponsor an immigrant, plus more.
For example, Chaldean employers
needing seasonal workers might
wish to investigate the H-2b category,
which allows hiring of skilled and
unskilled workers for seasonal needs
such as landscape during the summer
or hospitality workers during the
busy season, mostly from mid- and
South American countries.
In addition to all the above, Chaldeans
living in Iraq who have schoolaged
children and have the means to
do so might consider sending their
kids to study in the U.S. to gain an
early foothold here.
For Chaldeans who have the ability
to visit the U.S, it is always wise to
visit first and chat with an immigration
specialist and get the full picture
of our complicated immigration
rules before starting the immigration
process.
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32 CHALDEAN NEWS JANUARY 2024