There were many protests at Capitol Hill in Washington recently, as scores of House and Senate member offices witnessed stiff opposition over the Department of Security funding bill.
The opposition stemmed over President Obama’s Immigration executive action. A bill was recently passed that will help to fund the Department of Homeland Security, especially for young immigrants who entered the United States illegally. A hearing on several enforcement bills was happening at the same time in the House subcommittee; amendments were also being passed that sought to end deferrals of young immigrants who entered the United States of America illegally. The bill had failed in the Senate, and if a solution is not reached in time the Department of Homeland Security will not be funded, although it was stated that key personnel would work without pay.
There are many immigration reform supporters and activists who have come out with arguments that local officials coming into immigration enforcement leads to a lot of discord between immigrants and police. A Republican who chaired the immigration sub-committee stated that he supported local law officers who aimed to enforce immigration laws for fixing certain parts of the immigration system which had loopholes in between. These loopholes are a major reason why there is such a high trend in illegal immigration.
GOP members now say that President Obama’s executive actions on immigration are not about immigration – but it was all about the Constitution.
They stated that after the 2012 presidential elections it was important to win over Latino voters and thus immigration reform was singled out as a main opportunity. But as the 2016 election season inched in closer the GOP members are now instead taking to the floors of the House and Senate to rally around against policies that give work permits to unauthorized and undocumented immigrants, who came to the United States as children, or are the parents of citizens of the United States or are legal permanent residents.
What is looming large over the immigration horizon in the United States is the funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which will automatically shut down on February 27 if a bill is not approved by the Congress. There is a deadlock that is currently going on over Obama’s executive actions over immigration reform – most of the Republicans are standing firm against voting for anything that will allow the President’s policies to continue. They say that they need to stop the executive actions from going through, as they regard them as highly unconstitutional.
But as for the Latino voters are concerned their belief in the Republicans is not very sound. This is because the Latinos believe that the Republicans are doing everything in their power to oppose the executive actions but are unable to propose an alternative plan. This could largely go against the Republicans in the long run.
Here is the second part in our post on the quick, step by step process in the journey to an immigrant’s becoming an American Citizen!
As you know, becoming an American Citizen involves certain steps – establishing identity, filing, fingerprinting, attending an interview, passing English and US Civics tests and attending an oath ceremony.
Once the application is accepted a date will be mailed for the applicant’s fingerprinting and biometrics.
STEP 4- FINGERPRINTING
For the application to be processed a background check will be performed. You as an applicant will be given a date and the address of a local Immigration office, where you will be called for initiating the fingerprinting process. During the process of fingerprinting your fingerprints will be run through the FBI for a background check.
STEP 5-CITIZENSHIP INTERVIEW
Once the fingerprinting is done an USCIS officer will be allotted to you – a date, time and address will be sent to you for your interview with the officer. During the interview the officer will run through the N-400 and re-confirm your answers with all the questions.
During the interview it is now that you will be tested for your English knowledge and U S civics. Ensure that you read up on relevant topics and go through the necessary content and questions that are usually asked during the interview.
STEP 6-OATH CEREMONY
Once you receive approval at the interview you will be called for a large ceremony, which is usually held publicly. Here you will be administered the oath, and you will now swear loyalty to the United States. You will be given a naturalization certificate which will state that you are now officially a U S citizen. Congratulations!
The Immigration Medical Examination is an important step in the entire immigration process in the United States of America. When one applies for a Green Card or when one wishes to go in for permanent residence the Immigration Medical Exam has to be taken, by the applicant and his family members. Two tests in this are very important and are mandatory. One is the test for tuberculosis; the other is a serological test.
Let us study what the Tuberculin test or TST is all about.
TUBERCULIN TEST:
All applicants who are of 2 years and above are required to go in for the tuberculin test in the Immigration Medical Examination. Even if the applicant is below 2 years but is suspected of the disease he or she could be asked to go in for a TB test. This is possible when the applicant comes with a history of contact, so the applicant may be asked to go in for a tuberculin test to rule out any doubts. Applicants are usually asked to go in for a tuberculin skin test, or what is called as TST.
Once the skin test is conducted the applicant will be asked to return to the USCIS-approved Civil Surgeon with the results, within 2 or 3 days. The USCIS Civil Surgeon is a physician specially appointed by USCIS, or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services who is authorized to conduct the Immigration Medical Exam. The applicant will have to visit the Civil Surgeon to have the results read.
If the reaction is 4 mm or less no further tests will be required for TB, unless the applicant displays signs or symptoms of TB or immuno-supression. A chest X-ray is required to be conducted for all applicants, including pregnant women, if the reaction to the TST is 5 mm or more.
If the USCIS-approved Civil Surgeon thinks that the applicant is infected with TB he or she will be required to visit the local health department and more visits will have to be done.
