Immigrants in US Q: Who control the Immigrants in US A: Four Federal Agencies have the overall control of immigrants in US. DHS -- Department of Homeland Security oversee “Immigration Policies, Investigation and Enforcement” CBP -- Customs and Border Protection monitors “U.S. Border Patrol-They directly patrols international land borders and apprehending Illegal Immigrants or People Smugglers.” ICE -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforces immigration laws within the U.S. It “Investigates, Arrests, Detains and Remove people living illegally in the U.S. USCIS – US Citizenship and Immigration Services reviews and grants immigrant applications and decides who receives citizenship. Q: Can an immigrant become a U.S. citizen? A: There are few different routes an immigrant could become a Citizen of the United States. Most importantly, first requirement is the eligibility status as an Immigrant. If you are a non-immigrant such as a student or a visitor of non-immigrant visa categories you do not have a path to become a Citizen without becoming an immigrant first. An immigrant who become a Permanent Resident lives and complete five years in the US could become a citizen. If you became a permanent resident on the basis of a spouse of a US Citizen, then you need only three years to complete to become a citizen. You are subject to the US Government background check and fingerprinting. Further you are subject to the USCIS English & Civics test and the Interview and only successful Permanent Residents will be awarded the Citizenship. If successful, Certificate of Naturalization will be issued to you. Q: How much does it cost to apply for citizenship? A: Application fees are $680 per person, which includes $595 for the N-400 application and $85 for the background check and fingerprinting. Each family member must pay separately and the fees are non-refundable. Q: Who is a Resident Alien? A: Alien is the ‘former term’ for a permanent resident. Earlier “Permanent Resident Cards” or “Passport Cards” are now called as “Green Cards.” Q: Can immigrants vote? A: No, Immigrants do not have the voting right and only a citizen above 18 years have the right to vote. Q: Can an immigrant or permanent resident serve as a Juror? A: No, only Citizens will be called for Jury Service. Q: Can immigrants or permanent residents work in Federal Jobs? A: No, there can be rare opportunities but most of Federal jobs required the citizenship. Even many federal contractual companies will not employ immigrants and permanent residents. Q: Can immigrants or permanent residents work in State Government Jobs? A: Yes, Permanent Residents can work in any State Agencies or County Government Jobs Q: What is the difference between refugees and asylum seekers? A: This is like Caterpillar and Butterfly. An asylum seeker is an individual who is seeking international protection. Once asylum seeker’s claim approved, he will be getting the “Refugee Status” and called as a Refugee. Q: Can I get a support for my Asylum case from my Church? A: : There are Churches that act as registered immigration non-profit organizations. Some Churches are actively supporting immigrant as they have formed clubs/ projects to support them. Those services are separate to each church. Most common services are English Language support and other training, jobs, assistance to find rental housing or support to stay on sharing basis, transportation and emotional support. Some churches also support with their cases such as attend courts with them or arrange Lawyers. They might also assist filing your forms and documentation. Q: Can unauthorized immigrants obtain driver’s licenses? A: Requirements and process of issuing driving license is different to each state law. Twelve states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont and Washington) and the District of Columbia permit unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Applicants must provide documents such as a foreign passport and proof of state residency. Q: How many unauthorized immigrants are there in the U.S.? A: Undocumented immigrants are difficult to count accurately. According to the recent researches, the number is 10.5 million by the year 2017. Q: How many immigrants have come to the U.S. as refugees? A: More than 1 million immigrants arrive in the U.S. each year. In 2017, the top country of origin for new immigrants coming into the U.S. was India, with 126,000 people, followed by Mexico (124,000), China (121,000) and Cuba (41,000). Asians are projected to become the largest immigrant group in the U.S. by 2055, surpassing Hispanics. Q: How many refugees allowed by other countries in 2018? A: UK – 17,205, Germany – 139,555, Italy – 47,885, France – 41,440, Austria – 20700, Sweden – 19605, Australia – 12,706, Canada – 28,000, New Zealand – 750 & Japan – 20 Where do most U.S. immigrants live? Roughly half (45%) of the nation’s 44.4 million immigrants live in just three states: California (24%), Texas (11%) and New York (10%). California had the largest immigrant population of any state in 2017, at 10.6 million. Texas and New York had more than 4.5 million immigrants each. Q: How many immigrants have been deported from the US in last 10 years? A: It’s interesting to analyze the answer as follows. Trump administration deported 295,000 immigrants from the U.S. in 2017. (The lowest total since 2006) During Obama’s regime (between 2009 to 2016,) about 3 million immigrants been deported from the US. Bush Administration deported about 2 million immigrants between 2001 to 2008. Q: Citizen and Immigrants A: It may be accepted, if said by a “Native Indian” as they were the only ethnic generation, originally lived in USA. There is another version says indigenous populations of the Americas with people of Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Andaman Islands. All others are just like you; who came to USA as immigrants and then became citizens. Sometime worse than that if you read the history records. 23 million immigrants have been relocated in America between 1990 and 2013. Hence the United States called as “Nations of Immigrants” the real factor is always Americans are previous Immigrants of other countries, in another words today’s immigrants will be tomorrow’s Americans in the United States. Q: Who founded America? A: Columbus Day is a holiday in the United States since 1937, as Christopher Columbus’s found a new land on October 12, 1492 and named it as a land of Spain. Visiting Europe came to know about America and as a result deformed United States Canada and Mexico. Q: How the circumstances change between US Citizens and US Immigrants? Q: Where these immigrants come from? A: Immigrant Population by Region of Birth from 1960 - 2010 Q: Comparison of Latinos and Asians in US A: Latin and Asian Arrivals in US in 2000 to 2010 Q: Comparison of Latinos and Asians in US A: Latin and Asian Arrivals in US in 2000 to 2010 Q: What changes of US Racial and Ethnic Composition from 1970 to 2013 Q: What US States allowed immigrants mostly? A: Six states—California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas Q: Male to Female Population in Other Countries A: India 138 to 100, Mexico 124 to100, El Salvador 110 to 100, Haiti 109 to 100, Germany 64 to 100, South Korea 65 to 100, Dominican Republic 68 to 100, per 100), Philippines 71 to 100 and Japan 74 to 100 Q: Male to Female Ratio Population in US from 1870 to 2000 Q: Do American people like Immigrants? A: Immigration is always a popular topic for all Americans. It debates in American elections and in the media. Polling data is the evidence of attitudes of American people. Poll question, asked from 2001 to 2014, on Americans was whether “Immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today.” https://fullfact.org/immigration/how-many-refugees-does-uk-take/ https://www.nap.edu/read/21746/chapter/3#29 If I have difficulty speaking and learning English, how can I fit in? A: When immigrant families migrated to other countries where they have to study in English Language always struggle in their studies if the language capabilities are not in accordance to the level of studies they are in. If you are in an elementary school level your language issue will not be a big issue and you still have time to improve your skills. But the problem is if you are in a middle school or higher. That is where most of important subjects starts. Only few people can come out with their own efforts by working hard and others need help from somewhere. Your school may have some programs to help you to improve your English Language skills but remember that is only up to a certain level and you got to overcome this with a private study. If you contact SUPPA’S with your all circumstances we would be able to guide you more than this. We are happy to assist you to improve your skills. How am I supposed to help my children succeed in school? A: This is a good question if you have come from a different country. Your question has a wide scope and we find difficult to give you a direct answer, first we need to know what grades your children are and then only we have to start advising you. Also, we need to know whether they have any issues. At present we would like to say please go through our webpages and see whether you can get any support, if not write to SUPPA’S with all your questions and your circumstances. Then we will be able to assist you in the right direction. How can I secure work, is it even possible? A: if you are a permanent resident or green card holder you have the right to work in the US. If you do not have the employment rights then your first goal is to get the employment rights. Once you have the employment rights then you are eligible to come into the job market. In the job market there is a process to apply, to get into an interview and to obtain a position. Each one of these has step-by-step process that you can find from elsewhere in our website or if you send SUPPA’S direct questions, we will be able to help you putting you into the right direction. What’s the easiest way to obtain a driver’s license, given the barriers we face, like language? A: Procedures of getting drivers licenses are different to each state. Each state will tell you what their requirements for you to get ready to obtain a driver’s license. IF you have a driver’s license previously obtained from a foreign country then it is one process. If you have a driver’s license issued from any of the US states then it’s another process, If you do not have any driver’s license previously, then a different process where you have to start from a learners permit. If you are thinking of any issues with your language skills especially when facing a driver’s license exam, you will be able to get a translator support if you make a request to the authority.