The following is a summary of the major provisions of the WISH Act:>>> IMPROVE ENFORCEMENT
? Requires DHS to add new investigators and enforcement agents to curb human smuggling, hiring illegal aliens and immigration fraud, and add more personnel to process student visa applications.
? Increases penalties for aliens working illegally and employers who hire illegal aliens.
? Requires social security cards to be machine-readable and tamper resistant.
? Provides for employer participation in a system to verify the employment eligibility of aliens and to track aliens’ employment.
>>> PROVIDE A NEW GUEST WORKER VISA
? Creates a guest worker visa for aliens to legally come to the United States with their immediate family, work, and travel for up to three 3-year periods. The alien must undergo a medical exam and background check to qualify, and must remain employed to stay in the United States. These guest workers would be allowed to begin paperwork for a change of status to permanent resident after they have been in the United States for 6 years under this visa; if they do not apply for a change of status, they must return to their home country upon expiration of the visa for at least 3 years. Failure to depart upon visa expiration would mean that the alien would be ineligible for any immigration benefit except asylum for 10 years. There would be 500,000 visas that could be issued in the first year under this section; this number could be increased in later years based on market need.
>>> ALLOW ILLEGAL WORKERS TO BECOME LEGAL WORKERS
? Creates a program to allow aliens who are illegally in the United States to obtain the above-referenced visa without leaving the United States. The alien would have to pay a fine for being in the United States illegally and go thru the same application process as aliens applying for the visa legally. These aliens would have to apply for this visa within three years of enactment of the WISH Act. If an illegal alien fails to apply for the visa and remains in the United States illegally, he would be removed and not allowed to apply for any immigration benefit except asylum. After being in the United States 5 years under this visa, any alien who had been in the United States for 5 years prior to the date of enactment of the WISH Act would be eligible to apply for a different visa (but not permanent resident status), but such a visa would not be issued until the alien left the country and reentered thru legal channels. If no new visa is acquired for such aliens, and for all undocumented aliens who have been in the United States less that 5 years before enactment of the WISH Act, when the initial visa expires (after up to 9 years, assuming the alien renews the visa and remains employed), the alien would be required to leave the United States for at least 3 years. Failure to depart when the visa expires would make the alien ineligible for any immigration benefit except asylum for 10 years.
>>> CREATE A MORE WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS AND TRAVELERS
? Removes the cap for H-1B visas for college and non-profit professionals and the world-wide numerical limits for visas issued to aliens who have earned an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math in the United States.
? Allows full-time foreign college and graduate students to work part-time while studying in the United States.
? Allows foreign students who graduate from a U.S. college with honors and who have a job offer in the United States to transition from a student visa to a work visa without leaving the country.
? Allows foreign students to travel outside of the United States to attend a seminar that is related to the student’s chosen field of study.
? Allows guests who are in the United States temporarily on a B-1 (business) or B-2 (traveler) visa to travel no less than 100 miles from the international border during their trip.
Interesting that it says the number of guest-worker visas can be increased, but no mention is made of decreasing them.
But anyway, his official statements on the bill verify that it is an amnesty and a massive increase in legal immigration -- two things the majority of Americans oppose. Of course, it doesn't come out and say it explicity, which keeps with the deceptive nature of almost all bills that increase immigration, such as Ted Kennedy's fraudulen 1965 bill and his proposed one now cosponsored by Mr Straigt Talk Express himself.
At the very least, politicians should be upfront with what they are proposing. They should state that such legislation would likely result in current levels of legal immigration being doubled, at least! That public support for that is almost nonexistent probably wouldn't matter to the Senate, where both parties are arrogant in their attitudes on this subject.