Replies

The following is copied from Tancredo's bill HR3534. I interpret it as requiring that applicants for the new "H" guest worker visa must be in their foreign country of origin at the time of application. Note particularly subsections (4) and (7) of Section 213(a). What's your view?

H.R.3534
BE REAL Act of 2003 (Introduced in House)
SEC. 213. REQUIREMENTS FOR ALIENS APPLYING FOR H NONIMMIGRANT STATUS.
(a) IN GENERAL- Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g), as amended by section 210(b), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
`(4) Aliens applying for nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(H) shall be physically present in the country of the alien´s residence and shall apply at a United States embassy, consular office, or other designated State Department post.
`(5) Such aliens shall pay a visa processing fee in an amount determined under section 281.
`(6) Such aliens shall file an application that includes a listing of their education, job skills and prior employment history, along with supporting documentation and references.
`(7) Such aliens do not have to be applying for a specific job that is open, but rather shall apply to be added to a database of workers who are already processed and waiting for a job to open that matches their skills set. Aliens approved for such status shall remain in the foreign country of residence until such time as an employer is approved to hire such a worker and finds that a particular approved alien meets the needs of the particular job opening.
`(8) The Secretary of State shall verify that the education and work history provided by such an alien is accurate, prior to the alien´s name being added to the database of approved prospective nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15)(H).
`(9) Such aliens shall submit to fingerprinting and photographing by Department of State or Homeland Security personnel so that the data may be added to the Chimera system required under section 202(a)(2) of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. Such identifying information shall be entered into the Chimera system before a nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(H) may be issued. Such aliens shall undergo criminal background and health checks to ensure admissibility under section 212(a).
`(10) Any alien who violates a term or condition of the alien´s admission as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(H), including failure to leave the United States at the termination of the period of authorized admission, shall be barred from receiving any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa for a period of 10 years.
`(11) Aliens applying for nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(H) shall sign a legally enforceable affidavit attesting that they--
`(A) understand that they will not be permitted to change or adjust to any other immigrant or nonimmigrant classification or status while present in the United States;
`(B) waive eligibility for any Federal, State or local non-emergency public assistance for which they might otherwise be eligible during their tenure as such a nonimmigrant; and
`(C) understand the penalties for failing to abide by the terms of their admission as such a nonimmigrant.
`(12) Aliens who apply for renewal of nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(H) shall undergo new criminal background and health checks before the renewal may be granted.´.
(b) SPECIAL RULE ON CITIZENSHIP AT BIRTH FOR CHILDREN OF H NONIMMIGRANTS- Notwithstanding title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), or any other law, a child born in the United States to a parent who is a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended by section 210 of this Act) shall not be a national or citizen of the United States at birth unless the other parent is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence.
SEC. 214. DATABASE OF APPROVED PROSPECTIVE H NONIMMIGRANTS.
Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g), as amended by sections 210(b) and 213(a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
`(13) The Secretary of Labor shall establish and maintain a database of all nonimmigrant visa applicants under section 101(a)(15)(H) who are approved by the Department of State. Such database shall include all identifying information and all information regarding job skills and employment history, as collected by such Department. Once the Secretary of Labor approves an employer´s application under section 212(n)(1), such Secretary shall make available to the employer a list of aliens who are available and approved by the Department of State to fill the open job position, as described in the announcement posted by the employer on the Internet-based job posting system established under section 211 of the BE REAL Act of 2003. No employer shall have access to any information included in the database regarding such visa applicants until after such application is approved. The Secretary of State shall transmit to the Secretary of Labor all information regarding the identity, job skills, and employment history of an alien not later than 7 days after the date on which the Secretary of State determines that the alien has satisfied all the requirements established in paragraphs (4) through (12).´.
SEC. 215. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, this subtitle, and the amendments made by this subtitle, shall take effect 1 year after the date on which the certifications required by section 210 are made.

I like the way this is written. That being said, it does not deal with the issue of those illegals already here. It is doubtful that you would get most of the people already here to leave to re-apply. Whether or not we agree, the US is not going to load them onto cattle cars and send them home. By allowing the ones already here and working to apply, it gets them into the system. Tancredo's plan deals with future applicants much in the way that Bush's proposal suggests. I especially like the addition of the elimination of "anchor babies" in paragraph 12(b).

The point I was making is that the Bush and Tancredo proposals are not polar opposites - the Tancredo bill is actually a pretty good implementation of the Bush proposal. It tightens up some of the enforcement, but the basic plan is the same. Bush said Congress would have to provide the details - this a good start. So why does everyone bash Bush and praise Tancredo for essentially the same idea?

Whereas Dubya's is 3 years, renewable indefinitely at any time