The Immigrant Policy Project

Immigrants, Nonimmigrants, and Visas An Overview

06/14/2002

This summary provides a brief overview of U.S. immigration policy (who and how many may enter the U.S.) and the immigration process (the visa system).

The federal responsibility for immigration is shared by the President, four executive departments (State, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Labor), and Congress. Article I, Section 8, clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution states that Congress' power is to "establish an uniform rule of naturalization," and the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the power of immigration and naturalization is exclusively within federal jurisdiction. U.S. immigration policy is defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act, said to be the second longest law in the U.S. code, after tax law.

Immigration to the United States

Legal immigrants (also known as lawful permanent residents, or LPRs), are those granted admission for permanent residence to the U.S. on the basis of family relation or job skill. U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents can petition to bring family members to the U.S. Employers may petition to bring individuals with special skills into the U.S., at a yearly limit of 140,000. Legal immigrants entering the U.S. permanently for family or business reasons apply for immigrant visas to enter the U.S. and are issued the "green card" after arrival, which is proof of lawful permanent residence in the U.S. and authorizes the recipient to work. The number of legal immigrants admitted in 1999 was 647,000.

Humanitarian admissions: The U.S. accepts refugees and asylum applicants "those who have a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group." The FY2002 ceiling for refugee admissions is 80,000. Refugees receive the "green card" after one year of residence. More than 42,200 applications for asylum were received in 1999. The backlog: More than 342,000 asylum cases were pending adjudication at the beginning of 1999, the latest year for which data is available.

"Nonimmigrants" are those allowed to enter the U.S. for a specific purpose and for a temporary or limited period of time, such as tourists, students, and business visitors. This category includes short-term visitors (tourists) and long-term visitors, e.g., diplomats, investors, temporary agricultural workers, temporary high tech workers, intra-company transferees, etc. In 1999, 31.4 million non-immigrants arrived. There are 70 specific types of nonimmigrant visas. The largest category is temporary business or pleasure visitors: 24 million came for pleasure (including 14.4 million from visa waiver countries); and 4.6 million for business (2.1 million from visa waiver countries).

Visas and the Admission Process

The US Department of State

The overseas consular offices of the U.S. Department of State are responsible for issuing (or denying) immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. The visa permits the individual to travel to the United States. The duration of a visa varies by immigrant/nonimmigrant category and by country. For example, a business/visitor visa may be issued overseas by the U.S. Dept. of State for a 10 year period and remain valid for multiple visits. Every country has a different schedule of visa reciprocity with the U.S.

In FY2001, 7.6 million nonimmigrant visas were issued by the Department of State, in 65 different nonimmigrant categories. The largest categories were B visas (temporary visitors for business and/or pleasure) at nearly 6 million visas; F visas (students) and J visas (exchange visitors) at approximately 300,000 each; and H-1B (high tech workers) at 162,000. Other examples include foreign government officials (78,000); international company transfers and family (120,000); and athletes and entertainers (24,000).

Most visas are issued for 29 days or less; employees generally up to 3 years; and some are indefinite, such as students, who may stay for the duration of their course of study, or employees of NATO, for their tour of duty, or foreign information media, for the duration of employment. The State Department now issues visas with a maximum duration of 10 years.

Visas may be denied for health-related grounds, criminal or terrorist activity.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)

Upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry, the INS inspector has the authority to grant or deny the individual's entry into the United States. The inspector also determines the responsible length of stay, which may be shorter than that indicated by the visa. Upon entry, the individual is issued an I-94, the arrival/departure record. Individuals may request an extension of stay by submitting their original I-94 to the INS.

The U.S. has a visa waiver program with 28 countries, good for visits of 90 days or less. These countries are Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Note also that Canadians do not need an immigrant visa.

References:

INS website on visas: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/services/visas.htm
INS website on statistics: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/aboutins/statistics/ybpage.htm
State Dept. website on visa services: http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html
U.S. Immigration Policy on Temporary Admissions, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, by Ruth Ellen Wasem, updated May 8, 2002.