by Amer Numan

Created on: January 14, 2009

By adding verification procedures that better separate the legal from the illegal. Because immigration reform is such a complex process, involving a never-ending flow of new applicants, it is not feasible to try to wait on a full transformation before handling our local policies that affect us now.

A good example to follow is the new verification process for obtaining a driver's license. Many states have updated their policies for obtaining a driver's license by not only requiring photo ID and a valid address, but also a combination of a social security card in-hand, utility bill carrying the physical address, and the original entry document into the U.S. (or original birth certificate for citizens). This combination ensures that whoever is applying to drive and get official state identification not only lives in the state, but is registered with the Social Security Administration, currently paying bills at a real address, and has entered into the U.S. through an authorized port of entry with permission.

To obtain health insurance and care, most institutions are bothered with your health history and an address to send your bills. You need to simply have a doctor and a place to get your mail. Doesn't that sound absolutely ridiculous and almost TOO easy to get around?

I absolutely agree that we need immigration reform, don't get me wrong. But as a legal permanent resident who went through the process from start to finish, I can assure you that updating a single clause in immigration legislation takes months at a time. Updating a major rule takes 2-3 years to apply. There is just such a huge case load of immigrant petitions in this country, to the point that it is not possible to apply changes with a line of applicants who paid fees and hired lawyers based on existing rules.

We have to remember that, even though this is a U.S. policy change process, it does affect non-U.S. "clients" or "applicants" who hired legal representation and filled out a ton of forms that outline existing rules at the time of the application. So you can only imagine how challenging it is to change a complex, long process in the middle of a matrix of pending applications that legally bind the government to the originally declared rules at the time of filing.

Therefore, the quickest way to fix our current problems involving illegal immigrant presence seems to be to "catch them better," not "wait on the entire process to change." Because we all know that, even after reforming the policies that let illegal immigrants in, we will still have enough on the inside already! So it does not stop at GETTING in after reform, it is so much more about BEING in.

If you are curious about the immigration and visitation process for the U.S., check out the web site for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, at www.USCIS.gov.

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