So You Think You Can Immigrate (the new reality show)

Family-Sponsored	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
Unmarried, adult Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens	22DEC05	22DEC05	22DEC05	08JUL93	22DEC97
Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents	22SEP10	22SEP10	22SEP10	01SEP10	22SEP10
Unmarried, adult Sons and Daughters of Residents	08DEC04	08DEC04	08DEC04	22NOV92	15APR02
Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens	22JUN02	22JUN02	22JUN02	08MAR93	08AUG92
Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens	08APR01	08APR01	08APR01	22JUL96	15APR89

So, what is this?  Anyone?  Anyone? 

If you answered, a good example of why the immigration system is broken, you win! :)

Even though I haven't worked  in the immigration field for 2.5 years, I still look at this somewhat regularly just for fun or to get angry :).  It is called the VISA Bulletin and basically tells individuals when they are eligible for residency, based on when their family member filed for them and their country of origin (because the US has quota systems- some countries have specific quotas while others are just lumped together).

How it works, in the basic sense, you first have to submit a form called an I-130 (for the low cost of $420).   This is like the little ticket you take to reserve your place in line.  From there, you are given a priority date ( in 5 months to 3 years according to my sources).  Then, you have to wait until your priority date is current to file the appropriate forms to become a resident (get a green card).  This also involves more fees and proving that either you have enough in assets that you will not be a burden to the state or finding others who will sponsor you (basically saying they have enough assets to support you and prove that you will not be a burden to the state).  Side note here: As my sister and I were just discussing, this sponsorship piece can be a big challenge.  For example (not relevant to the bulletin but relevant to the topic of sponsorship), if I, as a US Citizen, was currently planning to marry a non-US Citizen, I do not have the asset base to serve as a sponsor so if that person were also asset poor, we would have to find others to take on the risk of serving as a sponsor.  That commitment lasts until that person becomes a US Citizen - so even if we got divorced, legally, my sponsoring family/friends would have to support that person if they needed it.

Back to the topic at hand, once you have your place in line, you check the Visa Bulletin, which changes monthly (above is Jan. 2013 edition).  To add an additional level of fun, this does not always move in the same direction or at the same pace.  I am sure there is a scientific way of figuring it out, based on how many people are 'in line' but from the outside it looks sporadic and can make jumps of six months in one month and then go back seven the next.

What are you yammering about Karen you may ask?  I will give you an example.  Say, I am Filipino and a US Citizen.  If my sister filled for a a visa, she would have had to have done that on or before April 15, 1989 to be eligible to apply for her green card (2ish years ago, this was at 1986).  Why is this a problem?  Well, that was 23 years ago.  If I am an older person, and it was an older sibling, my fictitious Filipino sister could be dead by the time she is eligible to file for a green card.  There is not a good way to keep track of that so there could be hundreds of people that are no longer interested or alive taking up spots in line.

Another issue is the lag time for adult, unmarried or married children.  I encountered a situation where someone was not getting married because that would push them even farther back in the line to apply for a green card based on their mother's citizenship.

So, first, if you are still reading, I would love for you to comment why, as I am guessing most people will hit the 'I don't care' wall before here.  The Moral of the Story is that even if a 'legal' avenue for immigration exists for someone, they fall into one of these categories, it isn't as simple as it is often made to seem.