By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Slimebeast on 13 November 2016
Edit Thread
SamuelRSmith said:
Slimebeast said:

Oh yeah, that's what I thought. That it's hard to get in in the first place.

But all these immigrants to the US, on average around 2 million per year since 1990. What are their reasons to get a green card? It doesn't sound ridiculously hard when you know that 2 million people manage to do it each year, does it?

And an interesting question that follows. How many people would come to the USA if there was no process, if there were no restrictions at all?

The process is much simpler if you already have family living in the US. Once one person has jumped through the hoops, they can bring parents/children through with them. You'll see this a lot with Chinese/Indian families - the family throws a lot of money into getting one of the children in, once he/she is in, she'll bring in the parents, once they are in, they'll bring in the rest of the kids, etc.

Another option that is just down to pure luck if your family isn't here is the green card lottery - however some countries (like Canada and the UK) are excluded. 15 million applicants per year, 50,000 are chosen at random for a free green card (and then they can start bringing their family in).

So, I guess that also partially answers your second question about how many would come if there was no process. At least 15 million.

 

EDIT: I don't know where you got the 2 million figure from? Dep't of Homeland Security says that they let in about 500,000 per year through the various channels. Also keep in mind that most of the people allowed into the US are on a temporary basis - ie, they cannot get a green card. They are here on work visas that either expire or have to be renewed every couple of years. The process of converting from these temporary visas to an immigrant visa is also very expensive and really can only be done if you are worth enough to your employer that they bother to go through the process.

Oh, these anchor kids. I don't like that because we have a huge problem with that in Sweden, people sending one of their kids and the Swedish authorities feel so sorry for the poor kid and obviously lets it stay. And then a couple of years later he has brought like a dozen people. Of course I don't blame the families because they use the method that they think gives the highest chance to gain entry. But from the perspective of a European nation it's a tricky problem.

If you go to wikipedia and just study the migration numbers, you will discover that net migration to the USA has been 1.25 million on average in each years since 1990. That is net migration, immigration minus emigration. I assumed there are a few hundred thousand people leaving the US each year, let's say 750,000. So to determine immigration you get 1.25 + 0.75 million = 2 million.

But I have probably overestimated emigration a little bit. Perhaps it's as low as 400,000 yearly which would make immigration 1.25+0.4=1.65 million per year. Still a huge number. So net migration is far more than just 500,000 perople. I don't know what that 500K number includes, but it certainly doesn't include everyone who is moving to the USA each year. And according to the statistics, these net 1.25 million people yearly all seem to have stayed on a permanent basis.

Wow, 15 million applicants per year. Let's say all these 15 million were allowed to stay at once. How many more would keep coming after that?