Response to a letter sent to a MI senator

[waitingimmigrant]

hi friends,

some time ago i contact my senator through this site

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s1085/show

and wrote to him about plight of workers in limbo for years
if not decades ... following is response i recieved... request
all those stuck in GC limbo to contact their senators...

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U.S. immigration policy is based on four underlying principles: reunification of families, admissions of immigrants with needed skills, protection of refugees, and diversity of admission by country of origin. The Immigration and Nationality Act specifies priorities for permanent immigration using a complex set of numerical limits and preference categories. Immediate relatives, defined as spouses of citizens, children (under 21 years of age and unmarried) of citizens, and parents of citizens 21 years of age or older, have been given priority in the immigration process.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S.1085 on May 20, 2009. This legislation seeks to reduce current immigration backlogs by classifying lawful permanent resident (LPR) spouses and children as "immediate relatives." Currently, spouses and children of LPRs must obtain visas through the Family Second Preference category. This can lead to a waiting period of several years. Among other things, this bill would allow unused and unclaimed visas from 1992-2007 to be placed back in the pool of current available visas for families, and would establish a “roll over” system for unused and unclaimed visas in the future. This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where it awaits further review.

I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to craft effective solutions to address our nation’s immigration problems. I will keep your thoughts in mind should S.1085, or any similar legislation, come before me in the full Senate.

[Leo07]

I appreciate it.