Major US immigration reforms and the rule of law 2019

The United States has been trying to improve the country's immigration rules. From 2018 till date, a lot of bills concerning immigration has been passed, and there have been immigration reforms. The president is making sure that only a few immigrants that will add to the country's economy would henceforth gain access into the US. These bills will affect every individual planning to immigrate into the country illegally. To reduce the number of illegal immigrants, the following are some of the immigration reforms that have been passed.

Increase of SEVP-certified schools, international students and exchange students fee

There has been a change in the application fee for international students, SEVP-certified schools, and exchange students fee. This reform is to reduce the number of International applicants since there has been an increase in the number of international applicants in 2018. The new development has commenced since June 24, 2019. It is now advisable for international applicants to double check before picking the United States since there have been a lot of increments in fees.

Announcing the new immigration plan - the United States government announced a reform that tackles immigration. Donald Trump announced another immigration plan that deals with the green card. Although there is no clear information about the new immigration plan, the president said the green card holders would be screened; there are some holders that are not fit to have one. Also, the issuing will now involve a high level of inspection whereby the card would be given out based on education, profession, age, employment, and many other factors would be considered as well. The immigration plan was announced by the president on May 16, 2019, at the white house.

A memorandum on M, J, F visa holders was passed - in 2018, a memorandum of M, J, F visa holder was passed, and it talks about the punishment of visa holders that have stayed or planning to say in the USA after the visa might have expired. Any individual who stays 180days after the visa might have expired will face a three years ban. This means that such individuals would not be able to visit the country for three years. This will affect international students that refuse to return to their home country for different reasons best known to them. The Trump administration is not happy with illegal immigrants. Thus the president is fighting to eradicate these set of people. Also, there are millions of illegal immigrants in the United States that have been affecting the country in one way or the other; this does not go well with the president. Therefore, he needs a change.

Before traveling to the US, one needs to have an ESTA or a visa. The ESTA US is an alternative to a Visa. Thus, it is better that one check if one's country is one of the ESTA countries before one proceed.

Congress prevents another shutdown by passing the FY bill.

Early this year, Congress passed the 2019 spending bill to prevent another government shutdown. The previous shutdown that lasted for few weeks affected a lot of sectors and individuals and to prevent it from happening; the Congress had to pass the spending bill. Below are the main points in the bill.

Defense - the bill allocated about $1.4 billion to the previous budget that faces security. It also enhances building the wall at all the US and Mexico border. Before this, the president asked for 5.7 dollars to build the wall.

Expiring programs - the bill has increased the expiring dates of some programs. Programs like the E-verify, EB-5, and Conrad 30 waiver program is affected. This is considered to be a great development and a fulfilling one.

National Emergency - Donald Trump is allowed to declare a federal emergency to seek funds needed to build the fence that the bill did not include. This will favor the president and will make the process of preventing illegal immigrants active.

United States suspends visa activities in Venezuela and Caracas - due to the tension between Venezuela and the USA, the United States has put a stop to every visa activities or services in Venezuela and Caracas till further notices. This is one of the greatest immigration reforms in 2019. Citizens of affected countries can only get a US visa by registering as a third party citizen in another country. This will stop a lot of individuals who cannot afford traveling to another country before getting a US visa. All United States immigration officers have departed the countries after following the president's order.

Between 2018 till date, there have been a lot of US immigration reforms, and few have been discussed in this article. It is better for people who are outside the United States to confirm if their country is affected by any of the immigration reforms before planning to travel to the country.

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