Chief Delphi - View Single Post

Mr. Pockets · #13 11-07-2009, 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by N7UJJ

If children can become legal citizens so long as they fulfill the requirements does that mean that the parents who probably have been taking care of them this whole time will also become legal citizens?

Yes and no. When they complete their required military/school, they can become permanent residents. Permanent residents can petition to sponsor their unmarried children and spouse. Of course the potential immigrants have to go through the usual immigration procedures. However, since the "Dreamers" had to be in the U.S. before 16, it would be most unusual for them to have spouses/children in another country.

Once they are permanent residents and they wait (is it 6 years?) they can begin the process for citizenship.

If they become citizens, then they, like all citizens, can petition to sponsor their parents. Then the parents would have to go through all the immigration procedures. I believe (I'm no lawyer) that the parents would have to apply from their home country and the fact that they were in the U.S. unlawfully would be a problem. I also think they have to be within the quota for the number of immigrants from their country.

Anyway, I have met a lot of Dreamer kids who have done everything we want all our kids to do except that their parents brought them into the U.S. without papers. Now we have high school and college graduates (electrical engineering, aerospace, etc) who mentor FLL and FRC teams and yet are not allowed to join the military or be employed and risk deportation any time. If we judge people by their character and merit rather than their parentage...

So in effect it would not allow the parents to use their kids to become legal citizens, but they would have to get in line like everybody else. If so then I'm sort of missing the dispute. If the bill is passed then it ends up killing two birds with one stone: the kids get to become U.S. citizens (according to the bill what they want most), and they now have to pay taxes like the rest of us so the government isn't losing out there either...