Will
Temporary Worker Program be a Temporary Solution or Permanent
Solution?
On
January 6, 2004, President George W. Bush announced a proposal
for a “Temporary Worker Program” to deal with millions
of undocumented workers in the United States. The program would
create a new nonimmigrant visa category to provide legal status
to millions of out-of-status foreign nationals currently living
and working in the United States.
The
goal of the new program is to match “willing foreign workers
with willing American employers” when employers can established
that no U.S. workers are found to fill the jobs after a reasonable
effort. The program would be open to over 8 million illegal workers
in the United States, as well as to foreign nationals new to the
United States. In any case, a foreign national who wishes to utilize
this new initiative must have a job offer from a U.S. employer.
The program will last three years and can be renewed for another
three years maximum.
Basic
principles of the Immigration Reform are:
•
Enhancing homeland security with the efforts of the border controls
through agreements with countries of participating nationals;
and
• Serving America’s Economy by matching a willing
Worker with a willing employer; and
• Providing incentives for return to home country; and
• Protecting the rights of legal immigrants.
Employers’
responsibilities
In
addition to a proof of “reasonable effort” to find
an American worker, employers will be obliged to report those
temporary workers they hire, and who leave the employment. Employers
must not hire undocumented aliens or temporary workers who legal
status has expired. Once the program is implemented, it is expected
that enforcement against employers who continue to hire illegal
workers will increase.
Temporary
Worker Card
President
Bush urges illegal workers to come out from “shadow”
and to register for the temporary worker program by paying one-time
fee. Foreign nationals who want to participate in this new program
can apply from abroad, presumably no fees may be charged. When
approved, a “Temporary Worker Card” is issued and
the foreign nationals can travel back and forth between their
home and the U.S.
Incentives
to return to home countries
Under
the proposal, incentives to go home are emphasized. “Temporary
Workers Credit” for the time they have worked in America
will be offered so they don’t have disadvantage for enrolling
in retirement program and other benefits in their home countries
when they return.
Questions
remain…
This
is a proposal and no concrete rules and regulations are proposed.
President Bush’s proposal already triggered and may continue
to fuel debates among both sides of interests and several questions
remain until the blue print comes out.
•
How to establish that there are no U.S. workers for the job offered;
what will be required to employers as recruitment efforts since
there is no specific examples for other nonimmigrant visa for
alien workers such as in H-1B or L-1 visa categories?
•
What should an appropriate process for those previously out-of-status
workers with the regularized status be, to obtain Permanent Legal
Residence status, given the fact that: there is already an enormous
backlog for Labor Certification process since the deadline of
the 254 (i) program; and Labor Certification Application for unskilled
workers currently take years of processing times?
•
Will 3-year and 10-year bars be eliminated as long as participants
have a legitimate job offer and pay fees for the program?
•
How to secure fund to make this program work smoothly without
delaying other nonimmigrant and immigrant visa processing.
Once
this proposal become a legislation, hard working foreign workers
who are currently out of status may see a light and more foreign
workers can come to fill jobs unwanted by U.S. workers without
risking their lives or abused by smugglers. However, it is early
to determine this will serve as a good law to repair current immigration
situation in the U.S.
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