Tharshana Prakash

Mr. Rogers
23 October 2015

Immigration Issues: Overstaying Visas

Immigration is one of biggest controversies that are keeping our world from moving
forward, into a prosperous and intellectual community. Many families are unable to support
their children and themselves and are left to wander on the streets asking for money. Their
only hope is to come to the United States. The United State has an unsteady way of regulating
the number of family and individuals who immigrate into the States and how many of them
overstay their visas. The Immigration Act and Reform Policy of 2015 will implement
different methods of keeping track of which immigrants are legal to stay in the United States
and which ones have to go back to their country of origin.
Currently there is no system to track individuals who come on student or working visas.
Many of those people overstay their visas. They are called illegal aliens. Illegal aliens make
up forty percent of our country. These people are also taking jobs away from the American
citizen actually living in the country. FAIR's estimate of the illegal alien population in 2010
is slightly higher than that of the Pew estimate, i.e., 11.9 million. FAIR's estimate of the
number of illegal aliens in the workforce using the share estimate of the Pew study is
similarly slightly higher, i.e., about 8.5 million jobs encumbered by illegal alien workers
(Federation for American Immigration Reform ). These meanings, at that time 31.39 percent
of people, who are over stayers, have taken jobs from American Citizens. This outbreak and
high number means that the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security
have not implemented a method that has worked to keep this number from being so high. To
fix this problem the Department of Homeland Security and State Department will screen
every non-citizen, asking them their purpose of their visit,who is sponsoring the applicant

,who is responsible for the immigrant during his/her stay in the USA. Also a valid address in
the USA. Many people have never given residence addresses for the State to find where they
are staying. If youve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who
are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check,
and youre willing to pay your fair share of taxes -- youll be able to apply to stay in this
country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get
right with the law (The White House President Barack Obama). President Obama speaks
this in trying to make sure our nation is stronger and safer for our coming generations.
Nobody is sure how many people are in the U.S. on expired visas. The most commonly cited

figures equate to some four million to five million people (The Wall Street Journal). This is
probably because there are not many methods to identify who is illegal and who is not. But,
many of these immigrants also try to have their kids in the United States so they cannot leave.
Pregnant Immigrants are a huge situation in America. Total births rose 5 percent in the
same period. Among the foreigners who have given birth here, including international
travelers passing through and foreign students studying at U.S. universities, are "birth
tourists," women who travel to the United States with the explicit purpose of obtaining
citizenship for their child (A New Baby Boom? Foreign 'Birth Tourists' Seek U.S. Citizenship
for Children). The amount of parents who make sure they come into America to give birth is
extreme. Birth tourism occurs when foreign women most of whom are Chinese, though
some are Taiwanese, Korean and Turkish pay companies to assist them with the visa
process so they can give birth to their child in the US (Homeland Security raids birth
tourism industry targeting visa fraud). The number of Asian parents who come into the
United States to give birth is extreme. The majority of Asians come into the United States to
give birth and make sure if they cannot stay that their child has some way of getting back to
the United States. More rich Chinese than ever are sending their families and money abroad.

One study of Chinese millionaires found that half had either emigrated or were thinking of
doing so (TIME). This shows that many people would do whatever it takes to make sure
some part of America is with them wherever they go. Many of them lie about how far along
they are in their pregnancy to make sure their child and they can stay in the United States.
With the Immigration Act and Reform Policy of 2015, if pregnant the pregnant woman would
need a doctors letter providing details of the pregnancy such as: length of pregnancy and any
medical complications associated with the pregnancy. If approved then the woman would be
allowed to go into the States but leave before her due date. But before the immigrants and
their families come into the United States they have to be electronically tracked.
Department of Homeland Security and The State of Department do not actually track and
tend those who overstay their visas. Normally if overstayed, you are breaking a federal law
and there have never been serious consequences given. Visa will be automatically voided,
and you won't be able to apply for a new visa at any consulate outside of your home country.
In some cases, you may be barred from returning to the U.S. for a number of years,
depending on how long you stayed and whether you fit into an exception or actually accrued
"unlawful presence," which is a separate definition under the law (AllLaw). This
consequence makes sure that those people who overstayed are not allowed back into the
United States for residence or any type of stay. But based on the stay and how long you
overstayed can vary your consequences. The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and
Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) created three year, ten year, and permanent bars on admission
to the U.S. for a variety of immigration status violations ( Family Immigration Expertise).
This basically shows that there are many methods of punishment for this wrongdoing but
many people are missing the illegal immigrants right in front of them. I believe the most
important step before punishing the immigrants is identifying them. With the Immigration
Act and Reform Policy of 2015 we will be able to monitor how many people come in and

from where. DHS will develop an electronic system to track all immigrants entering the
country. This will include the Port of entry duration of stay in the USA, address in the USA,
and the information of the person who is responsible for that immigrant. They will be making
sure that the people in the United States should be there and if not there will be consequence.
DHS will be authorized to tend and bring illegal immigrants to court and find who provides
housing for illegal immigrants, and who employs illegal immigrants and there will be
consequences for them also. illegal entry into the United States makes an alien subject to a
Federal criminal misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 6 months in prison (ProCon).
This is a serious offence that is not taken seriously in the government and in many states.
With the Immigration Act and Reform Policy of 2015 there will be different stricter methods
with less chances of controversy. But, if the Department of Homeland Security and the State
Department were a little more lenient there would be different issues.
If there were ways to make sure more people entered the United States, there would be
many different problems. A U.S. employer can sponsor certain skilled workers who will be
hired into permanent jobs (US Department of State). This could really help because the hired
worker could bring their family and be able to live in America with a permanent job and can
afford to feed their family. Bringing them in will really help them survive and thrive in the
world. Such an inscrutable body of law has several consequences. First, it has produced a
thoroughly unjust immigration system that primarily serves to harm immigrants and
Americans alike. It shuts out virtually all foreigners who want to come here legally. And it
effectively makes broad use of executive authority inevitable.(Cato Institute). This makes it
difficult for immigrants to get deported even if they are illegal. The Presidents actions and
thoughts are in favor of the immigrants. But in my opinion we should not be so nice. They
come into the country and make a living and take things away from the people who have
come here and have worked hard. It became clear to me that our countrys exceptional

nature comes from its openness, its dynamism, and a set of values that allows us to embrace a
rich diversity without tearing us asunder (Bush 8). These virtues are what set the Americans
apart from many other people. This is why it is very easy to get pass us in boarder, but there
should be other ways to make sure our country is secure and safe. The Immigration Act and
Reform Policy of 2015 will help us make the right decisions.
Overstaying Immigrants are taking over our world. We need methods to control and prevent
them from coming into our country and taking over what we have created. With the
Immigration Act and Reform Policy of 2015 we will be able to control the bigger issues we
have today to ensure a safe lifestyle in the future.

Works Cited
ABC News. ABC News Network, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
Bush, Jeb, and Clint Bolick. Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution. N.p.: n.p.,
n.d. Print.
"Consequences of Overstaying on a Temporary U.S. Visa - AllLaw.com." AllLaw.com. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Homeland Security Raids Birth Tourism Industry Targeting Visa Fraud." RT English. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"H.R.2484 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Stop Birth Tourism Act of 2015." H.R.2484. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"I Want an American Baby! Chinese Women Flock to the U.S. to Give Birth | TIME.com."
World I Want an American Baby Chinese Women Flock to the US to Give Birth Comments.
N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"The Immigrant Visa Process." The Immigrant Visa Process. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
N.p., n.d. Web.
"Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Immigration." The White House. The
White House, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Repeal and Replace the Immigration and Nationality Act." Cato Institute. N.p., 03 Dec.
2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
"Should Overstaying a Visa Be Considered a Federal Crime (vs. a Civil Offense)? - Illegal
Immigration Solutions - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.

I Want an American Baby! Chinese Women Flock to the U.S. to Give Birth
Time- worldtime.com N.P.,nd Web 02 November 2015