Class-Based Immigration in the U.S.

Click here to take the test... USCIS Practice Test      The ability to pass this citizenship test is a deciding factor on whether or not an immigrant is able to enter the United States. The test contains a reading portion, writing portion, speaking portion, and a civics test that asks basic questions about American history and government. During the civics test, an immigration officer will ask 10 questions out of a list of 100 questions.  You must answer 6 correctly to pass.      I [Engle Sharp] took a practice civics test on the United States Customs and Immigration website and I scored a 90%. Me, being an American citizen, though it was easy because I grew up learning the basics of the constitution and government branches.  However, I know that America is unique in its layout of government and would take some studying for a foreigner. The types of questions are also very broad, containing questions on wars, revolutionary figures, government,...

Interview Questions to Immigrants of the United States How much money did it cost for you to immigrate to the United States? Did your job title have an effect on your ability to immigrate to the United States? If you were in a lower socioeconomic class, do you think you would have been able to immigrate to the United States? Do you believe the United States immigration system is class-based? Have you experienced financial problems that were caused by immigrating to the United States? What do you suggest would make the United States immigration system easier for lower-income families?

Dr. Surbhi Malik is an English professor at Creighton University. Her knowledgeable insight on the issue of class-based immigration is an essential resource to our advocacy campaign. These were her responses to our purposed questions. How much money did it cost for you to immigrate to the United States? ·        I do not have an exact number but the estimate would be in thousands of dollars, especially for a family. All the different stages—ranging from visa applications to applications for green card and citizenship and multiple rounds of fingerprinting—require fees. The expenses surely add up. Did your job title have an effect on your ability to immigrate to the United States?  ·        I did not have a job title, which meant that I came here on a dependent visa or H-4. The first thing you begin to understand is that there is an entire visa regime. The two units strung together—the letter of the alphabet a...

Lucy is an immigrant from France. Dar was already a U.S citizen and they married. They lived in France for 5 years before moving to the United States with their son Arya. Their answers to the interview question are posted below. The personal insight is very eye-opening to the class-based immigration system in the United States. How much money did it cost for you to immigrate to the United States? • It cost us years of our life having to reconstruct from the ground up. Monetary wise-three one-way tickets and living expenses. But, nothing too extreme. Did your job title have an effect on your ability to immigrate to the United States?  • No If you were in a lower socioeconomic class, do you think you would have been able to immigrate to the United States? •No Do you believe the United States immigration system is class-based? •Yes. To add, there are now more resources to properly raise a child in the new system that teaches parents how to integrate their child i...

     As of April 10th, the RAISE Act has been reintroduced by its authors, Tom Cotton, David Perdue, and Josh Hawley. The RAISE Act aims to flaw the immigration system even more by reducing legal immigration to the United States permanently. To achieve this they want to instill a merit-based system into the immigrant selection processes to better benefit the U.S. and its economy. Our team from Creighton University believes merit-based immigration supporters are failing to see this issue in the most simple humanistic way possible. In order to promote equality and refrain from a greedy mentality we must stop asking these immigrants what can they do for us, but what can we do for them?

    My name is Katie, I am currently a student at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. I've had the privilege of living a comfortable, middle-class life in the United States. My parents provided me with many opportunities to be successful in school and in a future career. During my high school career, I volunteered frequently at the Heartland Mission Omaha. This was where my inspiration to fight for immigration advocacy began to flourish.      I had the privilege of meeting current immigrants while volunteering at the mission. Their personal stories shook me to my core. It was here that I discovered the effects of class-based immigration. Many people worked in low-income jobs for more than 15 hours a day to provide for their children. I learned that in order for an immigrant to legally come to the United States they must have thousands of dollars to meet the regulations. The only way for many of them to immigrate to the United States was to go around the sy...