Which immigrants would be more favored with Biden's immigration reform?

The Democratic immigration reform plan was presented this Thursday in Congress and thus President Joe Biden fulfilled his electoral promise to open the path to citizenship for more than 11 million undocumented immigrants and reform a system that for decades has drawn criticism but has not has been amended.

Senator Bob Menéndez, the highest-ranking Latino in the upper house, and Representative Linda Sánchez were in charge of presenting the project of the American Citizenship Act of 2021, which faces an uphill climb by having to secure at least 10 votes Republicans in favor in the Senate.

The proposal aims to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants who can prove their presence in the US before January 1, 2021 and have no criminal record.

These are ten key points about which, and how, immigrants would be favored if the plan is approved in Congress:

1 - Immigrants protected with the Deferred Action (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs would obtain permanent residence immediately and citizenship in three years.

Farmworkers who have worked in the fields for at least five years can also apply directly for permanent residency and three years later could become US citizens.

The rest of the undocumented immigrants who meet the requirements would obtain a five-year temporary permit, after which they could apply for permanent residence and naturalization three years later.

2- The plan allows access to permanent residence to some immigrants present with valid visas such as the H-2A, granted to farmers, or anyone who "has been involved in essential critical infrastructure services or labor," specifies the text .

3- The petition process for relatives of permanent residents would be accelerated, which would favor a large number of so-called mixed couples, made up of a “green card” holder and an undocumented person.

4- Eliminates the punishment of 3 and 10 years that prohibits immigrants from returning to the US for having lived irregularly in the country.

5- No person who meets the requirements to benefit from the plan can be deported while they are in the process.

6- The bill would allow anyone who applies to legalize to obtain a work permit while the government processes the application, which, given the number of petitioners, could take a long time.

7- Eliminates the one-year term for filing asylum applications, reduces delays in applications for this benefit, increases protection for petitioners of U, T and VAWA visas, which protect victims of domestic violence and witnesses of crimes, among others.

8- The plan expands the number of visas granted to relatives of US citizens, eliminating waits of years to legally enter the country.

9- The project restores a general exemption for some arguments that make an immigrant inadmissible to obtain a permanent residence, and places him in deportation proceedings.

10- The bill also creates a pilot program to stimulate regional economic development and encourages higher wages for highly-skilled non-immigrant visas to avoid unfair competition with American workers, one of the most constant criticisms of Republican legislators.

More than migration