Immigration 101

While updating our immigration system has been a slow process, over the last decade, there have been efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation and the DREAM Act. Other reform efforts include executive actions such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Learn more about the ways America can upgrade its immigration system.

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August 20, 2018

The average wait time on a U.S. citizenship application was about five months in 2014. Today, the average time a green card holder will wait for their citizenship application to be processed by U....

August 14, 2018

America’s generosity is reflected in our immigration system. Throughout our nation’s history (with some shameful exceptions), we have allowed individuals to come to the United States to reunite...

July 24, 2018

How long does it take to process an application for permanent residence in the United States, or a “green card?” You might be surprised by how difficult it is to find a reliable answer to this...

July 17, 2018

As thousands of asylum-seeking parents were separated from their children in recent months, the Trump administration actively portrayed them as law breakers who must be prosecuted and punished for...

July 3, 2018

Coinciding with the Fourth of July each year, naturalization ceremonies turn immigrants into new American citizens. This Independence Day, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will...

June 28, 2018

The Trump administration is quietly attempting to revamp the U.S. immigration system by circumventing Congress and changing the nation’s immigration policies through new federal regulations. The...

June 15, 2018

  The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winner of the 21st Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. This contest encourages educators to incorporate...

June 5, 2018

June is Immigrant Heritage Month, and given the shrill and often negative rhetoric we hear around immigration, it seems more important than ever to take time to appreciate our immigration history...

May 30, 2018

When it comes to U.S. refugee policy, the Trump administration is asking Congress to let the fox guard the hen house. The administration has nominated Ronald Mortensen to be assistant secretary of...

May 24, 2018

There is no doubt that criminal gangs operating in the United States adversely impact the lives of many people living in communities throughout the country. However, in a nefarious act, President...

September 13, 2019

The Trump administration is considering decreasing the maximum number of refugees accepted into the United States to 10,000 and as possibly low as zero, administration officials confirmed last...

September 5, 2019

The U.S. economy is changing—and immigration can play a major role in how it looks in the future. But how immigration shapes the future of the U.S. economy and its workforce is dependent on a...

September 3, 2019

Iraqi interpreters who risked their lives to work with the American military have been effectively shut out from obtaining the special U.S. visa they were promised. The Trump administration issued...

August 23, 2019

Short-term thinking is inferior to long-term thinking, some argue, because it does a disservice to the future and those who will live it.  Two long-term thinkers who have profoundly impacted U.S....

August 13, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final version of its new “public charge” regulation on Monday morning. The rule would make it easier for the government to deny a green card...

August 7, 2019

El Paso, Texas suffered a horrific tragedy on Saturday when a gunman entered a local Walmart and opened fire. The gunman—who was emboldened by racist rhetoric to specifically target immigrants and...

August 5, 2019

The Trump administration announced on Friday that it is ending a family reunification program for Filipino World War II veterans. This places a needless burden on our country’s veterans, many of...

July 17, 2019

Despite losing at the Supreme Court, the Trump administration still managed to ask nearly a quarter of a million U.S. households about the citizenship status of their household members. That’s...

July 16, 2019
The statement highlights the Council’s concerns regarding systemic U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services delays in responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
July 11, 2019

Hosting foreign students is a vital way the United States builds better relations with other countries. Many foreign students go on to become government, business, and academic leaders in their...

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