Immigration Reform in the United States: Using the U.K. as a Blueprint

President Obama has publicly stated that he will attempt comprehensive immigration reform by the end of the year. At this time, it is unknown as to what U.S. immigration law and policies will look like after immigration reform occurs. Perhaps, however, we need only look at our friends across the Atlantic to see what the future U.S. immigration system will look like.

Before delving into the new immigration system in the United Kingdom, let us first take a look at the current immigration system in the United States, focusing on those temporary visas that allow foreign individuals to work in the U.S. Currently, for a non-U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident to work in the United States, they must find an employer to sponsor them for a visa. Once they find this employer, the employer must pay all immigration costs and submit a visa application to the U.S. immigration department. The employer and employee must wait for the immigration department to approve the visa before the employee is allowed to start working for the company. Once the visa is approved, if the employee is fired prior to the expiration of their visa, they must immediately leave the country or apply for a new visa. The employment visa process is costly and timely for employers and employees.

To further complicate matters, many employers and employees in the U.S. often choose to disregard immigration laws and work illegally. Under President Bush, large immigration raids were commonplace where hundreds of employees would be arrested at work and later deported to their home countries.

In the past couple of years, the United Kingdom has drastically revamped its immigration system, especially when it comes to employment visas. Now, prior to being allowed to employ non-United Kingdom citizens or permanent residents, all companies desiring to do so must be licensed by the government. In order to be licensed, a company must allow the government to conduct an audit of the company’s employment practices. Therefore, companies cannot be employing people illegally or they will not pass the audit. Once companies pass the audit process, they are able to process employment visas internally rather than having to go through the immigration authorities. Companies are enjoying this new system because although the licensing process is timely and expensive, once it is done procuring employment visas for company employees is simple and inexpensive.
The United Kingdom employment visa process may be attractive to President Obama as a possible solution to the outdated U.S. employment visa system for a few reasons. First, companies can easily and efficiently move employees from a foreign office in a U.S. office after passing the licensure process. Next, the United Kingdom model decreases the amount of work that needs to be done by their immigration department. Currently, the U.S. immigration department is overworked and there is often a significant backlog of visa applications due to this. Finally, the United Kingdom model provides a great solution to the problem of people working illegally in the country. Companies employing people working illegally do not pass the licensure test. Therefore, President Obama will appeal to those who complain about the large numbers of people in the United States illegally.

As we wait for President Obama to outline his plans for immigration reform, many continue to speculate as to what the new U.S. system will resemble. Only time will tell if he chooses to copy the system that was recently put into action in the United Kingdom when it comes to employment visas.

Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC and is conversant in Mandarin Chinese. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3721 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a free consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.