Flossi & Buck at the Southern Border

The United States has immigration quotas as part of its broader immigration system. These quotas primarily apply to permanent immigration, which allows people to become lawful permanent residents (green card holders). The quotas are based on various categories, including family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, and diversity visas. Here’s a breakdown of how these quotas work:

 1. Family-Based Immigration

   - Family-based immigration allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor certain relatives for green cards. There are numerical limits for most family-sponsored immigrants, except for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21), who are not subject to quotas.

   - The U.S. sets annual limits based on the family preference categories for other family categories (such as adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens). For instance, approximately 226,000 visas are allocated for family-preference immigrants each year.

 2. Employment-Based Immigration

   - The U.S. sets an annual quota for employment-based green cards, which is 140,000 annually. These visas are divided into several categories based on the applicant's type of employment, skills, and qualifications. For example, EB-1 visas are for individuals with extraordinary abilities, while EB-2 and EB-3 visas are for professionals with advanced degrees or workers in specialised fields.

   - These categories are subject to per-country limits, meaning only some countries can receive up to 7% of the total green cards issued each year in these categories.

 3. Diversity Visa Lottery

   - The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program allocates 55,000 visas annually to individuals from countries with historically low immigration levels to the U.S. Applicants are selected through a lottery system, and winners are allowed to apply for green cards.

 4. Refugee and Asylum Programs

   - The U.S. has a separate system for refugees and asylum seekers, and the president sets an annual cap for the number of refugees allowed into the country. For instance, the refugee admissions ceiling for Fiscal Year 2023 was set at 125,000. Asylum seekers who apply for protection from within the U.S. or at the border are not subject to numerical limits.

 5. Per-Country Limits

   - The U.S. imposes per-country caps on how many green cards can be issued yearly to individuals from any country. These limits apply to family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants, and up to 7% of the total green cards can be allocated to any country.

 6. Annual Caps and Backlogs

   - The quotas result in long backlogs for applicants from countries with high demand, such as Mexico, India, China, and the Philippines. Applicants from these countries often face years or even decades of waiting due to the combination of annual limits and per-country caps.