When I first came to visit him at his place, I found him living with his father and brother in a usual relatively small, soviet-style apartment. His room was full of books that he studied for his classes and for himself, mostly about programming and computers. There were two computers in the corner and a big, covering the whole wall of the room American flag.- Where did you get it? - I asked jealously.
- My father’s friends immigrated to the United States right after the Perestroyka. They brought it when they once came to visit us, because they knew how precious this present would be for me. It's good to have a real-size symbol of freedom and opportunity in your room. It makes you feel hopeful even if there is no hope to see around me in my own country.
- I was going to go to the US for the vacation, he suddenly interrupted one of our usual conversations about politics in Russia.
- Oh, great! You will have a visa and will be able to visit me in New York easily soon! I burst.
- I didn’t get the visa. They said I wasn’t able to prove close connections with my country… I am a student, not married, no children – no hostage to leave in Russia. They probably also didn’t like that I was going to visit my father’s friends – those who gave me the flag, remember? I thought it was not going to be a problem since one of them was a university professor… But the man at the window at the embassy seemed very annoyed and probably had his own thoughts about it. He didn’t share them with me though.
When I myself first applied for a tourist visa to go to the US, I shivered. I talked to people who were accepted and who were rejected, and there was no way to understand the logic. Should I seem intelligent, confident, and fluent in English? - They might think that I am smart enough to immigrate. Should I be shy and speak Russian to them? - They would think that I am maybe hiding something. It was a riddle without a chance to find a right answer. So I went to the embassy gambling and apparently backed the right horse. Apparently, Alexey backed a wrong one. Stuff happens.
Before I came to the US I believed that even if its immigration system seemed strange, it had some of its own logic. America was a desirable place to live for millions of people and of course not all of them should be allowed in. That, I thought, justifies having a complicated system that would allow America to choose the best people for itself. With this I explained the somehow humiliating note posted at the American embassy’s web page saying that the consular officer is obliged by the law to “presume that all applicants for a non-immigrant visa do, in fact, intend to immigrate.” I calmed myself down by these thoughts when a woman working at the embassy in Moscow who was deciding whether to give me the visa or not, talked to me as if I was a hooker. I repeated it to myself when I found out at the airport in New York that the officer at the passport control counter had the right to decide how long I was allowed to stay in the US regardless of my own plans and my return ticket date… I took it easy when I was told that the visa I have as a student right now requires me to go back to my homecountry as soon as my study is over.
So, I was surprised when after my first month of living here as a student I realized that it was not quite what was happening. And that while I and Alexey were patiently going through different unpleasant procedures just to visit the country that we admired, millions of people not only didn’t care to keep with its law that we thought was the very sense of American democracy, but also were supported in this by American government… I can’t be indifferent to what is going on. I can’t just accept that all my and my friends’ sufferings went in vain in the country that has long served for us as an ideal of fairness and democracy. Therefore, I would like to present here my own views on the problem.
Last month Obama Administration announced that it is preparing a new immigration legislation. Obama promised to announce his policy in May but it is already clear that the main question the legislation is going to address would be that of millions of illegal immigrants. And the solution that supposedly is going to be offered is their unconditional legalization.
Most experts say that taking into account how strong was Obama’s support by Latino voters, this has always been the most likely decision for Obama. As NYT notes, Obama has already showed his favor of this idea at a town meeting in Costa Mesa, California where on March 18 he said that, immigrants who are long-time residents but lack legal status “have to have some mechanism over time to get out of the shadows.”
The hottest discussion started around this announcement, but surprisingly enough the major thing that is discussed is the quantity of immigrants who were about to enter American market, but not their quality and the general effect of the fact that millions of people who broke the law will be given amnesty. Here is a paragraph from the New York Times article to demonstrate its blindness:
There are two main characteristics of immigrants that should be taken into account when dealing with this question:
Mixing all the categories of immigrants together and approaching them all from one position of immigration’s opponent or of immigration’s supporter (no matter what the motives and explanations of such positions are) would, to my opinion, be unproductive. It is as if a company would consider whether or not it should hire any workers instead of considering what workers and with what skills it should hire.
But prior to turning to all these categories to distinguish what privileges or hindrances they should have on their way to American dream, Americans should ask themselves what their priorities are in the question of immigration (or probably in any other question of international politics). I suppose following list to be exhaustive:
Skilled legal yet-to-be-immigrants
The main concern that exists regarding skilled immigrants is that there would be too much of them and it would devaluate skilled jobs and take job positions from native Americans. These approach seems to me pusillanimous and somehow non-American. This approach means to avoid a single problem in the present at the cost of many future problems.
If America should let any immigrant in at all (I myself don’t think there is such a question), it should for sure let in skilled immigrants who would not just compete with other Americans for jobs and by that would raise the overall level of skills of workers in the country (consider this next time you have an appointment with your doctor: how many people with what level of skills did he compete to open his practice?) but also would create new jobs by starting new businesses. The study showed that immigrants are more likely to start new businesses than native Americans.
But starting a business will of course take time, one might say. What if all these immigrants come to America tomorrow and take my job?
Well, I guess, in these global economy, when state borders' importance diminishes, where if not immigrants come to take your job at home, your job might go abroad, as it happens to all those call-centers where you usually call if your computer breaks down and if you need some assistance on how to open a bank account that now went to India (Thomas L. Friedman is talking about it in his book The World Is Flat), everybody should be ready to compete globally. And I would say instead of trying to turn the river of the world's development backwards, one should get prepared to compete in the new world by working more and better. Or there always will be an option of moving to another, less competitive country.
Thus, by considering whether or not to allow skilled immigrants in, the first priority will definitely be satisfied: skilled immigrants will make America a better place to live for today’s Americans and for themselves.
It will also support American ideals since the system that would grant the precious gift – American citizenship – to hardworking and talented people will be fair. It will treat people equally and will acknowledge the right of everyone to freely come to the US if he or she deserves it.
Moreover, it is going to play a significantly positive role for non-Americans who if having a goal to live in the US, would orient themselves on achieving success in their study and work and would know that this success would be fairly repaid.
Skilled illegal immigrants
Although I put this type of immigrant into a separate category, I don’t really believe that this type exists on any considerable scale. It might be represented by just a few separate and individual cases. For example, if you look at Pew Hispanic Center research for this year you will find a chart depicting main occupations illegal immigrants have in the US. None of them belongs to the category of high-skilled jobs.
This is by itself a very important fact. That despite draconian policy toward skilled immigration in the United States, there is no significant illegal immigration of this category. People with higher education are less inclined to break the law. I think this is exactly the type of people you guys want here, right?
Here is an interesting story told by an H-1B visa immigrant from Russia who talks about his experience of getting American visa. Reading it, one would wonder how it is possible that people come to the US legally at all…
Taking this into account, I believe that giving amnesty to those few who happened to get in the situation of being illegally in the country where his skills are valuable, even if partly contradicts the second principle of fairness, still can be considered as reasonable solution, but only as a matter of exception, not as a rule.
Unskilled legal yet-t0-be-immigrants
Not every country can afford to be selective in its attitude toward immigrants. For example, if Russia today announces that it will accept only those immigrants who have at least a college degree, tomorrow its immigration officers in embassies around the world would have no work to do. Russia has nothing to offer not only to skilled immigrants but to its own skilled citizens who are eager to leave it for better life in America or Europe.
There is no doubt that America is an absolutely different case and is not only one of the countries who can select its immigrants, but the first of them. And in its attitude toward unskilled immigrants it should take into account that, as was mentioned above, unskilled immigrants take jobs, skilled immigrants create them.
As Wall Street Journal reports, according to National Foundation for American Policy study,
“Among S&P 500 firms, 'the data show that for every H-1B position requested, U.S. technology companies increased employment by 5 workers...' And 'for technology firms with fewer than 5,000 employees, each H-1B position requested in labor condition applications was associated with an increase of employment of 7.5 workers.' Far from stealing jobs from Americans, skilled immigrants expand the economic pie.”
But unskilled legal yet-to-be-immigrants hardly present any significant problem today. If there are any unskilled immigrants who enter the United States today, they don’t apply for a work visa or a work-based green card, but come to the US as family members or similar.
The most restless problem today is the one that became the main issue of Obama’s about to come policy, the problem of illegal and unskilled immigrants.
Unskilled illegal immigrants
It seems difficult to find any plausible reason why America should want to accept immigrants of this category. Yet, it seems like in today’s public discussion there are more and more people who support this idea. Some because they say that (1) it is inhumane to reject all those people who have already lived in the country for some time and have friends and families that they would need to leave if deported, and that they have the same rights to strive to a better life and it doesn’t really matter how they fulfill this aspiration. Others argue that (2) these immigrants play a significant role in American economy by doing all the work that Americans don’t want to do. Moreover, some say, (3) there is no real way to solve the problem other way than just legalizing these people because it is physically impossible to control the border.
All of those explanations seem however corrupt.
1. It is inhumane… to break the law and to be encouraged in it
Imagine coming home from a long vacation and finding unknown people living in one of the rooms of your house. They broke in while you were away because they found their own house not quite as comfortable as yours. Will you ask them to stay? Will it be inhumane to ask them to leave? I can imagine that you for some reason might feel compassionate with these people and in this case would probably not call the police… But I can’t believe that anybody would agree with letting them stay in the house (even if you are the owner of a huge hotel), just because a crime is humiliating and should not be encouraged in any way, and because you would hardly feel comfortable living next to such roommate. As wouldn’t feel comfortable those of your guests who call in advance to just come to visit.
I found it interesting to find on the New York Times web page a comment by a legal Russian immigrant who was writing about his feeling about the presumable legalization of illegal immigrants.
2. By solving one economic problem you create many others
As I said before, not all countries can choose what immigrants to accept, and US is one of them. By legalizing all illegal immigrants just because somebody should do the job they can do, America looks like a very rich and prestigious company that can afford hiring best employees, select the best from numerous candidates who want to work in it. But instead it just hires everybody who has entered its headquarters building.
America can afford to accept people who are best suited for any given job in the amount that it needs them and in order to maintain competitiveness of its economy as high-technology oriented. To give citizenship to illegal immigrants just because they are already inside the country would be a discouraging gesture towards those immigrants who do their best today in their home countries in order to qualify for America’s requirements. It will also discourage America’s own people to improve their own skills. What can be worse for American economy?
3. No solution is not a solution
By legalizing illegal immigrants the United States doesn’t solve the problem that caused it, but just trying to deal with its consequences. Legalization will not prevent new waves of illegal immigration; only new effective system of control over the boarders will. Instead, legalization can worsen the problem since it gives future illegal immigrants more incentives to break the law.
Moreover, such an amnesty will kill any hope to assimilate all those people who can’t even speak English right now. Being given citizenship without having to fulfill any requirements, immigrants will find it very difficult consequently to adjust.
Having all this in mind one could wonder, what is the best way to deal with the existing situation if not by legalizing illegal immigrants?
Well, I don’t know. But as a potential immigrant I can say that I would like to have clear understanding what makes me or doesn’t make me eligible for becoming American citizen.
An idea that looks to me very appealing and reasonable I found again on the New York Times web page and again not in the article of some established journalist by in the readers comments section:
A reform like this, I think, would successfully address all the problems described above. And hopefully by the time Alexey finally decide to try his fate by applying to work or study visa in the US, it will be a fair and enjoyable competition among the best and not a gambling akin Russian roulette.
- My father’s friends immigrated to the United States right after the Perestroyka. They brought it when they once came to visit us, because they knew how precious this present would be for me. It's good to have a real-size symbol of freedom and opportunity in your room. It makes you feel hopeful even if there is no hope to see around me in my own country.
I have never heard him talking about immigration. He was almost desperately engaged in political activity trying to bring his own country closer to his ideals – those symbolized by the flag in his room. But he was very upset when I saw him last time before I left Russia to go to the US to study. I met him to give him my English textbook that he agreed to accept after I long convinced him that he should consider going abroad to work or study where he could better fulfill his talents.
- I was going to go to the US for the vacation, he suddenly interrupted one of our usual conversations about politics in Russia.
- Oh, great! You will have a visa and will be able to visit me in New York easily soon! I burst.
- I didn’t get the visa. They said I wasn’t able to prove close connections with my country… I am a student, not married, no children – no hostage to leave in Russia. They probably also didn’t like that I was going to visit my father’s friends – those who gave me the flag, remember? I thought it was not going to be a problem since one of them was a university professor… But the man at the window at the embassy seemed very annoyed and probably had his own thoughts about it. He didn’t share them with me though.
When I myself first applied for a tourist visa to go to the US, I shivered. I talked to people who were accepted and who were rejected, and there was no way to understand the logic. Should I seem intelligent, confident, and fluent in English? - They might think that I am smart enough to immigrate. Should I be shy and speak Russian to them? - They would think that I am maybe hiding something. It was a riddle without a chance to find a right answer. So I went to the embassy gambling and apparently backed the right horse. Apparently, Alexey backed a wrong one. Stuff happens.
Before I came to the US I believed that even if its immigration system seemed strange, it had some of its own logic. America was a desirable place to live for millions of people and of course not all of them should be allowed in. That, I thought, justifies having a complicated system that would allow America to choose the best people for itself. With this I explained the somehow humiliating note posted at the American embassy’s web page saying that the consular officer is obliged by the law to “presume that all applicants for a non-immigrant visa do, in fact, intend to immigrate.” I calmed myself down by these thoughts when a woman working at the embassy in Moscow who was deciding whether to give me the visa or not, talked to me as if I was a hooker. I repeated it to myself when I found out at the airport in New York that the officer at the passport control counter had the right to decide how long I was allowed to stay in the US regardless of my own plans and my return ticket date… I took it easy when I was told that the visa I have as a student right now requires me to go back to my homecountry as soon as my study is over.
So, I was surprised when after my first month of living here as a student I realized that it was not quite what was happening. And that while I and Alexey were patiently going through different unpleasant procedures just to visit the country that we admired, millions of people not only didn’t care to keep with its law that we thought was the very sense of American democracy, but also were supported in this by American government… I can’t be indifferent to what is going on. I can’t just accept that all my and my friends’ sufferings went in vain in the country that has long served for us as an ideal of fairness and democracy. Therefore, I would like to present here my own views on the problem.
Last month Obama Administration announced that it is preparing a new immigration legislation. Obama promised to announce his policy in May but it is already clear that the main question the legislation is going to address would be that of millions of illegal immigrants. And the solution that supposedly is going to be offered is their unconditional legalization.
Most experts say that taking into account how strong was Obama’s support by Latino voters, this has always been the most likely decision for Obama. As NYT notes, Obama has already showed his favor of this idea at a town meeting in Costa Mesa, California where on March 18 he said that, immigrants who are long-time residents but lack legal status “have to have some mechanism over time to get out of the shadows.”
The hottest discussion started around this announcement, but surprisingly enough the major thing that is discussed is the quantity of immigrants who were about to enter American market, but not their quality and the general effect of the fact that millions of people who broke the law will be given amnesty. Here is a paragraph from the New York Times article to demonstrate its blindness:
The White House is calculating that public support for fixing the immigration system, which is widely acknowledged to be broken, will outweigh opposition from voters who argue that immigrants take jobs from Americans. A groundswell among voters opposed to legal status for illegal immigrants led to the defeat in 2007 of a bipartisan immigration bill that was strongly supported by President George W. Bush.
Administration officials said that Mr. Obama’s plan would not add new workers to the American work force, but that it would recognize millions of illegal immigrants who have already been working here. Despite the deep recession, there is no evidence of any wholesale exodus of illegal immigrant workers, independent studies of census data show.
Opponents of legalization legislation were incredulous at the idea that Mr. Obama would take on immigration when economic pain for Americans is so widespread.The debate ignores one important issue that seems to me crucial in the question of American immigration policy.
There are two main characteristics of immigrants that should be taken into account when dealing with this question:
- Skilled immigrants/non-skilled immigrantsEach of these categories of immigrants (skilled legal yet-to-be-immigrant, skilled illegal immigrant, non-skilled illegal immigrant, or non-skilled legal yet-t0-be-immigrant) should be clearly distinguished and should have different privileges in getting a work permit or American citizenship.
- Legal yet-to-be-immigrants/illegal immigrants
Mixing all the categories of immigrants together and approaching them all from one position of immigration’s opponent or of immigration’s supporter (no matter what the motives and explanations of such positions are) would, to my opinion, be unproductive. It is as if a company would consider whether or not it should hire any workers instead of considering what workers and with what skills it should hire.But prior to turning to all these categories to distinguish what privileges or hindrances they should have on their way to American dream, Americans should ask themselves what their priorities are in the question of immigration (or probably in any other question of international politics). I suppose following list to be exhaustive:
- What is best for America and its economy and financial situation of people who are already American citizens
- What is best for the support of American ideals of fairness, freedom, and equal opportunities (American dream) and therefore American image abroad
- What is best for those who are non-Americans (even if they already live on the US territory)
Skilled legal yet-to-be-immigrants
The main concern that exists regarding skilled immigrants is that there would be too much of them and it would devaluate skilled jobs and take job positions from native Americans. These approach seems to me pusillanimous and somehow non-American. This approach means to avoid a single problem in the present at the cost of many future problems.
If America should let any immigrant in at all (I myself don’t think there is such a question), it should for sure let in skilled immigrants who would not just compete with other Americans for jobs and by that would raise the overall level of skills of workers in the country (consider this next time you have an appointment with your doctor: how many people with what level of skills did he compete to open his practice?) but also would create new jobs by starting new businesses. The study showed that immigrants are more likely to start new businesses than native Americans.
But starting a business will of course take time, one might say. What if all these immigrants come to America tomorrow and take my job?
Well, I guess, in these global economy, when state borders' importance diminishes, where if not immigrants come to take your job at home, your job might go abroad, as it happens to all those call-centers where you usually call if your computer breaks down and if you need some assistance on how to open a bank account that now went to India (Thomas L. Friedman is talking about it in his book The World Is Flat), everybody should be ready to compete globally. And I would say instead of trying to turn the river of the world's development backwards, one should get prepared to compete in the new world by working more and better. Or there always will be an option of moving to another, less competitive country.
Thus, by considering whether or not to allow skilled immigrants in, the first priority will definitely be satisfied: skilled immigrants will make America a better place to live for today’s Americans and for themselves.
It will also support American ideals since the system that would grant the precious gift – American citizenship – to hardworking and talented people will be fair. It will treat people equally and will acknowledge the right of everyone to freely come to the US if he or she deserves it.
Moreover, it is going to play a significantly positive role for non-Americans who if having a goal to live in the US, would orient themselves on achieving success in their study and work and would know that this success would be fairly repaid.
Skilled illegal immigrants
Although I put this type of immigrant into a separate category, I don’t really believe that this type exists on any considerable scale. It might be represented by just a few separate and individual cases. For example, if you look at Pew Hispanic Center research for this year you will find a chart depicting main occupations illegal immigrants have in the US. None of them belongs to the category of high-skilled jobs.
This is by itself a very important fact. That despite draconian policy toward skilled immigration in the United States, there is no significant illegal immigration of this category. People with higher education are less inclined to break the law. I think this is exactly the type of people you guys want here, right?
Here is an interesting story told by an H-1B visa immigrant from Russia who talks about his experience of getting American visa. Reading it, one would wonder how it is possible that people come to the US legally at all…Taking this into account, I believe that giving amnesty to those few who happened to get in the situation of being illegally in the country where his skills are valuable, even if partly contradicts the second principle of fairness, still can be considered as reasonable solution, but only as a matter of exception, not as a rule.
Unskilled legal yet-t0-be-immigrants
Not every country can afford to be selective in its attitude toward immigrants. For example, if Russia today announces that it will accept only those immigrants who have at least a college degree, tomorrow its immigration officers in embassies around the world would have no work to do. Russia has nothing to offer not only to skilled immigrants but to its own skilled citizens who are eager to leave it for better life in America or Europe.
There is no doubt that America is an absolutely different case and is not only one of the countries who can select its immigrants, but the first of them. And in its attitude toward unskilled immigrants it should take into account that, as was mentioned above, unskilled immigrants take jobs, skilled immigrants create them.As Wall Street Journal reports, according to National Foundation for American Policy study,
“Among S&P 500 firms, 'the data show that for every H-1B position requested, U.S. technology companies increased employment by 5 workers...' And 'for technology firms with fewer than 5,000 employees, each H-1B position requested in labor condition applications was associated with an increase of employment of 7.5 workers.' Far from stealing jobs from Americans, skilled immigrants expand the economic pie.”
But unskilled legal yet-to-be-immigrants hardly present any significant problem today. If there are any unskilled immigrants who enter the United States today, they don’t apply for a work visa or a work-based green card, but come to the US as family members or similar.
The most restless problem today is the one that became the main issue of Obama’s about to come policy, the problem of illegal and unskilled immigrants.
Unskilled illegal immigrants
It seems difficult to find any plausible reason why America should want to accept immigrants of this category. Yet, it seems like in today’s public discussion there are more and more people who support this idea. Some because they say that (1) it is inhumane to reject all those people who have already lived in the country for some time and have friends and families that they would need to leave if deported, and that they have the same rights to strive to a better life and it doesn’t really matter how they fulfill this aspiration. Others argue that (2) these immigrants play a significant role in American economy by doing all the work that Americans don’t want to do. Moreover, some say, (3) there is no real way to solve the problem other way than just legalizing these people because it is physically impossible to control the border.
All of those explanations seem however corrupt.
1. It is inhumane… to break the law and to be encouraged in it
Imagine coming home from a long vacation and finding unknown people living in one of the rooms of your house. They broke in while you were away because they found their own house not quite as comfortable as yours. Will you ask them to stay? Will it be inhumane to ask them to leave? I can imagine that you for some reason might feel compassionate with these people and in this case would probably not call the police… But I can’t believe that anybody would agree with letting them stay in the house (even if you are the owner of a huge hotel), just because a crime is humiliating and should not be encouraged in any way, and because you would hardly feel comfortable living next to such roommate. As wouldn’t feel comfortable those of your guests who call in advance to just come to visit.
I found it interesting to find on the New York Times web page a comment by a legal Russian immigrant who was writing about his feeling about the presumable legalization of illegal immigrants.
I still remember the time, more than 10 years ago, when my family and I moved to the United States from Russia. All the trials and tribulations we, and especially my parents, had to go through to secure our status!The procedures of deportation that the US practice today might really be inhumane and should be also addressed by immigration reform (you know what I mean if you watched a movie Visitor), but how humane is it in relation to those legal immigrants and immigrants-to-be?
Yet according to our current president, who I actually voted for last fall and whom I still deeply admire, you don't really have to abide by the established rules. The proposed legalization of 12 million (!!) illegal immigrants is not just a political move to placate Latino voters, but also a slap in the face of my parents and other legal immigrants who had to endure enormous legal and financial burdens on the path to American citizenship.
Legalizing illegal immigrants will not only overburden the already struggling healthcare and education systems, but also encourage more illegal immigration despite our best efforts to protect the country's borders. I deeply sympathize with the pain and suffering of illegal immigrants, some of whom are truly desperate for a better life, but breaking the law should not be the first step in achieving the American dream. Thank you.
2. By solving one economic problem you create many others
As I said before, not all countries can choose what immigrants to accept, and US is one of them. By legalizing all illegal immigrants just because somebody should do the job they can do, America looks like a very rich and prestigious company that can afford hiring best employees, select the best from numerous candidates who want to work in it. But instead it just hires everybody who has entered its headquarters building.
America can afford to accept people who are best suited for any given job in the amount that it needs them and in order to maintain competitiveness of its economy as high-technology oriented. To give citizenship to illegal immigrants just because they are already inside the country would be a discouraging gesture towards those immigrants who do their best today in their home countries in order to qualify for America’s requirements. It will also discourage America’s own people to improve their own skills. What can be worse for American economy?
3. No solution is not a solution
By legalizing illegal immigrants the United States doesn’t solve the problem that caused it, but just trying to deal with its consequences. Legalization will not prevent new waves of illegal immigration; only new effective system of control over the boarders will. Instead, legalization can worsen the problem since it gives future illegal immigrants more incentives to break the law.
Moreover, such an amnesty will kill any hope to assimilate all those people who can’t even speak English right now. Being given citizenship without having to fulfill any requirements, immigrants will find it very difficult consequently to adjust.
Having all this in mind one could wonder, what is the best way to deal with the existing situation if not by legalizing illegal immigrants?
Well, I don’t know. But as a potential immigrant I can say that I would like to have clear understanding what makes me or doesn’t make me eligible for becoming American citizen.An idea that looks to me very appealing and reasonable I found again on the New York Times web page and again not in the article of some established journalist by in the readers comments section:
So what do we do? Here's a plan that makes sure 12 million workers don't vanish from the economy, and also provides a path for illegal aliens to become legal, but ONLY if they can compete against other would-be immigrants:
-Reform legal immigration by putting in place a points-based system that grants work/residency visas and green cards based on objectively quantified skills, with a high overall limit (say, 2 million per year -- much higher than currently) but no quotas per country;
-Have a two-year plan to grant 12 million visas/green cards to the most qualified applicants from all over the world -- the Oklahoma Land Rush of visas
-Let anyone from anywhere apply for one of these visas, including current illegal aliens
-To those who win visas/green cards, Congrats!
-To any illegal aliens who do not stack up, you have 2 years as a guest worker before you must leave. This will give you time to make preparations, save money, and decide what to do with your family
-Going ahead, tighten visa restrictions on our southern neighbors as we do with any other country today, enforce the border more strongly, and do not give citizenship to children born to illegal aliens
This way, illegal aliens get a CHANCE but not a guarantee to legalize their status. If they can't compete, they have 2 years to make preparations and earn money before going home. It's humane and realistic and more of an amnesty than I'd get if I tried to live and work in Mexico illegally.
A reform like this, I think, would successfully address all the problems described above. And hopefully by the time Alexey finally decide to try his fate by applying to work or study visa in the US, it will be a fair and enjoyable competition among the best and not a gambling akin Russian roulette.
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