News Flash: Citizenship for Essential Workers Act
President Biden is being urged to include the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act in his two-part infrastructure improvement plan. Specifically, Democrats are asking Biden to include this immigration legislation in the second part of his plan, called the American Families Plan, which focuses on education and childcare.
Pathway to Citizenship via LPR
If included and passed, the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for more than five million undocumented essentials workers with an immediate adjustment to legal permanent resident status.
It is important to note that the status is not granted automatically, and any undocumented essential workers wishing to apply for LPR will need to pass a background check and pay any necessary fees.
Who Is Eligible?
The list of categories of essential workers eligible for legal permanent resident (LPR) status is extensive, but includes such sectors as health care, agriculture, construction, emergency response, sanitation, food, childcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and others deemed essential by the Department of Homeland Security, or the state or local government.
Essential Workers Need Relief
Democratic lawmakers highlight the plight of undocumented essential workers which reinforces the well-deserved benefits the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act would offer to them:
“The upcoming legislative package on jobs and infrastructure is the best opportunity to recognize and reward the sacrifices and labor of essential workers. Essential workers also paid a terrible toll this past year. They are unable to work from home, often live in crowded conditions with their families, work in industries with unsafe conditions, and earn poverty level wages. Thus, the pandemic only worsened their living situations, compounding on the grim socio-economic and racial disparities in our country. A path to citizenship for essential workers is a critical part of building our economy back better.”
American Jobs Plan
Biden has already unveiled the American Job Plan, the first part of his two-part plan, which aims to help the nation recover from the coronavirus pandemic by providing $2 trillion for improvements in infrastructure and a shift to greener energy over the next eight years.
Not a Guaranteed Win
But it is not all smooth sailing for this legislation. There might be some pushback since, according to CNN, “Congressional Republicans have said they won’t negotiate on any legislation involving undocumented immigrants if it doesn’t also include stringent border security provisions and restrictions on asylum seekers to include in any such proposal.”
Still, this is a move in the right direction to provide undocumented immigrants who have sacrificed so much an option to make their home here in the U.S., the country they so bravely served during the pandemic.
If you are an immigrant looking for legal advice about your specific case, do not hesitate to reach out to our skilled and sympathetic Columbus immigration attorneys.
Shihab Burke, LLC, Attorneys At Law Can Help
If you are an immigrant with any questions or concerns regarding your immigration case, visas, green card applications, or any other legal matter, speak at once to an experienced Columbus immigration attorney. A good immigration lawyer can help you and your family with any immigration issue you face and defend you if you’re accused of violating immigration law.
Our immigration attorneys will review your forms and applications for thoroughness and accuracy. Immigration laws will continually change, but an experienced immigration attorney will always be able to give you the most up-to-date immigration advice you need.
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