Pro
“Why don’t people wait to immigrate legally to the United States? The answer is that many people do come here legally but processing delays and the family and employment-based immigration quotas legislated by Congress result in significant wait times – and much frustration – for potential immigrants and U.S. employers…. Many Americans do not realize the significant waiting times foreign visitors and business travelers experience to obtain a visa to enter the United States…
Those who ‘play by the rules’ are likely to wait many years to become a lawful permanent resident, whether they are sponsored by an employer or a family member. Waits for green cards (permanent residence) in the Skilled Workers and Professionals category have worsened considerably in the past few years, with the current wait for a newly sponsored high skill immigrant in this category exceeding 5 years…
Siblings of U.S. citizens can expect to wait 11 to 12 years from today before immigrating to America (22 years from the Philippines). Unmarried adult children can anticipate waiting 6 years, but 13 years if from Mexico and 14 years from the Philippines. A spouse or minor child of a legal resident (green card holder) from Mexico has a 7 year wait (a 5 year wait from other countries).”
May 2006