Immigration reform is a stubborn perennial in the contemporary American political landscape. It is a subject of frequent and acrimonious discussion and it has prompted legislation, much of it far more punitive than helpful, at various levels of government. Political stalemate, moreover, has thwarted meaningful reform of the regulations that govern the lives of millions. Perhaps the best way, then, to address the issue now is to do so incrementally rather than on a broad scale. The Obama administration wisely is using that approach in at least one important instance.
Last week, the Citizen and Immigration Services published a notice in the Federal Register that it intends to implement a regulation that would allow certain undocumented immigrants to obtain a provisional waiver in the United States before they return to their home country to pick up the prized visa known as a green card.
The notice does not change current rules. It simply signals the intent to do so, and allows a period of public comment on a proposal that, if approved, provides a reasonable repair to an unfair quirk in the law.
Currently, the law says that illegal immigrants who are wed to or are children of U.S.. citizens can in most cases become legal residents with a green card. The law, however, also says that most illegal residents must return to their country of origin to obtain a visa, including a green card. In some cases, that's easier said than done.
The problem is that once the immigrants leave the United States, they by law can not return for three or more years even if they meet all requirements to become legal residents.
Given the possibility that the waiver would be difficult or impossible to obtain in their homeland, many illegal immigrants with spouses or children who are legal residents of the United States, understandably choose to remain here illegally rather than risk a long or permanent separation from loved ones. The proposed regulation positively addresses the problem.
It provides an avenue for illegal immigrants to obtain a provisional waiver in the United States before returning to their homeland to obtain visas. There's no absolute guarantee they will be able to return, but already having a waiver increases the likelihood they can do so. That's a major improvement over the current system.
The change in rules, if approved, could affect hundreds of thousands of people who have long-term, stable relationships here and who have made it clear that they happily would follow mandates to obtain legal residency -- if they were equitable. The new rule, coupled with plans to streamline the green-card process in some instances, meets that standard in a humane manner.
The proposed change can be implemented without Congressional approval. That's not the best approach to a problem that still involves millions of people, but it will have to do for now. There's no chance that Congress will address comprehensive immigration reform in an election year. Avoiding the issue, though, won't make it go away. It will only make it more difficult to resolve.