The today's announcement is just a hint of principles thrown out for public consumption. There is no specific bill proposal or specific backing of any of the currently introduced bills. Looks like the White House is trying to guide the immigration policy formulation, but still leaves the ball in the court of the Congress.
At the same time the highlights of the suggested immigration policy overhaul are really bold and radical especially when taking into account the number of people, who would be benefiting from this type of amnesty.
Impelmenting a new temporary worker legislation along the proposed principles would bring USCIS to its knees (even the White House aids hinted to the media that without an increase in the green card number cap the AOS cycle will be 10-15 years).
Two and a half years later, USCIS is still trying to recover from the impact of the LIFE act, which benefited around 700 000 people. Even if only half of the eligible illegal workers decide to come forward (5 million), USCIS will be dead in the water.
Most likely the Congress will pass legislation for temporary working visas very soon.
The key is how would they handle the possibility of applying for AOS. Is it going to be immediately after getting the legal temporary working status or only after the first three years. Are the temporary workers going to need to go through Labor Certification, I140 etc. or are they going to be allowed to do Family Based AOS (as most have relatives in the US)?
Whatever the answers to these questions one thing is clear - soon the number of new applications filed at USCIS will double. We are in for a long wait...
