Legal ways to enter — and stay in — US
THE 2022 fiscal year set a record of 2.5 million people entering or attempting to enter the US — 2.2 million in illegal border crossings. Fifty thousand people legally processed at the US border with Mexico in December.
Reuters and other news organizations estimate that 300,000 people attempted to cross the border in the final month of 2023.
Combined, the 2.5 million who entered the US represents the highest number ever recorded, according to multiple news organizations.
Look back in time
From 1820 to 1829, the period that the immigration admission of lawful permanent residents in the US was published — there were only 128,502 individuals recorded as having been legally admitted. Of this number, 99,618 were from Europe — 51,617 from Ireland and 26,336 from the United Kingdom.
More than a hundred years before that, about 50,000 convicts from the UK were transported to the American colonies and 388,000 African slaves.
Under current immigration law, these slaves and criminals would have been considered nonimmigrants — not lawful permanent residents — especially since the Naturalization Act of 1790 granted citizenship only to white persons of good character and had resided in the US for two years and taken an oath of allegiance.
Even after the Civil War, “the Naturalization Act of 1870 only granted naturalization rights to ‘aliens being free white persons and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent.’”
“Lawful residency” would have been appropriately applied to “alien passengers who were subjected to a $0.50 federal head tax” to enter the US under the Immigration Act and Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.
Nine years later, the Bureau of Immigration was created initially under the Treasury Department, then with the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903.
Migration before and after 1921 was characterized by who could be admitted and excluded (not allowed entry).
Before 1921, exclusion was the focus. Any person not specifically excluded would be admitted. From 1921 onwards and to the present day and continuing until today, immigration authorities decide which immigrants to admit and deny entry to those not explicitly approved.
From 1898 to 1935, the Philippines was a US territory. Filipinos did not have to apply for a visa because technically they were already in the US. That changed when the Philippines became a Commonwealth under the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934.
Then came two world wars scrambling the categories of persons allowed entry and legal stay.
In 2022, the Department of Homeland Security’s Yearbook of Statistics shows 1,018,349 lawful permanent residents admitted, 44,897,662 nonimmigrants allowed entry. Only 205,623 were deemed inadmissible — not eligible for entry into the US.
The broad categories of nonimmigrants allowed to enter are tourists and business travelers, students and exchange visitors, temporary workers and families, diplomats and other representatives and all other classes.
To be allowed entry, an individual must possess a visa or document evidencing eligibility for admission. A visa is simply a document one presents to a US port of entry officer. Having a valid, current visa is not a guarantee of being admitted and allowed to stay.
Visas for broad classes of nonimmigrants
– A-1 Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer and immediate family.
– A-2 Other foreign government official or employee and immediate family.
– A-3 Attendant, servant or personal employee of A-1 or A-2 and immediate family.
– B-1 Temporary visitor for business. – B-2 Temporary visitor for pleasure. – B-1/B-2 Temporary visitor for business and pleasure.
– C-1 Person in transit.
– C-2 Person in transit to United Nations Headquarters district.
– C-3 Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal 212(d)(8) employee, in transit. – D Crew member (sea or air).
– E-1 Treaty trader, spouse and children.
– E-2 Treaty investor, spouse and children.
– F-1 Student (academic or language training program).
— F-2 Spouse or child of an academic/language student.
– G-1 Principal resident representative of recognized foreign member government to 101(a)(15)(G)(i) international organization, staff and immediate family.
– G-2 Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization and immediate family.
– G-3 Representative of nonrecognized or nonmember foreign government to international organization and immediate family.
– G-4 International organization officer or employee and immediate family.
– G-5 Attendant, servant or personal employee of G-1 through G-4 and immediate family.
– H-1B Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than 101(a) (15)(H)(i)(b) as a registered nurse.
– H-1C Nurse in health professional shortage area 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c).
– H-2 A Temporary worker performing agricultural services unavailable in the US.
– H-2B Temporary worker performing other services unavailable in the US. – H-3 Trainee.
– H-4 Spouse or child of H and I visa holders.
– J-1 Exchange visitor.
– J-2 Spouse or child of exchange visitor.
Among these categories, tourist visa holders top the list with 39,180,724, followed by temporary workers and families (3,176,965), students and exchange visitors (1,696,717). Diplomats and other representatives bring up the cellar dwellers — 331,226, with all other classes at 474,239.
Next: How to apply for and stay in the US on a tourist visa