President Obama’s administration has recognized immigration reforms as a high priority task. Right now, what we have is a system where the efforts have been put into the economic situation and medical care in the US. Next, we can expect to see immigration reforms from the USCIS, as the president raises the priority of this task.

The comprehensive immigration reform or the CIR as it is already known as will make a marked difference on immigration processes. It will have a direct impact on the large numbers of illegal immigrants already living on US soil. Some may find legal abode in the United States, but nothing is really clear on the policies yet.

Given the condition of the economy right now, one can expect severe opposition if the legalization of illegal immigrants is brought up.  The job situation in the US is just one reason why we can expect to see discomfort from US citizens when the country takes a step to make life more comfortable for aliens to the land. Right now, a person who applies for a green card can expect to wait up to a year before he gets a call to be interviewed. After this, the USCIC could even require further proof of identity and educational qualifications from the candidate.

Companies that have known to hire a large number of foreigners on the H1B and permanent residency statuses are concerned that a delay in applications being processed could directly impact their work force.  Many giant corporations depend on highly skilled employees who enter the US on temporary visas often leading to a permanent residency.  On the other hand, we see that the USCIS already has a significant backlog of applications. We also see that the current cap on the H1B visa has not been filled this year. From this we understand that there is an obvious reluctance from both the USCIS and foreign applicants – not a very pretty picture for companies welcoming skilled workers from outside of the States.  What we can see soon after the economy begins to reform, is a gradual increase in the numbers of H1B applications wherein the USCIS could be forced to speed up the application process. At the same time it would have to adhere to the norms of the president’s immigration reforms, which be in place by then.

Multinational companies, skilled individuals from all over the world, immigration firms and lawyers, as well as American citizens keenly await the new immigration reform proposals.