The process for immigrants wishing to become a U.S. citizen – or obtain legal status - can take decades.
This makes Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s recent suggestion that DACA recipients “ ... get in line, come into the U.S. legally ...” an overly simplified solution to a process that as The Atlantic reports, consists of multiple lines – none of which are simple to navigate and others that take years to go through, depending on an individual’s circumstance.
675,000 permanent immigrants are permitted into the U.S. each year. One basic requirement is that these immigrants entered and now reside in the country legally.
For recipients of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, that requirement often keeps them from applying because they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Millions of immigrants meet the requirements necessary to become lawful permanent residents in the U.S., but are often subject to a long wait.
