Or economy?

legal permanent residents. The law also caps the percentage of immigrants that can come from any one country in a year.

These limitations have led to a backlog of more than four million family members of US citizens and permanent residents who must wait in their home countries for years before coming to the US. Filipinos in the sibling category can face waits of more than 20 years before they can join family there, advocates said.

Maricris Arce, 43, a native of the Philippines who now lives in Anaheim, California, said she was separated from her husband for five years after coming legally to the US, and he wasn’t present for the birth of their first child.

“I think they need to change that law,” Arce said. “Let them come faster and easier so the family will be united.”

US President Barack Obama and the Senate negotiators have committed to reducing the existing backlog of people waiting for family visas, and this would probably happen by adding visas to speed up the process. The bill would also probably raise the country cap that limits any one country to 7% of total immigrants per year, probably to 15%.

Those changes are good news for advocates of family immigration, who are also encouraged by Obama’s longstanding commitment to family unification and pledges by Democrats in the negotiating group to safeguard the family system. Obama is preparing his own immigration bill to unveil if the Senate process stalls.

The more contentious decisions will surround whether any of the current family categories – such as sibling – is reduced or elimi- nated. Lawmakers have made such attempts in the past, arguing that a focus on immediate family members is more appropriate.

It also remains to be seen whether lawmakers choose to make more green cards available overall, as advocates want, or shift visas from the family category to boost employment categories. Another question is how quickly illegal immigrants who would be put on a path to citizenship by the new bill could petition to reunite with family members.

Advocates say senators could end up crafting a hybrid system that weights family ties in addition to work skills, something Rubio suggested could happen.

“We’re still going to have a family-based part of it. I believe that having family in the US is one of the indicators of success,” said Rubio, who’s talked about his own family members from Cuba coming to the US through the family immigration system. “It’s just some of the folks that are coming on family-based will be able to come on the skill-based as well. They’re not mutually exclusive.”

Depending on how it’s crafted, any new system could become an unexpected flashpoint in the immigration debate. Senators say they’ll attempt to strike a balance, but some fear that in the end, more job-based immigration could come at the expense of family members overseas.

“We’re going to expedite some of the family stuff initially, but over time it’s got to be more merit-based,” said Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, one of the Senate negotiators. – AFP