2015 Was Not the Year America Fixed Its Skilled Immigration Pipeline

The topic of illegal immigration often dominates the U.S. immigration debate, and with good reason. The fate of thousands of undocumented families hangs in the balance while laws remain in limbo. But an overlooked issue in the national discussion entails America’s legal immigration pipeline, which is badly in need of an upgrade itself.

To get a sense of just how complex the legal immigration and naturalization process is, take a look at this flowchart, compiled by the Reason Foundation and the National Foundation for American Policy. In the best-case scenario, a potential immigrant who has a permanent resident family member can take up to six or seven years to reach citizenship. Some successful scenarios can still involve nearly three decades of effort, and many attempts end in failure. Even for skilled immigrants, unless you’re an extremely wealthy investor or you’ve made extraordinary achievements in your field of work, there are a lot of barriers along the way.