Undocumented immigrants in the United States will need to wait 13 years to gain citizenship under a new immigration bill; others will be able to expedite it.An immigration overhaul bill, unveiled by the bipartisan "Gang of 8" in the Senate last month, promises the 11 million people illegally living in the United States a path to citizenship. The path: Register for legal status, pass a background check, learn English, pay a fine and take care of back taxes. Completing this path is expected to take 13 years.
WHY 13 YEARS?
Under the proposal, within six months of the bill's enactment, undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before Dec. 31, 2011, and had continuous physical presence since, could apply for "provisional" legal status under certain conditions, allowing them to work and travel. But anything beyond a provisional legal status will take more time — at least 10 years for a permanent resident green card and three more to become a citizen.
Immigrants who can show that they were in the U.S. lawfully for 10 years will be eligible for naturalization after three years of permanent residency.
It currently takes five years from the time one gets his green card for legal immigrants to obtain citizenship. Sometimes it can take up to 20 years for legal immigrants to get green cards.
"It was a compromise," said a senate aide to Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., one of four Democrats in the Gang of 8, of the 13-year wait time. "If it was up to one side it would be much shorter. But we have to clear the immigration backlog that's currently in place."
Undocumented individuals will be able to get a green card only after every person who is already waiting in line for a green card gets one.
In the proposed immigration bill, "the actual path of citizenship went down from five years to three years, so it was a victory," Menendez's aide said.
But Lisa Garcia Bedollo, chair of UC Berkeley's Center for Latino Policy Research, called the 13-year number "arbitrary."
"They wanted it to seem like long enough for folks to think the unauthorized are 'getting in line' behind other folks," she said. "But it's a remarkably long wait."
BORDER SECURITY — WHAT IT HAS DO WITH CITIZENSHIP
Meanwhile, the legislation requires a significant improvement in border security. The Department of Homeland Security has six months from when the bill is passed to present a strategy to Congress for a persistent surveillance rate of the Mexican border, while also presenting a way to reach a 90 percent apprehension rate of detaining people entering the country illegally.
The bill allocates $3 billion for this plan, which covers technology, personnel and other resources.
Related: Obama reaches out to Mexican young people
From the moment Homeland Security presents the strategy to Congress, they have five years to reach the goal. If the border apprehension rate is not met after five years, a Southern Border Security Commission would be put into place with border-state governors and other stakeholders who will then have to come up with a new plan.
The border security and fencing plans must be substantially carried out before those in provisional legal status can obtain green cards.
However, even if DHS is not able to reach the 90 percent apprehension rate by the five-year timeline, the pathway to green card and citizenship will continue because the border commission will kick in at that point, Menendez's aide said.
"The idea is to keep upping the border security plans until the apprehension goals are met," said Crystal Williams, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
DREAMers AND FARM WORKERS WAIT LESS
For DREAMers — those who came to the country before age 16 — the path to citizenship under the bill is shorter, requiring just five years in provisional legal status.
"The Dream Act-eligible kids are likely those with the cleanest, most innocent records — people we want to put on the fast-track to being able to fully contribute and participate in society and who bear less responsibility for their having become 'illegal,'" said Boston-based immigration attorney Christina A. Corbaci.
Agricultural workers will also have a separate, expedited legalization program, which would allow them to get permanent residence after five years.
"It's partly because in many situations we have invited them here to work to begin with, not provided them with a way to maintain their status after putting down roots, and because we really need them," Corbaci said.