Week 1: Gaining Familiarity With the American System

This week, I explored the basics of the U.S. visa system, which includes non-immigrant visas and immigrant visas. I conducted this research to assist the firm in updating past files detailing each visa based on what may have changed since my last internship. Each category serves a different purpose, with distinct eligibility criteria and application processes.

Understanding visa policies is challenging due to legal complexities and frequent policy changes. Processing times and eligibility requirements vary, making applications difficult to navigate. Visa processes are the first step to really understanding the immigration policies in place and what purpose each rule serves, and it has also helped me gain an understanding of how much demand there is surrounding each type of visa when looking at the number distributed each year.

Next week, I plan to focus on the most recent changes that have been made in real-world case studies to gain a deeper understanding of how visas shape immigration in the United States. I also plan to analyze the role of recent policy changes and their implications for different groups of immigrants.