Last Updated on March 2, 2023
Buzzfeed’s Try Guys recently took on a subject we here at Envoy take on every day: the immigration process.
In their video, “The Try Guys Try Immigrating To America,” the four Try Guys, Ned, Eugene, Zach and Keith, are given hypothetical situations with the end goal of navigating the immigration process and becoming a U.S. citizen.
How did navigating the immigration process go?
Two of the guys were tasked with immigrating from Mexico, the other two from Iran. Like the unique situations individual immigrants face every day, each of the Try Guys encountered roadblocks along the way. These roadblocks varied greatly depending on their country of origin, financial status, family background, age and profession.
As they navigated their hypothetical situations, the Try Guys were coached through the immigration process by UCLA law professor, Hiroshi Motomura. Throughout the video, each had to face difficult choices, make strategic decisions and one of them even learned that, no matter what they might try, their chance at achieving U.S. citizenship was impossible.
Similarly, our technology and Envoy-affiliated attorneys provide insight and coach HR users and foreign nationals through their cases. This both helps ensure the best immigration strategy is taken and that any deadline and compliance requirements are met along the way.
Watch the full video here:
While we can’t take credit for their fantastic video, we think it’s extremely helpful in demonstrating the complex process involved in becoming a citizen and why immigration matters. That being said, the immigration process is under new scrutiny.
The immigration process could get even harder
The Trump administration is currently looking to implement new immigration principles and policies that include ending currently prioritized family-based chain migration and moving to a merit-based immigration system that prioritizes skills-based immigrants seeking green cards.
Under this merit-based immigration process, the administration is proposing a “points-based system for the awarding of Green Cards (lawful permanent residents) based on factors that allow individuals to successfully assimilate and support themselves financially.”
Additional requested policy changes within the new merit-based immigration process include eliminating the “Diversity Visa Lottery” as well as limiting the number of refugees admitted into the U.S.
The Diversity Visa Lottery was created as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. The lottery opens the opportunity for 50,000 individuals from under-represented areas of the world to become lawful permanent residents, as well as help maintain our diversity and uphold our status as a melting pot.
The Trump administration didn’t detail why it wants to end the Diversity Visa Lottery, but mentions its request to limit the number of refugees will allow for “effective assimilation of admitted refugees” and “prevent abuse of the generous U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.”
