Last month, I wrote about the genius of the United States’ immigration policy, in that it welcomed high-potential individuals who came to the United States as refugees or family-based immigrants. While it is often mentioned that Sergei Brin, co-founder of Google, was an immigrant, what is less known is that he entered as a child with his family, who were granted refugee status from Russia. At the time we made that admission decision, we had no idea what would become of young Brin. We did know that his parents had enough initiative and drive to look at their circumstances in Russia and take the difficult step of leaving it all behind in order to make a new life—a drive that they passed on to Brin, and that helped him achieve success in his adopted home. It is this drive to make a better life that is the defining characteristic of immigrants, however they come to the United States.
The past genius of our immigration policy was that it did not only provide pathways for those whose arrival was anticipated—family-based, employment-based or otherwise. No, the past genius of our immigration policy was the paths it provided to legal status for those whose arrival was not anticipated, or perhaps even welcomed when they arrived.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
