The Adverse Impact On Immigrant Women

Since the enactment of the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act,family reunification system has replaced the underpinning position of quota system in immigration policy,which leads to the overwhelming flood of immigrants into the United Stated,especially immigrants from Asian and Latin American countries.The amount of immigrant women from these areas has also continuously increased to a shocking high level,and outnumbered their male counterparts.Although,the bulk of immigrant women enter the United States through family reunification system,their development is problematic.This paper will elaborate the adverse impacts of family reunification on immigrant women from three aspects and explore how it impedes their development in the United States.First,it will show from domestic dimension that family reunification system has placed immigrant women into a dependent role in which they are quite vulnerable to domestic abuse by male partners.Second,as more women enter the United States through family reunification system,and the increased female applicants from oversubscribed countries,there may be many visa backlogs which will prolong the time for immigrant women to obtain their legal status in America.Due to women's immigrant status,they may also encounter with unfair treatment in the workplace,which is detrimental to their career development.Last,owing to the prolonged immigration petition process,immigrant women may have less access to social welfare.And then under the pressure from domestic life and in the workplace,women immigrants will find it hard to integrate into community life.In conclusion,this thesis tries to argue that the family reunification system in the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act,which has underpinned the modern immigration laws and has enabled the increasing admission of immigrant women,makes it hard for immigrant women to develop and succeed in America.By analyzing the impact of family reunification system in the 1965 Act exerted on immigrant women,we hope that special attention should be paid on this vulnerable group.Remedies and improvements should be implemented in the immigration policy,contributing to the well-being of immigrant women.