Guyana's Immigration Policy

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Guyana, South America is located in the northern part of South America bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, bounded by Venezuela on the west, Brazil on the west and south, and Suriname on the east. (The World Fact Book) Guyana is about the size of Idaho and has a population of over 735,000 and is the only country in South America whose official language is English. Guyana’s economy and main source of incomes comes from exporting sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice. (Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs: Fact Sheet) The reason for selecting this country is because of an old Army friend of mine named JJ who was born and raised in Guyana. JJ and I met when we were stationed in Germany. JJ and his family wanted to leave Guyana for a better life so they moved to New York where he enlisted in the Army. After several years of serving in the Army he applied for citizenship and eventually got accepted. JJ is one of many Guyanese who have migrated to the US since the 1970’s. According to the Department of Homeland Security, there was a huge spike of Guyanese obtaining permanent resident status (green cards) in the 1970’s. There were approximately 4,546 recipients between 1960 and 1969 and 38,278 from 1970 to 1979, a 724% increase. Although it was not as huge, there was a 124% increase in the 1980’s of green card recipients. One reason for this high increase in recipients was due to family sponsorships and the relatives of US citizens. (Security) There are approximately over 100,000 Guyanese already living in the United States and about 30,000 a year emigrating. One web site is attempting to raise support for Guyana to become the next state in the United States due to the fact that many have moved to the US or are waitin... ... middle of paper ... ...Affairs: Fact Sheet. n.d. 27 April 2014. . Central Intelligence Agency. n.d. 25 April 2014. . Epidemic, Guyana. n.d. 26 April 2014. . guyanausa.org. 2003. 25 April 2014. Security, United States. Department of Homeland. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, 2013. Stoneyl, Sierra, Jeanna Batalova and Joseph Russel. "South American Immigrants in the United States." Migration Policy Institute (2013). 25 April 2014. . US Passports and International Travel. n.d. 26 April 2014. .

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