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The United States, on the other hand, has an annual quota system. In any one year, it will only admit 20,000 people from any particular country--defined as country of birth, not country of nationality--except from Canada or Mexico, where the quota is 40,000). However, the quota for colonies--which includes Hong Kong--is only 600 per year. While a proposal before congress would increase that quota to 3,000 per year, that law has not yet been passed, and may not be.
As a result of these quotas, there is a waiting list of up to 20 years (depending on category) for applicants born in Hong Kong. (If you were born in China, you will only have to wait a year or two.) This waiting period begins when the application for residency is approved. And if the sponsor dies before that waiting period is over, the sponsorship lapses.
3. Employment. To qualify for residency via employment, you normally have to find a job in your target country which your prospective employer cannot fill with a local. This almost uni- versally the case (even in Hong Kong and Singapore.)
A few countries' governments compile a list of skills deemed as being "in demand." If you qualify, you'll be granted resi- dency without a firm job offer on the assumption that your skills will enable you to find a job with no difficulty.
The
However, not all employment or "work permits" can lead to citizenship. This is particularly true of the United States, where there are only two categories of "work permit"--P3 and P6--which carry with them the eventual right of citizenship. P3 category is for the professions: the minimum qualification is a college degree or internationally recognised professional qualification, plus several years of experience (in practice, a post-graduate degree is preferred). Category P6 is for skills that can not be filled with American labor. The employer has to show that he has tried to hire an American national--and failed.
If
But--both these categories come under the quota system. you were born in a colony like Hong Kong, by the time your waiting period has passed, no doubt that particular job will no longer be available.
All other US visa classifications which give you the right to reside and work in the United States entail a change of status to achieve citizenship. In theory this change is not permitted; in fact it happens all the time but it is a difficult process and depends very much on what kind of a visa you have to begin with.
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