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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Los Angeles

    Immigration question - non political

    Does anyone have any knowledge or understanding of the various immigration statuses that currently exist? In particular, I'm interested in knowing the meaning of an immigrant who has been issued a PIN number by ICE (not a bank PIN number, but it is a completely different, immigration-related number). I know it has something to do with making the person able to pay taxes, but does it confer any type of status, in particular the right to work legally? Or does that require a work permit as well? If the PIN number doesn't make one legal to work, but does enable the government to a) receive taxes from you and b) find out where you live so they can theoretically (at least) deport you, why would anybody sign up to get a PIN?

    We're trying to hire a person for domestic help, and the person must be able to work legally in order for us to hire her. All she has is a PIN. I just don't know what that means as to her status. Anyone with any helpful info, it would be much appreciated.

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Walnut Creek, California
    Are you sure it is a PIN number, not a TIN (ITIN) number? The latter is a taxpayer ID number for people who aren't eligible for an SSN. Explained to some degree here.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim3k View Post
    Are you sure it is a PIN number, not a TIN (ITIN) number? The latter is a taxpayer ID number for people who aren't eligible for an SSN. Explained to some degree here.
    Thanks Jim. That's helpful. I think PIN and TIN are used interchangeably in this context. I don't know which of the delineated categories she falls into, but it sounds like regardless of which one it is, the mere fact of possessing a PIN/TIN in and of itself confers no right to work.

  4. #4

    Public Policy

    This is just a question I wonder about ancient public policy decisions. Growing up part Asian American in the Mid Atlantic I was struck upon my first visit to California how many people of Asian heritage there were. One wonders if there was never a Chinese Exclusion Act and other anti Asian policies whereby immigration from was basically legally prohibited what percentage of California would have become Asian?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Fayetteville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by tommy View Post
    Thanks Jim. That's helpful. I think PIN and TIN are used interchangeably in this context. I don't know which of the delineated categories she falls into, but it sounds like regardless of which one it is, the mere fact of possessing a PIN/TIN in and of itself confers no right to work.
    Had to get a PIN/TIN for my wife, so that we could file our taxes. You're correct that it doesn't enable you to work legally. Once my wife got her Green Card, so was also able to get an actual SSN.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Walnut Creek, California
    Quote Originally Posted by tecumseh View Post
    This is just a question I wonder about ancient public policy decisions. Growing up part Asian American in the Mid Atlantic I was struck upon my first visit to California how many people of Asian heritage there were. One wonders if there was never a Chinese Exclusion Act and other anti Asian policies whereby immigration from was basically legally prohibited what percentage of California would have become Asian?
    Curious, I put a question to Google Answers and got a series of short essays which seem to deal with your question. They are sourced, but I can't vouch for their scholarly accuracy, yet they seem right in the overview. I expect there are university courses which deal better with your question.

    Still, I was struck by how few Asians there were said to be in the U.S. in 1940--only 490,000, according to the second essay. Living in the Bay Area now for almost 35 years, the Asian population to my eye, is one of the best reasons to live here. It's a dynamic and engaged population. Oakland just elected a Chinese-American mayor, Jean Quan. And, San Francisco has a Chinese-American interim mayor, Ed Lee.

    I even have (well, had, until I retired) a Chinese-American secretary for over 15 years. I no longer notice such ethnic things, as it's just the way things are. We are a melting pot: Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics, Filipinos, Pacific Islanders, Indo-Chinese. We even have whites and blacks.

    Anyway, Tecumseh, hope these readings are what you are looking for.

  7. #7

    speculation

    Thanks. I was aware of the Chinese exclusion acts and when you couple this to the turmoil that occurred all those years in China plus the obvious...China has a lot of people, there was a potential for a fairly massive immigration to the West Coast. This was never going to happen though because of the political realities.

    But if it did or if some economic interests persisted, like the railroads and made it happen? You wonder if California would be 50% Asian and how that would have changed American culture and history. I mean there was a flood of Irish immigrants into the United States that was not without controversy during the years of the potato famine.

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