A bipartisan group of 56 US lawmakers, led by Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Larry Bucshon, has urged President Joe Biden and his administration to take executive action in order to address the lengthy wait period and backlog faced by Green Card applicants from India. The delays have left these applicants in a constant state of uncertainty.
The lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting the administration to make the priority dates “current” for Green Card applicants from India. They also appealed for all dates for filing employment-based visa applications, as published in the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Employment-Based Visa Bulletin, to be marked as “current.”
The current situation, which is due to the seven percent country cap on employment-based Green Card allocation, has resulted in an astonishing backlog of 195 years for countries like India. This backlog disproportionately affects Indian tech professionals who play a significant role in the highly skilled STEM workforce and US-educated graduates in technology industries, crucial for maintaining the country’s competitive edge.
The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS USA) has separately appealed to President Biden, expressing concern about the backlog’s impact on the Indian immigrant community. They highlighted how the backlog poses a significant barrier, preventing talented individuals from contributing to the country’s growth and innovation.
The FIIDS has been actively addressing the concerns of the Indian immigrant community this year, particularly those related to Green Cards and H-1B visas. They have initiated efforts to seek relief for Indian H-1B visa holders stuck in the Green Card processing queue.
The lawmakers emphasized that marking all dates as “current” would enable employment-based applications to be filed regardless of applicants’ country-based priority date. This could provide relief to thousands of individuals trying to navigate the US immigration system legally and potentially make some eligible for employment authorization documents, allowing them to change jobs, start businesses, and travel abroad without penalties.
Without this administrative action, individuals are left in a state of uncertainty and, in some cases, are restricted to a single company or organization due to their Green Card status, as they fear losing their immigration status.
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi expressed his pride in joining his colleagues in urging the Biden administration to address bureaucratic delays in the legal immigration system, as these delays hinder the economy and leave families in limbo.
Congressman Larry Bucshon highlighted the importance of making it easier for legal immigrants to navigate the immigration system, giving them the flexibility to continue making a positive contribution to the nation and the economy.
Aman Kapoor, President of Immigration Voice, supported the proposed measure, stating it would be a game-changer, providing basic human rights such as the ability to change jobs and travel for nearly one million high-skilled immigrants. He emphasized the discriminatory nature of the current immigration system, where Indian nationals have to wait for 200 years for a Green Card while people from 150 other countries face no wait at all. He called on the Biden administration to act on the bipartisan letter and provide high-skilled immigrants the same rights as others.
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