A Green Card, it’s said, is a cultural aspiration for millions of Indians. Essentially, it represents the holder’s right to live and work within the United States. The India Green Card waiting list is just growing by the day, prompting a bipartisan group of 56 US lawmakers to urge President Joe Biden to expedite the processes for the applicants. Two Congressmen, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Larry Bucshon, are heading this group.
For the record, the current backlog for US Green Card applicants from India has reached a staggering 195 years, putting on hold the careers of skilled people, especially from the technology sector. This backlog has already constrained US’s growth and innovation.
Immigration Voice president Aman Kapoor has questioned the unfair nature of the immigration system that makes Indian nationals wait up to 200 years for a Green Card, while citizens from other countries get first preference.
“We now call on the Biden administration to do the right thing and heed the call of this rare bipartisan letter and give high-skilled immigrants here for over a decade the same rights to work and travel that people being paroled into the US for the first time just this week have,” Kapoor was quoted as saying.
According to reports, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS USA) have taken it upon themselves to help Indian H-1B visa holders stuck in Green Card processing. FIIDS is communicating with influencers, the Bureau of Consular Services, and USCIS to allot dates on priority for Green Card applicants.
Reports claim that the lawmakers, in their letters, have implored the administration to mark all dates for filing employment-based visa applications as current, irrespective of their country-based priority date.
This administrative action would provide relief to thousands of individuals shepherding their way through the US immigration system. There is hope that they might be allowed to change jobs and travel without inviting fines.
