An Indian national has a backlog of over 195 years in obtaining the green card.
Washington:
Grieved by the fact that Indian professionals holding H-1B visas have to wait decades to get their green cards, Indian-born lawmakers expressed hope that a Biden administration would come to their rescue by removing the country’s cap on legal permanent residence.
A green card, officially known as a permanent resident card, is a document issued to immigrants to the United States as proof that the holder has been granted the privilege of permanent residence. It allows a non-US citizen to live and work permanently in America.
Indian IT professionals, most of whom are highly skilled and come to the US primarily on H-1B work visas, bear the brunt of the current immigration system which imposes a seven percent quota per country on the award of the coveted green card or permanent legal residence.
One of the original co-sponsors of the Fairness Act for Highly Skilled Immigrants, Illinois Democratic MP Raja Krishnamoorthi said on Saturday that removing the country cap on employment-based green cards would remove the backlog of green cards for Indian IT professionals, who are brought here often to fill shortages in the IT industry.
“I hope that under a Joe Biden administration, we will finally be able to get this legislation passed by the Senate, then sign it and, of course, as part of a comprehensive program of immigration reform as a whole,” Krishnamoorthi said during a virtual roundtable with three other Indian-born lawmakers – Dr Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal and Ro Khanna – at the one-day IMPACT summit.
The discussion was moderated by former US Ambassador to India Rich Verma.
Congresswoman Jayapal, who is deputy chair of the House immigration subcommittee, said she was working on a number of immigration-related issues, including ensuring that spouses of H-1B workers could work in the United States.
It is about reaching out to undocumented workers, a number of whom are Indians. Referring to a recent report, she said 6.5% of Indo-Americans live below the poverty line.
Probably for the first time, the four Indian-born lawmakers, known as the Samosa Caucus, were hosting a virtual panel where Congressman Khanna said he truly believes the Indo-American community can “be decisive.” in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The community’s goal, he said, is to work for Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, whose victory would be historic because it would bring Native American Kamala Harris to the vice-presidency.
“This is really a great time for the community,” Khanna said.
In his remarks, Bera, the longest-serving congressman of Indian origin, said that the US-India relationship and the QUAD relationship are very important in the Asia-Pacific region.
Expressing serious concerns about the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bera said the United States must return to the global stage of work with like-minded allies.
Khanna said the immigration community has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, including hotel and motel owners and small businesses. He, Jayapal and other lawmakers are working to provide relief to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Every week there are a million new jobless claims, Jayapal said, adding that the government should act quickly. Hotels, motels and small businesses are collapsing, Krishnamoorthi said.
According to Bera, the pandemic has had a significant impact on health, including mental health across the American community. But it’s also very common in the South Asian Native American community, he added.
An Indian national’s backlog in obtaining permanent residence or green card is over 195 years, Republican Senator Mike Lee said in July, urging his colleagues in the Senate to bring forward a legislative resolution to address the issue.
US President Donald Trump, a Republican, is seeking another term in the White House. He is arrested by former Vice President Biden of the Democratic Party during the presidential election on November 3.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
