Green Card is an identity document that shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. It is also known as the permanent resident card. A green card is a document that is given to immigrants which is proof that the person has been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the US.
Now, about one lakh Indian employees, who are green card-based employees in the USA, are at risk of being wasted in less than two months. This would cause resentment among Indian IT professionals whose wait for legal permanent residency now runs into decades.
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Indian professional Sandeep Pawar told the media agency that this year the quota for employment-based immigrants is 2,61,500 which is far higher than the usual 1,40,000. He said, “Unfortunately, under the law, if these visas aren't issued by September 30, they are lost forever.”
He further said that as per the fact confirmed by the Department of State officer-in-charge of determining visa usage, the current pace of processing by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suggests that they would waste more than 1,00,000 Green Cards. He regretted and said, if the USCIS and Biden administration does not take any step then the extra 1,00,000 Green Cards would be wasted.
Mr Pawar said, “There are hundreds of thousands of gainfully employed legal immigrants in the US who would benefit from these Green Cards. Many of them have been waiting for a decade or more to adjust to permanent resident status but have been unable to do so due to a lack of available visa numbers.”
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He continued, “But this year if the USCIS does its job efficiently and promptly, these immigrants finally have the opportunity to become permanent residents, something which would otherwise take decades.”
He further said, “Most potential beneficiaries, such as me, are from India, a country that is the most backlogged due to inherently racist and discriminatory per-country quotas embedded in the INA. Many have spouses, mostly women, who are unable to work until they become permanent residents. Many have kids who will age out and be forced to self-deport even though this is the only country they know. The harm is both immense and irreparable if these Green Cards are not used.”
A group of 125 Indian and Chinese Green Card-based employees has filed a lawsuit to prevent the administration from wasting Green Cards.