US Lawmakers Appeal to President Biden to Reduce Green Card Wait Time

US lawmakers have written to President Biden to reinforce immigration laws and reduce the visa wait time, alongside the green card backlogs for immigrants.

A group of US lawmakers has appealed to President Biden and his administration for an executive action to make priority dates current for Green Card applicants from India. It aims to reduce the 195-year-long wait period and backlog that has continued for several years.

The bipartisan group of 56 lawmakers, led by Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Larry Bucshon, have recently written to the Secretary of the US State Antony Blinken and the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alexandro Mayorkas. The letter's objective is to urge the administration to take executive action in providing relief to high-skilled employment-based visa holders. Also, they appealed to the administration to mark the potential dates to file employment-based visa applications in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

The permanent Resident Card, or Green Card, serves as an evidential document for immigrants, enabling the privilege to reside permanently in the US. The recent condition surrounding the seven percent country cap on employment-based Green Card allocations has led to adverse outcomes for various nations, including India. As a result, the backlog has reached an astonishing 195 years. This backlog has affected Indian tech professionals, who are highly skilled STEM talent, and US-educated graduates disproportionately.

The lawmakers emphasized that marking the potential dates would allow the filling in employee-based applications, regardless of applicants' country-based priority date. Reform in the US immigration system has the potential to offer relief to numerous individuals seeking legal pathways, enabling them to apply for employment authorization, change professions, establish businesses, and travel internationally to visit family without facing penalties.