The immigration invoice launched within the Congress on February 18 by the Joe Biden administration brings excellent news for Indians techies working within the US. The immigration reform invoice goals to permit extra everlasting immigrant standing or inexperienced playing cards for skilled Indians, who’ve the longest watch for immigration, and lower their wait instances.’
The invoice will get rid of inexperienced card backlogs, and enhance per nation inexperienced card quota, all of which may benefit the Indian diaspora within the US.
The invoice titled because the US Citizenship Act 2021, was launched within the Senate and House of Representatives by Senator Bob Menendez and Representative Linda Sanchez respectively.
What does it deliver for Indians?
For the previous few years, it has been troublesome and unsure for Indians to stay within the US however the invoice addresses the problems as Indians have been one of many employment-based visa classes like H-1B and L-1.
Many Indians have been ready for the US beneath employment-based inexperienced card for a decade.
As quoted by IANS, A report by the immigration suppose tank Cato Institute factors out that it will take 84 years to course of this backlog. In the method, 2 lakh may die of previous age whereas ready for inexperienced playing cards, the research reported.
Sanchez stated in an announcement that the immigration invoice intends to handle the problem by eliminating relations and spouses, PhDs in STEM area, and people within the inexperienced card queue for greater than 10 years. This signifies that these within the queue for greater than a decade would be capable of get inexperienced playing cards when this invoice is applied.
Doug Rand, co-founder, Boundless Immigration, identified that this transfer gives reduction for folks. “And the ready itself would not be almost so dangerous,” he pointed.
Enabling work allow for spouses and kids of H1-B visa holders
The immigration reforms invoice additionally tries to assist kids of these on H1-B skilled employment visas who would have grow to be ineligible for inexperienced playing cards in the event that they attain 21 years earlier than their mother and father qualify for immigration. They could be allowed to proceed with H1-B visas.
Under present rules, the kids lose their proper to stay within the US after they flip 21 years if their mother and father are nonetheless ready for inexperienced playing cards.
One of the most important reduction launched is that now spouses of H1-B staff would even be allowed to work, a provision that former President Donald Trump tried to revoke.
The invoice would enable automated renewal of labor authorisation permits in case of processing delays of greater than a yr.
Increasing per nation inexperienced card restrict
The US allocates 140,000 inexperienced playing cards per yr for the employment-based class. Each nation has a 7 p.c restrict. The immigration reforms invoice proposes to extend the per-country cap to twenty p.c which can profit numerous Indians on H-1B visas who apply for inexperienced playing cards.
Every yr the US points 85,000 visas to extremely expert immigrants. Indians account for a big share of the visas issued. In addition, in FY19, of the 1.8 lakh H-1B visas issued, near 1.3 lakh have been issued to Indians.
Increasing the inexperienced card cap will even lower down the wait time for Indians and can enable retaining expertise within the United States.
