The Employment-Based Immigration Backlog.

Almost 1 million lawfully present foreign employees and their family members have been authorized for, and are awaiting (a green card), lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States. This employment-related backlog is growing. It exists as a result of the large number of foreign workers employed in the country.

The number of green cards sponsored by US employers exceeds the annual total each year. The employment-based backlog does not pose a significant obstacle to obtaining a green card for nationals from most immigrant-sending countries.

Green cards are typically available in under a year for individuals from countries with relatively few employment-based immigrants to the United States. 

“Right now, no more than seven percent of employment-based green cards are available to individuals from a single country, creating a decades-long backlog for would-be immigrants from India and China,” according to Firstpost. US lawmakers are asking for permanent residency for people in employment-based green card backlog.

A group of US lawmakers led by Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi has proposed to give the 1.2 million people in the employment-based green card backlog, a large percentage of whom are Indian, the opportunity to gain lawful permanent residency.

According to politicians, The budget reconciliation bill will relieve those caught in the employment-based green card backlog while bolstering the economy.

“Failure to provide a path to lawful permanent residence for the 1.2 million people in the employment-based green card backlog, most of whom are H-1B visa holders, would be equivalent to staging an economic recovery,” as mentioned in Firstpost.

Under the existing system, individuals from a single country are only eligible for 7% of employment-based green cards. As a result, people from countries with vast populations, such as India and China, may have to wait decades to become authorized permanent residents, according to US Lawmakers.

Essentially, this arbitrary cap prevents some of the world’s best talent from settling permanently in the United States, leading them to take their inventions, expertise, and creativity to other countries instead.

Most employment-based green card backlog workers are already in the United States on non-immigrant visas, such as the H-1B visas for workers in specialty occupations, which are renewable but significantly limit their potential.

H-1B holders cannot change jobs or start their businesses — even though Indians living in America have been shown to boost overall productivity, wages, and new patents. 

The temporary nature of the H-1B visa forces beneficiaries to live in constant uncertainty, preventing them from becoming entrepreneurs, buying homes, employing more Americans, or otherwise fully establishing themselves as permanent fixtures within the American economy.

For more information and advice on US immigration law and US visa applications, please call (718) 577-0711, email info@gehilaw.com, or WhatsApp us now at +1 (917) 781-0791.

References:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/us-lawmakers-seek-path-to-permanent-residence-for-people-in-employment-based-green-card-backlog/articleshow/85826614.cms?from=mdr 

https://www.firstpost.com/world/us-lawmakers-seek-redressal-to-green-card-backlog-removal-of-arbitrary-cap-on-quota-9928301.html