U. S. lawmakers introduce Bill to utilise 3,80,000 unused family- and employment-based visas

“The Act will help reduce the backlogs while also allowing the U. S. companies to attract and retain high-skilled workers,” House Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren said

A group of influential U. S. lawmakers has introduced a Bill in Congress to recapture nearly 3,80,000 unused family and employment-based visas to reduce a massive Green Card backlog, a move which could benefit thousands of highly-skilled IT professionals from India.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the U. S. as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. As per a 2020 report, the backlog for an Indian national to get permanent residency or Green Card is more than 195 years.

The Jumpstart Our Legal Immigration System Act, introduced by House Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren, proposes to recapture about 2,22,000 unused family-sponsored visas and about 1,57,000 employment-based visas.

Among other things, it would allow immigrant U. S. residents eligible for adjustment to Legal Permanent Residence (LPR) status to apply for adjustment after paying a fee but are not able to do so presently due to the lack of an available visa number.

In a major boost to a large number of Indians, this will allow them to receive work authorisation while they wait for a visa number to become available and will prevent dependent children from “ageing out” of eligibility for the LPR status. Indian IT professionals, most of whom are highly skilled and come to the U. S. mainly on the H-1B work visas, are the worst sufferers of the current immigration system which imposes a 7% per country quota on allotment of the coveted Green Card or permanent legal residency.

The H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows U. S. companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries such as India and China.

The legislation also seeks to allow immigrants in the U. S. to receive an exemption from the immigrant visa numerical limits and adjust their status to a green card if their immigrant visa petition has been approved for two years and they pay a supplemental fee. Its co-sponsors are House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler and Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman Ritchie Torres.