White House Commission recommends employment authorisation documents at early stage of Green Card application process; Indians to benefit

White House Commission recommends issuing EADs and travel documents to foreign professionals waiting for Green Card, an overwhelming majority of whom are Indian Americans. This would bring relief to those waiting for decades, allowing them to work for any employer, travel, and protect against deportation.

A White House Commission has recommended issuing an employment authorisation card and other necessary travel documents at the preliminary stage of the Green Card application processing system, a proposal if approved by the U.S. President would be a big relief to thousands of foreign professionals, an overwhelming majority of whom are Indians.

A recommendation on this was approved by the White House Commission for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Affairs on October 26.

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.

There are multiple stages in the Green Card application process, and it starts with employers filing I-140 applications, and the next important step is an adjustment of status called I485.

This is when they currently get their Employment Authorisation Card - EAD and travel documents Advance Parole, which allows them to work for any employer till their Green Card application is processed, explained Indian American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria who moved the recommendation during the latest meeting of AANHPI this week.

If the proposal accepted by U.S. President Joe Biden would come as a big relief to hundreds and thousands of foreign professionals, an overwhelming majority of whom are Indian Americans whose Green Card wait period now runs into decades. During the meeting, Bhutoria, who is a member of the White House Commissioner for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Affairs moved the recommendation.

According to it, the Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS USCIS) should grant employment authorisation documents (EADs) and travel documents to individuals who have approved I-140 employment-based visa petitions in the EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 categories, who have been waiting in the visa backlog for five or more years, regardless of whether they have filed applications for adjustment of status.