US Green Card: This move by US can benefit Indian-Americans

A member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders has suggested that all unused green cards for family and employment categories since 1992 be recaptured. And this move could help thousands of Indian-Americans who are waiting for their green cards.

Indian-American Ajay Bhutoria said in his set of recommendations presented before the commission on Thursday that this includes the recapture of more than 2,30,000 unused employment-based green cards from 1992 to 2022 and processing a portion of every fiscal year in addition to the annual limit of 1,40,000 for this category.

Recaptured unused Green Cards: Proposed key solutions

Notably, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is authorised by Congress to issue a specific number of family-based and employment-based immigrant visas annually. However, bureaucratic delays have resulted in the under-utilisation of available green cards, leading to accumulation of unused green cards over the years, Ajay Bhutoria said. Two key solutions have been proposed in this:

First, from 1992 through 2025, unused green cards for family and job categories should be recovered by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State. In addition to the annual cap of 1,40,000 for the employment-based category, this also includes processing a portion of the more than 2,30,000 unused employment-based green cards that were recaptured from 1992 to 2022.

Second, even if the appropriate documentation cannot be processed in that fiscal year, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security should establish a new policy to ensure that all green cards, up to the yearly limit, are still accessible to qualified immigrants. The new policy should be implemented retroactively to reclaim any unused green cards.

Furthermore, due to shortfall of a green card, it limits the contributions of temporary workers on H-1B visas to US economy. Children of these temporary workers also face the risk of losing immigration status when they attain the age of 21, he said.