Discontentment among Indians in the US as 100,000 Green Cards at risk of going waste

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• Aug 6, 2021 | moderator

A green card, officially known as a permanent resident card of the US, is issued to immigrants as proof that the holder has the privilege of residing permanently in the United States. Indian IT professionals face resentment as about one lakh employment-based Green Cards are on the verge of being wasted in less than two months.

The employment-based quota this year is beyond the same old last year. Calculations say that this year the number went up by 261,500 compared to last year’s 140,000, told Indian professional Sandeep Pawar. Sandeep added that if these Visas are not issued by September 30, then there is a strong likelihood of Visas losing proximity forever as per the law.

The department of State officials answering to determining visa usage cleared the fact that around one lakh Green Cards are going to be a waste because of the pace of process by US Citizenship and USCIS.

Mr. Pawar ruled that if the government fails to take the necessary steps, then the additional 100,000 available Green Cards will go to waste.

A lawsuit has been filed by 125 Indians and Chinese nationals living in the US to prevent wasting the Green Cards.

"There are hundreds of thousands of gainfully employed legal immigrants in the US who would benefit from these Green Cards. Many of them have been waiting for a decade or more to adjust to permanent resident status but have been unable to do so due to a lack of available visa numbers," he said.

"But this year, if the USCIS does its job efficiently and promptly, these immigrants finally have the opportunity to become permanent residents, something which would otherwise take decades.” "Most potential beneficiaries, such as myself, are from India, a country that is the most backlogged due to inherently racist and discriminatory per-country quotas embedded in the INA. Many have spouses, mostly women, who are unable to work until they become permanent residents," Mr. Pawar said. "Many have kids who will age out and be forced to self-deport even though this is the only country they know. The harm is both immense and irreparable if these Green Cards are not used," he said.

Inputs: NDTV