Green card wait for Indians 15 years: Can new US law bring relief to H-1B workers, long-term residents? | Today’s news

Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla made a new bid Monday to push through his “Renewal of the Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929” bill, which would provide a path to lawful permanent residency for millions of long-term U.S. residents, including H-1B visa holders.

What did the bill propose?

The bill seeks to provide a “healthy” fix to the “outdated” US immigration system to counter President Donald Trump’s “systemic attacks” on migrants.

It would also allow long-term U.S. residents to apply for permanent residency if they have lived in the country continuously for at least seven years before applying.

If enacted, the proposed legislation would provide a much-needed path to green cards for more than eight million people, including:

• Dreamers (undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children)
• Forcibly displaced persons (temporary protected status holders)
• Children of long-term visa holders
• Essential workers
• Highly skilled professionals, such as H-1B visa holders, wait years for employment-based green cards.

The bill proposes to amend Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, commonly known as the registry provision, which gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the ability to register certain individuals for lawful permanent resident status if they have been in the country since a specified date and meet other eligibility requirements.

Section 249 was first codified in 1929 and last updated in 1986 during the Reagan administration. The current eligibility cutoff date remains January 1, 1972.

“Congress Can’t Ignore Millions of Long-Term Residents”

“I introduced this bill a year ago to curb the Trump administration’s brutal treatment of hard-working immigrants,” Padilla told the Associated Press, adding, “Since then, President Trump’s campaign of fear has only escalated, families are living in constant uncertainty even as they have built their lives in this country.”

“Congress cannot continue to ignore the millions of long-term residents who contribute to our economy and communities every day. The time has come to modernize our immigration laws and create a fair path to lawful permanent residency,” he said.

The bill was co-sponsored by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin and co-sponsored by US Senators Cory Booker, Tammy Duckworth, Andy Kim, Ben Ray Lujan, Edward J Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, Patty Murray, Bernie Sanders, Brian Schatz, Adam Schiff, Tina Smith and Elizabeth Warren.

She has also received endorsements from more than 30 organizations.

Indian H-1B workers face more than 15 years of waiting for a green card

America’s employment-based immigration system has been plagued for years by a long backlog of green cards, particularly affecting Indian H-1B professionals due to country-specific visa limits.

Tens of thousands of highly skilled Indian professionals, primarily in the technology and science sectors, who work on H-1B visas apply for permanent residency each year.

As demand from India far exceeds the 7% annual allocation, a huge queue forms. The data suggests that Indians account for roughly 80 percent of the total employment-based green card backlog, resulting in wait times of 15 years or more.