US Green Card

"Getting a green card isn't a right; it's a privilege, determined by yearly quotas," says Ajay Sharma

The pursuit of living an American dream isn't always as shiny as it looks from outside for the Indian immigrants. While navigating the complex US immigration system, it can be fraught with obstacles. The path to permanent residency and citizenship can be long, uncertain, and emotionally taxing, often putting a strain on personal and professional lives. For many people, the H-1B visa is a conundrum. While a popular route for skilled Indian workers, it comes with its own set of challenges as it has a limited availability. The annual cap on H-1B visas means that many qualified applicants are left out due to the lottery system. Ajeet who came to this country realised that the H1B route wasn't meant for him. He calls the US immigration system broken. I call this the broken immigration system. India is such a large country and we are given the same seven per cent quota as any other small country. How is it fair? I figured the H1B system is a lottery system and it won't work for me. He c

Spotting an immigration scam isn't difficult if you know what to look for

The Diversity Visa Programme, often called the Green Card Lottery, is an annual lottery providing an opportunity for people from countries with low immigration rates to the US

Former US President Donald Trump made a departure from his anti-immigration stance and proposed handing out green cards to all foreign students who graduate from US colleges

Under the new policy, undocumented spouses within these families may soon be eligible to work legally in the United States without the fear of deportation.

US President Joe Biden is doing everything he can to improve the H1B visa process, 'green card' backlog and other issues related to the country's legal immigration system, the White House has said. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. "One of the steps, if we look at the H1B visa process, we have taken action to improve that and the process and backlog for lawful permanent residents (green card) who are eligible to become US citizens," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday. She was responding to questions about the feeling among a section of Indian Americans that the president is not putting as much effort on addressing the woes of legal immigrants as he is doing for illegal immigrants. Biden heads to the southern border with Mexico in Texas on Thursday. "Just last month, for example, as a pa

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 US 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 Thursday. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US 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 .

Nearly 134,000 children will age out before a green card can be obtained, thus carrying a high risk of family separation

A group of US lawmakers has urged the Biden administration to take executive action to make priority dates current for Green Card applicants from India to reduce the 195-year-long wait period which has left them in a constant state of limbo. Led by Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Larry Bucshon, the bipartisan group of 56 lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting the administration take executive action to provide relief to high-skilled employment-based visa holders. In their letter, the US lawmakers also appealed to the administration to mark all dates for filing of employment-based visa applications in the Bureau of Consular Affairs' published Employment-Based Visa Bulletin as "current". A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. The curre

In a move that could benefit thousands of Indian-Americans waiting for their Green Card, a US President's advisory commission has approved the recommendation that more than 2,30,000 unused green cards for family and employment categories since 1992 be recaptured. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. This includes the recapture of more than 2,30,000 unused employment-based green cards from 1992 to 2022 and processing a portion of these every fiscal year in addition to the annual limit of 1,40,000 for this category, Indian-American entrepreneur Ajay Bhutoria, who is a member of President Biden's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said in his set of recommendations submitted before the commission on Thursday. "Recapture Unused green cards and Prevent Future Green Card Waste" aims to addres

In the year 2022, the US issued a total of 10,885 EB-5 visas and Indians were the second largest applicants after Chinese nationals. China accounts for 90 per cent of EB-5 visas

The Biden Administration has announced plans to expand the premium processing of some of the important categories of green card applicants and some categories of visas, particularly those related to training of foreign students. The expansion of these categories would be carried out in phases beginning with the premium processing of EB-1 and EB-2 applications of Green cards. This will be in addition to all previously filed Form I-140 petitions under an E13 multinational executive and manager classification, or E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a National Interest Waiver (NIW), US Citizenship and Immigration Services said. USCIS said this is part of its efforts to increase efficiency and reduce burdens on the overall legal immigration system. In March, we will expand premium processing to certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking STEM OPT extensions who have a pending Form

How will EAGLE Act help Green Card seekers?

Indians in the US, who have applied for the 'Green Card', have been facing long waiting periods. But, there is a silver lining on the horizon in the form of the EAGLE Act. What is the EAGLE Act?

The primary aim of the EAGLE Act is to shift the basis of giving the Green Card from the place of birth to skills

The White House has supported Congress to pass a legislation that seeks to eliminate the per country quota on green cards to allow US employers to focus on hiring people based on merit, not their birthplace, a bill if passed would benefit several hundreds of thousands of immigrants specially Indian-Americans. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. This week, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act of 2022. The EAGLE Act would eliminate a per-country cap on employment-based green cards a policy that disproportionately affects Indian immigrants. If passed, this legislation would phase out the per-country caps over the course of nine years to ensure that eligible immigrants from less populated countries are not excluded as the EAGLE Act is implemented. The ..

The Golden or EB-5 visa allows foreign investors to fast-track their application for permanent residency in the US

A total of 369,322 applicants, who have approved employment visa petitions, are awaiting visa availability under the EB2 and EB3 categories

The Jumpstart Our Legal Immigration System Act, proposes to recapture about 222,000 unused family-sponsored visas and about 157,000 employment-based visas

The move, if included in the reconciliation package and passed into law, is expected to help thousands of Indian IT professionals