If the country quota is done away with in the issuance of Green Cards, not only will it put a stop to the discrimination that prevails in the labour market in the US, but will also make it easy for Indians and Chinese to obtain US citizenship.
An individual in possession of a Green Card is permitted to reside in the US and work there for good. The present immigration system makes it very difficult for skilled and talented Indian-Americans, the majority of whom arrive on H-1B work visas. This is because the current system follows a quota of seven per cent per country when it comes to allotting Green Cards or the Legal Permanent Residency (LPR).
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), if this quota for immigrants who come for work is done away with, people from India and China will form the majority of the lot to be given the new employment-based LPRs for an unlimited time, to clear out the long queue of prospective immigrants from other countries, which has been long pending.
It is reported that the pending lot comprises those who have approved employment-based immigrant petitions but are waiting to file their applications for a visa or an adjustment of status.
Apparently, about 306,601 Indian IT professionals and 67,031 Chinese were awaiting Green Cards. Indians make up about 78 per cent of the 395,025 foreign nationals awaiting Green Cards in a single category of employment-based LPR applications.
Because of the quota system, most Indians have to wait as long as nine years or more to get their Green Cards.
This has encouraged employers to sponsor job-based immigrants, most of whom come from India. Removing the per country quota will result in fair play, since immigrants from all countries will get a chance to be employed. It will reduce some queues of prospective immigrants faster, and encourage employers to pick nationals from these countries over other nations.
With LPR status being accorded faster, more Indians, Chinese and Filipinos will be able to apply for the same.
Value our content... contribute towards our growth. Even a small contribution a month would be of great help for us.
Since five years, we have been serving the industry through daily news and stories. Our content is free for all and we plan to keep it that way.
Support HRKatha. Pay Here (All it takes is a minute)
