The recommendation to recapture over 230,000 unused green cards allocated for family and employment categories since 1992 has received approval from an advisory commission appointed by the US President.
With potential advantages for numerous Indian-Americans in the queue for their Green Cards, an advisory commission appointed by the US President has given the green light to the suggestion of reclaiming over 230,000 unused green cards from family and employment categories dating back to 1992.
According to Ajay Bhutoria, an Indian-American entrepreneur and member of President Biden's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, the set of recommendations submitted to the commission aims to tackle bureaucratic delays in the Green Card application process and alleviate the backlog by recapturing over 230,000 unused employment-based green cards from 1992 to 2022. These cards would be processed annually alongside the existing annual limit of 140,000 for this category.
The initiative, titled "Recapture Unused Green Cards and Prevent Future Green Card Waste," seeks to provide relief to individuals awaiting their Green Cards.
The recommendation to recapture all unused green cards for family and employment categories since 1992 has been approved by the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders.
Congress has granted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to annually issue a designated number of immigrant visas for both family-based and employment-based categories.
Regrettably, bureaucratic delays have caused a failure to fully utilize the available green cards, resulting in the accumulation of unused cards over time, explained the individual.
In response to this issue, Bhutoria presented two primary solutions.
Firstly, Bhutoria recommended that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State reclaim unused green cards for family and employment categories from 1992 to 2025. This would involve recapturing over 230,000 employment-based green cards that remained unused between 1992 and 2022. Additionally, a portion of these cards should be processed each fiscal year, supplementing the existing annual limit of 140,000 for the employment-based category.
Secondly, Bhutoria proposed that the State Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, adopt a new policy to ensure that all green cards within the annual limit are available to eligible immigrants, even if the necessary paperwork cannot be processed in a given fiscal year. This policy should be implemented retroactively to reclaim green cards that were left unused prior to its enactment.
Bhutoria highlighted that his recommendation underscores the adverse consequences of underutilized green cards on individuals, families, and the US economy.
According to Bhutoria, the presence of unused green cards signifies missed opportunities for the nation and exacerbates the backlog issues, particularly impacting Indian-American, Filipino-American, and Chinese-American families.
Moreover, the absence of a Green Card restricts the mobility of temporary workers with H-1B visas and curtails their ability to contribute to the US economy. Bhutoria also mentioned that children of these temporary workers face the risk of aging out of their immigration status once they reach the age of 21.
He stated that his recommendation is in line with proposals introduced in the 117th Congress, aiming to reclaim green cards that were previously unissued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) due to administrative errors.
By recapturing these unused green cards, he asserted that billions of dollars could be injected into the economy, the backlog of families awaiting green cards could be reduced, and unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to legal immigration could be alleviated.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the waiting list for family-sponsored green cards has witnessed a growth of over 100 percent in the past two decades.
As of 2020, approximately 4.2 million individuals were in line for family-sponsored green cards, with an average waiting period of six years.
Regarding employment-based green cards, there were roughly 1.2 million individuals in line, experiencing an average waiting period of six years. However, for Indian IT professionals, the average wait time exceeds a decade, with many still awaiting their Green Cards even after 15 years.
During his statement before the commission, Bhutoria commended the Biden administration for implementing several recommendations put forth by the commission.
Last year in December, the commission proposed measures to address substantial wait times for visa appointments.
The administration has taken action to minimize wait times and enhance visa appointment procedures. As a result, visa appointment delays have been significantly reduced to two to four weeks, enabling individuals to better plan their travel and immigration arrangements. Furthermore, students applying for a student visa can now do so up to one year before their college admission date, providing them with increased flexibility and a smoother transition, Bhutoria remarked.
In December of last year, the commission also proposed the revision of the age-out policy for children included in their parents' Green Card application, as stated by Bhutoria.
In response, the USCIS reviewed and updated the Child Age-Out Calculation Policy, which determines the age of children in specific immigration cases. This revision brings greater clarity and fairness, ensuring that eligible children maintain their eligibility for immigration benefits and do not age out of the system, Bhutoria explained.
Bhutoria emphasized that these recent updates in immigration policies directly reflect the impact of the commission's recommendations and the Biden administration's dedication to supporting families and establishing more inclusive, efficient, and responsive immigration policies that cater to the needs of our communities.
