The long, uncertain roulette called the green card

An uncertain yet promising future is what defines the life of an immigrant in the US. All until obtaining the legal papers authorising the permanent status – the green card.

But what brings in the uncertainty factor is the long wait time. In this context, the much-awaited HR 1044 – Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act – that removes the country cap, which was passed in the US congress last week gave rise to a ray of hope. But that was definitely not the moment to uncork a bottle of champagne and celebrate. This is a battle only half won; the bill has to pass the Senate and signed by the President to become a law. That is a long road ahead, while the immigrants continue to wait keeping their fingers crossed.

The green card backlog is a nightmare for many Indians living in the US. It is said that there is no return once you leave for the US. Really? If you ask the Indian immigrants who wait inqueue for the legal permit for permanent status, you will know that there are many untold stories waiting to be told.

Irrespective of the number of years one has lived here and paid taxes, coupled with the economic value and participation in nation building, one’s stay is just dictated by the visa extensions that has to be regularly applied for until the green card is granted. 

In the current system of approvals, it could take many decades to get a green card – some studies have calculated this to be as long as 150 plus years. Every year, US issues 1,40,000 green cards. With the existing seven per cent country cap, around 9,800 green cards are issued to the skilled immigrants of each country irrespective of their country’s size and contribution to the US economy. Countries like India with more than the 3,00,000 direct applicants (add the family members, the figure is more than 7,00,000) suffer a huge backlog, while applicants from elsewhere get their status much sooner.

The request for the removal of the country cap has been there for long, with various advocacy groups escalating it in the last decade. But it took this long for this bill to be even tabled in the House. It is even more critical to be passedin the Senate to become the law where the chances for it being stalled is high with tighter control on the immigration dominating in the administration. 

The toll this wait takes on the lives of highly-skilled immigrants is huge. They enter the country with big dreams, but their growth is stalled with lack of certainty on the status.

“In the absence of green card, we are stuck with the employer unable to aspire for career growth or look for greener opportunities,” vent many. For most people, investing in properties is a major decision and the uncertainty makes taking a call very tough. Will one be forced to leave the country on a visa rejection? In such cases, there would be no time to dispose of the property or find suitable ways to structure financial commitments. Ending up with non-enterprising choices and most importantly losing the prime days with no sight of permanent residency, is the most common story here.

Kids not born in America, whomoved in legally as children of skilled immigrants, seem to get the least attention from the lawmakers.

Children finishing school and applying to college will be treated as foreign nationals for college admission process if the parent’s green card is not approved. Some colleges won’t even accept their application, while those whichaccept do not offer in-state tuition, thus forcing them to pay much higher tuition rates than those applicable for permanent residents. It haunts many aspiring students and the parents.

Even after having studied in the US and having secured high credits, these children are denied student loans because they are here only on temporary visas.

It does not stop there. Even if these kids manage a degree from a prestigious college, their dependent status will no more be valid when they are turn 21. They will have to apply for F1 or H1 visa and the wait starts anew. With the new application, they will be pushed behind in the queue. They also face the risk of being denied visa, as H1B is based on a lottery even for them. If they are not unlucky, they have to self-deport after staying in this country and studying after paying the college tuition in full.

Passing of the bill now in Senate is even more critical. “Many lawmakers seem to be unaware of the problems that affect the life of skilled immigrants. We now organise telephone campaign, talking to the senators, getting their attention and involve them positively. When explained, most of them showed their signs of support,” says Neha Mahajan, Vice president Skilled Immigrants in America (SIIA), the most active advocacy group on the issue.

Visas for the high skilled immigrants are issued not on the basis of their nationality but the competencies they bring to the table. Again, green cards are issued to the existing work visa holders, which means the argument of reducingopportunities for the Americans cannot be raised. Instead, the extended period of wait only punishes the contributing class, adds Neha.

While Indian community makes every possible effort to bring the issue to the attention of the lawmakers, the certainty of it becoming the law is dependent largely on the Senate floor voting.