‘Green cards quotas’ to be eliminated; Indian Americans to benefit!

The White House has encouraged Congress to pass a bill that would do away with the per-country limit on green cards, allowing US employers to focus on hiring people based on their qualifications rather than their place of birth. If the bill were to pass, it would help many thousands of immigrants, particularly Indian-Americans.

A Green Card, formally known as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document given to immigrants to the US as proof that the holder has been granted the right to reside permanently. The Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act of 2022 is up for a vote this week in the House of Representatives. The EAGLE Act would do away with a per-country limit on employment-based green cards, a rule that disproportionately impacts immigrants from India.

The White House supports the House passage of HR 3648, the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act. EAGLE Act would eliminate the ‘per country’ limitation on employment-based immigrant visas (green cards). If passed, it would phase out the per-country caps over the course of nine years. It would also ensure that eligible immigrants from less populated countries are not excluded.

The per-country caps would gradually be eliminated over a nine-year transition period to ensure that no countries would be denied visas. In order to meet pressing needs in the healthcare sector, visas would also be reserved for nurses and physical therapists during the transition period. Important provisions in the bill also permit people who have been sitting in the two-year immigration visa backlog to submit their green card applications.

The bill would allow employment-based immigrants to transition off of their temporary visas and provide them with additional flexibility in changing employers or starting a business. Importantly, the bill would also keep families together by ensuring that children do not age out of dependent status. The White House urges Congress to pass the US Citizenship Act, which would further reform and improve the immigrant visa system.