US lawmakers have passed a Bill removing country-wise caps on Green Card permissions in the United States. More than 300,000 Indians are likely to benefit from this move
The US House of Representatives lawmakers passed a Bill on 10 July 2019 that removes country-wise caps on Green Card permits in the United States.
The Bill aimed at lifting the seven per cent country-cap on issuing Green Cards, where no more than seven per cent of applicants can be considered for permanent residency.
The move will largely benefit thousands of highly-skilled Indians working in the United States. Indian IT professionals are the worst sufferers under the country-wise cap, with more than 300,000 professionals waiting for permanent residency.
Most Indians arriving in USA are highly skilled and come to the country mainly on the H-1B work visas. The current immigration system which imposes a seven per cent per country quota on allotment of the coveted Green Cards or permanent legal residency mainly affects Indian professionals.
Lifting the per-country cap will certainly benefit Indian professionals from the antagonising wait for permanent residency, which can sometimes be more than a decade.
The Bill, named Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act or HR 1044 increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas.
From seven per cent of the total number of visas available a particular year currently, it increases it to 15 per cent for employment-based immigrant visas.
The Bill has been supported by both Republicans and Democrats but still needs to be passed by the Senate.
Also read: http://diplomacybeyond.com/explained-the-political-and-economic-transition-in-greece/
