US lawmakers seek redressal to green card backlog, removal of arbitrary cap on quota

Failure to solve this longstanding problem “would tantamount to staging an economic recovery with one hand tied behind our back,” the letter addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Washington: A group of 40 US lawmakers led by Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi has sought a path to lawful permanent residence for the 1.2 million people in the employment-based green card backlog, a significant majority of whom are from India. In a letter to Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi and senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, the lawmakers said the budget reconciliation package provide relief to these individuals stuck in the employment-based green card backlog, thereby strengthening the economy in the process. Failure to provide a path to lawful permanent residence for the 1.2 million people in the employment-based green card backlog, most of whom are H-1B visa holders, would be tantamount to staging an economic recovery with one hand tied behind our back, the letter said. Most workers in the employment-based green card backlog are already in the United States on temporary non-immigrant visas, such as the H-1B visa for workers in specialty occupations, that are renewable but greatly restrict beneficiaries from reaching their full potential.