Existing laws impose per-country-limit of seven per cent of total green cards issued.
As a Cato Institute report appeared on Saturday stating that the highly qualified Indians would take around 151 years to fetch the US green card under EB-2, it is vital to understand what it means.
There are several categories under which green cards are issued.
The first is known as EB-1 (also known as first preference), which is meant for the ones with extraordinary abilities.
The second category is EB-2 (second preference) wherein highly skilled professionals apply for green card.
The third and the last is EB-3 (third preference), which is meant for mere graduates.
EB stands for employment-based.
Since the maximum number of applicants are in the EB-2 category (4.3 lakh), and the USCIS caps the total number of green cards issued at seven percent for each applicants from country, the limited number of green cards on offer will lead to a long wait, and with more numbers piling up year after year, thus adding to the wait that might stretch for 151 years, claimed the report.A wait too long for a US green card: Ten Things To Know1.
Immigration under EB-1: It is meant for those who demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim.
The achievements must be recognized in your field through extensive documentation.
No offer of employment is required.
According to the USCIS, there are 34,824 Indian applicants under EB-1 category.
Along with their 48,754 spouse and children, 83,578 Indians are in line for green card under EB-1 category.
This means a total of over 83,000 Indians are awaiting green cards under the EB-1 category.2.
The extraordinary immigrants from India (EB-1) will have to wait only six years, Cato Institute said in its latest report3.
Immigration under EB-2: This is the category of professionals with advanced degrees.
This means that the job you apply for must require an advanced degree and you must possess such a degree or its equivalent (a baccalaureate degree plus 5 years progressive work experience in the field).
According to the USCIS, there were 2,16,684 primary Indian applicants under EB-2 category and 2,16,684 spouses and children, thus making a total of 4,33,368.
This means a total of 4.3 lakh Indians are applying for the EB-2 category of green cards.4.
At current rates of visa issuances, they will have to wait 151 years for a green card.5.
Immigration under EB-3: This is meant for the applicants who must be able to demonstrate at least 2 years of job experience or training and must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.
As of April 20, there were 54,892 Indians in this category.
Clubbed with 60,381 spouses and children, the total number of Indians waiting for green card in EB-3 category are 1,15,273.
This means a total of 1.15 lakh applicants are awaiting the EB-3 category green card in comparison to 4.3 lakh applicants for EB-2 and 83,000 in the EB-1 category.6.
Those with bachelor's degrees (EB-3 applicants)will have to wait about 17 years, Cato Institute said.7.
In all the categories, there are a total of 306,400 primary Indian applicants waiting for their green cards.
Clubbed with their spouses and children numbering 325,819; as many as 632,219 Indians in all are waiting for their green cards8.
The existing laws impose per-country-limit of seven per cent of total green cards issued.9.
Cato Institute notes that that for employment-based green cards, the per-country limit only applies in full force when the category is filled up, meaning that if some green cards would go to waste, Indian immigrants can receive above the per-country limit of 7 per cent.10.
Each category of green cards EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, is guaranteed a minimum of 40,040 green cards, so the allocation between categories does not adjust when one category has higher demand than the others.