Earlier this year, the Tech Immigration Summit at the US Capitol highlighted the urgent need to address the severe backlog affecting Indian professionals seeking Green Cards and navigating H-1B visa issues. Despite this, the Biden administration has not advanced the EAGLE Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the "decades-long backlog for immigrants." Indian-American lawmaker Ro Khanna expressed disappointment with the House for ignoring this crucial bill.
The summit, hosted by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora (FIIDS), emphasized the negative impact of the seven percent per-country quota on Green Card issuance, leading to wait times exceeding 20 years for many Indian immigrants.
The upcoming vote in the US House of Representatives on the EAGLE Act aims to reform the immigration system by eliminating the per-country limit on employment-based Green Cards and increasing the limit on family-sponsored Green Cards from 7% to 15%. The White House supports the bill, recognizing its potential to reduce the protracted backlog affecting hundreds of thousands of immigrants, predominantly from India and China.
Ro Khanna, a strong advocate for immigration reform, highlighted the economic benefits of lifting arbitrary per-country Green Card caps. He stated, "The EAGLE Act will benefit our economy by lifting the arbitrary per-country green card caps to bring down our decades-long backlog for immigrants." He also expressed disappointment that his amendment to include the EAGLE Act in the National Defense Authorization Act was blocked by the Rules Committee.
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Khanna emphasized that the EAGLE Act is a bipartisan and common-sense bill, adding, "Our industrial base needs more workers to maintain a strong military and outpace our adversaries. Immigrants help fill a critical shortage and bring vital skills to our economy, supporting all Americans."
David J. Bier, Associate Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, highlighted the dire situation faced by skilled Indian immigrants. He projected that under current laws, wait times could reach up to 90 years, with more than 200,000 likely to die before receiving a Green Card. Additionally, around 90,000 children of immigrants, mainly Indians, will "age out" of Green Card eligibility during their waits. Bier emphasized that only about half of the pending Indian immigrants are likely to receive Green Cards under current law.
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