The United States has not issued 80 green cards: they may disappear forever

The administration of US President Joe Biden has acknowledged that in the last fiscal year, the United States did not issue about 80 green cards that should have been issued to legal immigrant workers. Writes about it Bloomberg.

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The shortage is causing more than 1 million people to wait for work visas.

Each year, the United States issues a maximum of 140 employer-sponsored green cards approved for permanent residence to immigrants. This number has been frozen since 000.

Another 226 "family preference" green cards are reserved for family members of US citizens and permanent residents. In years in which the ceiling for family visas is not met due to low demand or processing delays, or both, unused visas move into the employment-based category but must be issued before the end of the next fiscal year.

The closure of immigration offices during the pandemic, along with restrictions imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump, has caused the number of family preference green cards to plummet in 2020. As a result, 122 additional employment-based green cards became available.

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This should have been good news for workers awaiting green cards, since some of them have lived in the United States legally for decades. But US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was not prepared to handle the surge in demand. Despite pressure from the Biden administration, the department was unable to issue all green cards by the September 30 deadline. Unless Congress acts, these unused green cards will be lost forever.

On average, immigrants who are eligible for green cards will wait 16 years before they receive them. Due to restrictions on the number of green cards issued for any particular country, many Indian immigrants who have received a permanent residence permit in the United States will never receive one.

The bill, proposed by two Republicans, Tom Tillis and Mariannett Miller-Mix, would allow the government to "return" expired visas and reschedule them for next year. The bill has yet to receive congressional support. Senator Robert Menendez has suggested he will oppose the issuance of more employment-based green cards unless Congress takes action to protect the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

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Congress should also provide additional resources to tackle staff shortages. In addition, the complex approval process will need to be streamlined, which will include upgrading the technology to enable applicants to apply online.

The re-issuance of visas will ultimately lead to the removal of restrictions on the number of cards issued annually. This also requires broader immigration reform.

Read also on ForumDaily:

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