Recommendations to Recapture Unused Green Cards and Prevent Future Waste

In a move that could benefit thousands of Indian-Americans waiting for their green cards, Mr. Ajay Bhutoria, a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, has recommended that all unused green cards for family and employment categories since 1992 be recaptured.

This includes the recapture of more than 2,30,000 unused employment-based green cards from 1992 to 2022 and processing a portion of these every fiscal year in addition to the annual limit of 1,40,000 for this category.

Mr. Bhutoria proposed two key solutions to address bureaucratic delays in the green card application process and provide relief to individuals waiting in backlogs. Firstly, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State should recapture unused green cards for family and employment categories from 1992 through 2025.

Secondly, the State Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, should adopt a new policy to confirm that all green cards, per the annual limit, remain available for eligible immigrants even if the agencies cannot process the relevant paperwork in that fiscal year.

The unused green cards represent lost opportunities for the country and contribute to worsening backlogs, especially affecting Indian-American, Filipino-American, and Chinese-American families. Furthermore, the lack of a green card restricts the mobility of temporary workers on H-1B visas and limits their contributions to the U.S. economy.

Children of these temporary workers are at risk of ageing out of immigration status when they turn 21. By recapturing these unused green cards, billions of dollars could be added to the economy, the backlog for families waiting for green cards could be reduced, and unnecessary bureaucratic limitations on legal immigration could be mitigated.

As of 2020, there were approximately 4.2 million individuals waiting for family-sponsored green cards with an average wait time of six years and 1.2 million individuals waiting for employment-based green cards with an average wait time of six years.

The Biden administration has taken steps to reduce wait times and improved visa appointment processes. Visa appointment delays have been significantly reduced to two-four weeks, allowing individuals to plan their travel and immigration processes more efficiently.

Additionally, students applying for a student visa can now do so up to one year prior to their college admission date, providing them with greater flexibility and ease of transition. The USCIS has also revised the Child Age-Out Calculation Policy, which calculates the age of children in certain immigration cases, ensuring that eligible children retain their eligibility for immigration benefits and do not age out of the system.

These recent immigration updates reflect the direct impact of the Commission's recommendations and the commitment of the Biden administration to help families and create immigration policies that are more inclusive, efficient and responsive to the needs of our communities, Mr. Bhutoria said.