US: EB-2 Indian-immigrants to wait for 151-years for Green Card
Indians with advanced degrees may have to wait for 151 years for a Green Card which authorizes them to live and work in the US permanently. The new calculation on the Green Card wait period by Cato Institute, a Washington-based think-tank, comes after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released number of applicants for such cards. Here's more.
Shortest wait time is for immigrants with "extraordinary ability"
The shortest wait time is for the highest skilled category for EB-1 immigrants with "extraordinary ability". EB stands for employment-based. Extraordinary immigrants from India will have to wait for "only" six years, Cato Institute said in its report. According to 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 under EB-1 category.
Around 630,000 Indian immigrants waiting for Green Cards
The calculation is based on the number of green card issuances in 2017. As of April 20, 2018, there were 632,219 Indian immigrants and their spouses and minor children waiting for Green Cards also known as legal permanent residency cards.
EB-2 immigrants would have died or left by then: Cato
"At current rates of visa issuances, they (EB-2 immigrants) will have to wait for 151-years for a Green Card. Unless the law changes, they will have died or left by that point," Cato Institute said. There were 216,684 primary Indian EB-2 applicants and 216,684 spouses and children, totaling 433,368. It added this is primarily because of the existing laws which impose per-country-limit of 7%.
Allocation between categories doesn't adjust the difference between them
Cato Institute gives two reasons for this allocation structure. First, each category 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. Second, EB-2 is currently subject to the per-country limits, that prevent Indian immigrants from receiving more than 7% of the green cards issued in the category.
EB-3 immigrants to wait for 17 years
EB-3 immigrants, those with bachelor's degrees, will have to wait about 17 years, Cato Institute said. As of April 20, there were 54,892 Indians in this category. Clubbed with 60,381 spouses and children, making a total of 115,273.
A loop-hole in per-country limit may reduce the waiting time
Cato Institute notes that if some Green Cards go to waste, Indian immigrants can receive above the per-country limit of 7%. For this reason, Indian immigrants received nearly 18% of the total Green Cards issued in the EB-3 category in 2017. It added that if the per-country-limits end up not applying fully for EB-2, immigrants could receive their Green Cards before the next century.
Cato report also explains the loop-hole
Cato gives an example that if EB-2 immigrants received the same number of Green Cards as EB-3 workers did in 2017, they would have to wait "only" for 65 years. "On the other hand, if the per-country-limits end up applying fully for EB-3 workers after 2018, they could end up having to wait for more than 40 years, rather than 17 years," it said.
