An unfortunate, but sadly, expected outcome.
While there’s a lot of outrage over how things have transpired, I intend for this 🧵 to be an informative exercise more than anything else- you may look at it as a rant as well:
While there’s a lot of outrage over how things have transpired, I intend for this 🧵 to be an informative exercise more than anything else- you may look at it as a rant as well:
https://twitter.com/HouseDailyPress/status/1603164108890808320
1. This screenshot of the ‘Dec ‘22 Visa Bulletin’ issued by the @StateDept illustrates the US green-card "priority dates" for people who have an APPROVED immigrant (permanent residency) petition in the employment-based
(EB) categories as of Dec 2022.
(EB) categories as of Dec 2022.
2. A “priority date” is the date on which an applicant's green card petition is/was approved.
Post-approval, an applicant must wait to apply to get a green card until one becomes available. There are limits on the number of GCs available per year in each category, including EB.
Post-approval, an applicant must wait to apply to get a green card until one becomes available. There are limits on the number of GCs available per year in each category, including EB.
3. Now, back to the Dec visa bulletin I shared ⬆️:
The priority dates for India in the 2nd and 3rd preference EB categories
(EB2, EB3), which are categories most commonly applicable to medical and STEM professionals employed in the US, are 10/8/11 and 6/15/2012 respectively.
The priority dates for India in the 2nd and 3rd preference EB categories
(EB2, EB3), which are categories most commonly applicable to medical and STEM professionals employed in the US, are 10/8/11 and 6/15/2012 respectively.
4. It means that folks from India who have had APPROVAL to become US permanent residents since BEFORE these dates are eligible to actually get permanent residency now- that’s over a DECADE since they applied and got APPROVAL from @DHSgov for the same.
5. There’s a similar but relatively shorter wait-time for individuals from China, Mexico, and The Philippines.
Consider this: an India-born physician, whose permanent residency petition was approved before Oct 2011, has had to wait for 11+ years since to actually get a GC.
Consider this: an India-born physician, whose permanent residency petition was approved before Oct 2011, has had to wait for 11+ years since to actually get a GC.
6. We’re doctors, HCWs, scientists, professionals- honest, hardworking, law-abiding people who’ve invested professionally and emotionally into the communities we live and work in. We call this country ‘HOME’. But, in return, we continue to be labeled as “TEMPORARY WORKERS”.
7. What does it mean for us?
We live here, work here but,
- require frequent visa renewals.
- have travel restrictions and cannot visit our home countries without risking being held back from returning to the US- even in dire situations such as death of a loved one.
We live here, work here but,
- require frequent visa renewals.
- have travel restrictions and cannot visit our home countries without risking being held back from returning to the US- even in dire situations such as death of a loved one.
8.
- can’t accept promotions from our employers without starting over the green card application process.
- can’t change employers without starting over the green card application process.
- our adult ‘dependents’ need separate visas to live/study/work in the US.
- can’t accept promotions from our employers without starting over the green card application process.
- can’t change employers without starting over the green card application process.
- our adult ‘dependents’ need separate visas to live/study/work in the US.
9.
- our underage dependents (non-American children) need their own independent visa status beyond 21 y/o age to avoid getting deported from the country they have called home for years (they’re rightly called DOCUMENTED DREAMERS).
- cannot become entrepreneurs in the US.
- our underage dependents (non-American children) need their own independent visa status beyond 21 y/o age to avoid getting deported from the country they have called home for years (they’re rightly called DOCUMENTED DREAMERS).
- cannot become entrepreneurs in the US.
10. Why, even getting a driver’s license can be a mammoth task when in this state of limbo, which we will call ‘the Green Card backlog’ going forward.
11. Why the #Gcbacklog? And why does it affect only folks from some countries so disproportionately?
As I said before, there are annual limits to the total number of available green cards (GCs) in each immigrant category, including EB.
As I said before, there are annual limits to the total number of available green cards (GCs) in each immigrant category, including EB.
12. And, the number of applications per year easily exceeds the number of available GCs in almost all categories. Therefore, there’s always bound to be a waiting list of GC applicants every year. Ideally, logically those ahead in the line should be first to receive their GCs.
13. Enter ‘numerical per-country caps’.
An archaic and outdated system be blamed, US immigration caps the number of green cards that can be issued to individuals from a single country annually to 7% of the total available GCs in a given category that year.
An archaic and outdated system be blamed, US immigration caps the number of green cards that can be issued to individuals from a single country annually to 7% of the total available GCs in a given category that year.
14. If we do the math, there are a total of 140K GCs in the EB category/year (amounting to approx. 14% of total GCs issued per year). 7% of 140K is 9800. Therefore, individuals from each country get a grand total of 9800 green cards per year in the EB category.
15. Consider this.
The population of India is over 1.4 billion accounting for nearly 18% of the world population with an even higher percentage of the high-skilled global workforce. Compare that with a country like Denmark, which accounts for 0.001% of the world population.
The population of India is over 1.4 billion accounting for nearly 18% of the world population with an even higher percentage of the high-skilled global workforce. Compare that with a country like Denmark, which accounts for 0.001% of the world population.
16. Under the 7% cap, the same number of GCs are allotted to those from India as to those from Denmark: 9800.
This leads to Indian migrants- despite being highly-skilled- have significantly longer wait times than others. This has led to over a million people in the #GCbacklog.
This leads to Indian migrants- despite being highly-skilled- have significantly longer wait times than others. This has led to over a million people in the #GCbacklog.
17. What has evolved is a skewed, exploitative system in which, US employers have to increasingly rely on “temporary workers” over American workers , and folks being entirely reliant on their employers for documented status, are subject to abuse from bad employers.
18. This is bad for the migrant high-skilled population, for American skilled workers, and also for American economy. Data shows that removal of such National-origin discriminatory caps will result in raising the average wage of an employment-based immigrant by ~12%.
20. Today, a bill to remove these per country caps, which was aptly endorsed by multiple individuals, organizations, and institutions- including the current White House- was removed from the schedule for a vote in the House due to a lack of support.
whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…
whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…
21. The #EagleAct was a common sense reform. It would have:
- eliminated the per-country caps that plague some categories of US immigration.
- had a transition period ensuring that immigrant applicants from low-admission countries did not have to face significant wait times.
- eliminated the per-country caps that plague some categories of US immigration.
- had a transition period ensuring that immigrant applicants from low-admission countries did not have to face significant wait times.
22.
- allowed employment portability and travel authorization to individuals waiting in the backlog.
- secured the fate of documented DREAMERS, and hence, helped keep families together.
- changed the “temporary workers” visa program, adding new protections for US workers.
- allowed employment portability and travel authorization to individuals waiting in the backlog.
- secured the fate of documented DREAMERS, and hence, helped keep families together.
- changed the “temporary workers” visa program, adding new protections for US workers.
23. While not the perfect immigration fix (there isn’t one), it was an essential and necessary first step in that direction.
It is dead now.
Multiple individuals and organizations had to lose by its passage; anti-immigration advocates, immigration lawyers, journalists…
It is dead now.
Multiple individuals and organizations had to lose by its passage; anti-immigration advocates, immigration lawyers, journalists…
24.
… those who look at the plight of this group of immigrants as an incentive, a steady source of personal income, and a means to continue abusing temporary workers… Temporary workers… the one permanent fixture in this hellhole that is American immigration.
(End of rant)
… those who look at the plight of this group of immigrants as an incentive, a steady source of personal income, and a means to continue abusing temporary workers… Temporary workers… the one permanent fixture in this hellhole that is American immigration.
(End of rant)
@RepZoeLofgren @LeaderHoyer @SpeakerPelosi @DickDurbin @POTUS @VP, and whoever else who’d listen.
#GCbacklog #EagleAct #Justice #Equality
#GCbacklog #EagleAct #Justice #Equality
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