This bill was passed by the US House of Representatives, which on being signed into law, would considerably reduce the agonising wait for talented professionals from countries like India seeking permanent work and residency permits in the United States.
Representational image (Photo: IStock)
The US lawmakers have passed a bill that is aimed at lifting the current seven per cent country-cap on issuing Green Cards, a move which would benefit thousands of highly-skilled Indian IT professionals on Thursday.
This bill was passed by the US House of Representatives, which on being signed into law, would considerably reduce the agonising wait for talented professionals from countries like India seeking permanent work and residency permits in the United States.
The bill sponsored by 311 Representatives from both parties was adopted on Wednesday and it will remove the limits on the number of permanent residencies or green cards that can be given in a year to citizens of each country in a bid to remove the huge backlog faced by highly qualified applicants from mainly India and China.
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Congressman John Curtis while speaking on the floor of the House said that, “The Bill will create a first-come, first-served system providing certainty to workers and families and enabling the US companies to flourish and compete in a global economy as they hire the brightest people to create products, services, and jobs, regardless of where they were born”.
If President Donald Trump “is serious about merit-based legal immigration, he should help usher this bill into law,” said Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.
A Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the United States.
However, Joseph S Joh, Assistant Director and Senior Advisor in the Office of Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland Security said “it does not support the Bill”.
“This bill would do nothing to move the current employment-sponsored system toward a more merit-based system”, he added.
The legislation would come at a time when India has complained about the increased scrutiny and higher rates of denial of H1-B applications for Indians; and, this has become a point of contention between the two countries. It is also possible that Trump may hold it up as a negotiating ploy in the trade dispute.
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