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According to his spokesperson Jen Psaki, US President Joe Biden wants Congress to pass immigration reform that will enable Indian doctors and other professionals to obtain green cards more quickly.
“He argues that our immigration system is flawed on several levels,” she said at a press conference on Wednesday. “He’s looking forward to Congress taking action in that region.”
She was responding to a query about a protest in the United States by Indian doctors who had been on the front lines of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, who demanded the removal of country quotas for green cards, which would enable them to obtain permanent residency status more quickly.
“The reason we want to press for action on immigration (legislation) on the (Capitol) Hill is to move forward with expediting the processing and doing so on many fronts, including a number of the visas,” Psaki said when asked about the delays in processing work authorization for spouses of those with H1-B and L1 visas. “That’s why we believe it’s such an important item to move forward on.”
Last week, Indian doctors protested outside Congress, requesting that country quotas be abolished so that they can get their green cards faster.
Democrats introduced sweeping immigration reform legislation in Congress last month that would eliminate country quotas for green cards. Although spouses of people are not subject to quotas, all other countries, with the exception of Canada and Mexico, are limited to just 26,000 green cards each year. This has resulted in a massive backlog for applicants from countries such as India, and some countries do not use their entire quota.
Indians with advanced degrees whose immigration applications were accepted in 2009, as well as skilled workers and specialists whose applications were approved in 2010, are still awaiting their green cards, according to the State Department. Such are just the wait times for those whose applications have already been approved; for those in the immigration queue, it could take centuries.
Republicans insist that the bill contain strict limits on illegal immigration, and support from some Republicans in the Senate will be expected.
Previously, legislation to repeal country caps failed in the last Congress because disputes between the Senate and House versions of the bill were not resolved in time, and the bill lapsed. Separate versions of the bill were approved by the Senate in December 2020 and by the House in 2019.
H-1B visas are for professionals, while L-1 visas are for workers who have been moved to the US by their employers. Their spouses were permitted to work in the United States under legislation implemented by former President Barack Obama, but Donald Trump, who replaced him, moved to prevent them from doing so.
The Biden administration thwarted Trump’s efforts in its first week in office, continuing to make partners, the majority of whom were Indian women, eligible for work permits.
The Citizenship and Immigration Service related the work authorization delays to “Covid-19 limitations, a rise in filings, existing postal service volume, and other external factors,” according to the San Jose Mercury last month. According to the newspaper, the department said it had redistributed workloads and that workers were working extra hours to prevent delays.
