1.34 Lakh NRI Children Might Be Separated From Families
As of March 2023, 10.7 lakh Indians are presently in the employment green-card backlog (EB-2 and EB-3 categories). Annually the US sets aside only 1.4 lakh for employment-based applicants and there is a 7% per country cap.?
This means that the wait for a green card could be 54 long years, if factors such as death and aging-out are considered but if these considerations are set aside, then the wait may be an unbelievable 134 years!
High risk of family separation
The long wait means that nearly 1.34 lakh children will age out before a green card can be obtained.?
A child 'ageing out' means that if the child turns 21 while the parent is still on a temporary work visa or waiting for a green card, the child loses their legal status.?
Before the age of 21, children have an H-4 visa, which is meant for dependants and is tied to their parents' H-1B work visa.?
This thus brings with it a high risk of family separation. For many of these children who grew up in the US and have little or no connection with their home country, that is an uphill task.?
The data is from a recent study conducted by David J. Bier, Associate Director of Immigration Studies with the Cato Institute.?
What happens when a child reaches age 21
Such children who were brought to the United States legally, as dependents of a parent¡¯s visa, but who lose residency status at age 21, are known as Documented Dreamers in the US.?
Documented dreamers have no option but to obtain an F-1 visa meant for international students, or to self-deport to India or another country.?
The F-1 visa is also not the most preferable since it has challenges such as limited work opportunities for students and higher fees.?
According to Bier, the backlog is the result of the country caps where green cards are not issued proportionally to the number of pending applicants in each country but rather limited arbitrarily at 7% per nation of birth.?
The Senate and House have recently introduced America's Children Bill to permanently protect the children of long-term visa holders from ¡°aging out¡± of the system and protect them from self-deportation when they reach age 21.?
This is based on the fact that it is also a loss to America's communities and employers. The Bill aims to allows documented dreamers to obtain permanent residency and to establishes age-out protections. The Bill has not yet been enacted.??
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