The employment green card backlog tops 800,000, most of them Indian. A solution is elusive.

[IronLionZion]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/the-employment-green-card-backlog-tops-800000-most-of-them-indian-a-solution-is-elusive/2019/12/17/55def1da-072f-11ea-8292-c46ee8cb3dce_story.html



An estimated 800,000 immigrants who are working legally in the United States are waiting for a green card, an unprecedented backlog in employment-based immigration that has fueled a bitter policy debate but has been largely overshadowed by President Trump’s border wall fight and the administration’s focus on migrant crossings from Mexico.

Most of those waiting for employment-based green cards that would allow them to stay in the United States permanently are Indian nationals. And the backlog among this group is so acute that an Indian national who applies for a green card now can expect to wait up to 50 years to get one.

The wait is largely the result of an annual quota unchanged since 1990 and per-country limits enacted decades before the tech boom made India the top source of employment-based green card seekers.

The backlog has led to competing bills in Congress and has pitted immigrants against immigrants, setting off accusations of racism and greed and exposing a deep cynicism about the prospects for any kind of immigration reform in a polarized nation. The debate centers on the potential benefits of a quick fix to alleviate the wait times for those already in the backlog versus a broader immigration overhaul that could allow more workers to seek permanent residency, address country quotas and expand the number of available green cards.

On DU, we often hear about companies abusing visa programs like H-1B. One way to improve the situation is to have more green cards for people who have been working here on visas and are committed to becoming Americans with permanent residency and apply for citizenship. Green cards add to the diversity of America and empowers workers to have more options for employment. These are the ones who want to own a house and put their kids through school and live the American dream like anyone else.

The temporary nature of visas like H-1B enables abuses of workers, firing of American employees to replace with temp agency style foreign contractors, and severely limits the ability of workers to change employers or improve their situation in life. The companies that sponsor workers for green cards are the ones who value their people. The wealthy "job creators" who use their tax cuts to fire American workers to replace them with temporary contractors on visas don't value their people. Malicious people and hate groups have used this situation to inflame racial hostility and division.

You are less likely to be fired and replaced by a permanent resident. If you work alongside green card holders, you are more likely to get to know them as fellow human beings, friends, neighbors, etc. and find we may have more in common than some may have us believe.