FIIDS urges USA government to include documented Dreamers and spouses of backlogged Green Card applicants

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

On June 18th, President Biden announced that undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens residing in the country for at least 10 years can apply for expedited citizenship. Additionally, undocumented children with college education will be eligible for immediate work visas and future legal residency. While Biden’s commitment was lauded, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies USA (FIIDS) recognized a missed opportunity following the announcement.

The organization said the USA government forgot to include hundreds of thousands of spouses of legal, tax-paying, contributing immigrants who are stuck in long green card waits due to the 7% country-wise quota. “Their U.S.-educated children are becoming out of status at 21. They too have dreams; they are dreamers too. Just because they are legal, they shouldn’t be excluded from such measures,” FIIDS stated.

The non-profit also listed out three recommendations for the Biden administration to bolster the earlier announcement.

1. Enable EAD (Employment Authorization Document) to their children upon college degree or completion of age 21, whichever earlier.

2. ⁠Enable spouses of backlogged immigrants waiting for 10+ years to obtain EAD if they don’t have it.

3. ⁠Enable them to file Green Card, independent of the employment-based Green Card application of their spouses, so that they won’t be blocked by their spouses GC, which is blocked by 7% country wise quote for employment-based GC.

This would keep families together and enable them to contribute to the US economy with their full potential.

FIIDS has been working on immigration issues for the last three years. They also raised policy matters and bills related to legal immigration in the last two annual advocacy days. In the latest advocacy summit, on 13 June, 140 delegates from 22 states discussed the immigration issues with nearly 100 members of houses/their staff.

As the country wise GC quota has choked talented and tax paying Indian, mainly tech, immigrants for decades in getting their green card, FIIDS advocates reforms to get them and their family relief and make them contribute to the tech talent needs of the US.

The organization said they create awareness of S.3291 (EAGLE Act by Sen. Cramer) and H.R.6542 (Rep. Rich McCormick and Raja Krishnamoorthi) to remove the 7% country cap on green cards, HR 1535 (Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Larry Bucshon) to use unused green cards to reduce the backlog and H.R.3442 (Rep. Deborah Ross and Alex Padilla) to protect children of long-term visa holders.

“On this background, we appreciate them and their sponsors, as well as Rep. Ro Khanna for his conviction about the benefits of EAGLE act for the US and their efforts to get the bills passed. We request the support of the elected officials to this bill,” it stated.

Meanwhile, FIIDS appreciated ex-POTUS Donald Trump’s new suggestion about Green Card. On 20th June, Trump suggested that foreign students who graduate from college in the United States should receive a Green Card so they can stay in the country.

“We appreciate his thoughts behind this idea to ‘import the best and brightest around the world to America’. This plan would certainly eliminate the long wait time of GC backlog, attract students from all over the world to the US universities and make them available to give a global competitive edge to the US in technology including AI, Space and Cyber security,” it said.

“In this election year, there is a lot of debate around immigration, however, we hope that some tangible progress on legal immigration is vital for the US technology, economy as well as unity of the immigrant families,” FIIDS added.

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