Raja Krishnamoorthi and Larry Bucshon recently introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives, in a bid to ensure the proper utilisation of the employment-based visas being allocated each year under the immigration law. This announcement was met with a warm welcome by thousands of Indians employed in the country.
The bill, aptly called the Eliminating Backlogs Act of 2023 legislation, has been designed to provide “greater flexibility to use existing allotted work visas that employers desperately need”, a press release from Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s office stated.
Indians are among the many who are employed in the US on temporary work permits like H-1B visas. However, they face extended delays in receiving employment-based permanent residence visas or green cards as a result of the current per-country cap, an issue that the Eliminating Backlogs Act 2023 is aimed at eradicating.
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In his statement, Krishnamoorthi highlighted the impact of the country-based caps on the number of employment-based visas that can be issued otherwise. The Congressman stated his pleasure in working with Bucshon, to eliminate the “country-based discrimination in high-skilled immigration”, subsequently helping strengthen the US economy and create more jobs while also investing in the domestic workforce. Larry Bucshon also stated his pleasure in working with Krishnamoorthi in eradicating the backlog of the hundreds of visas that remain unused.
However, several roadblocks are expected to be seen with the passing of the Bill in the House of Representatives, even though the bill may benefit several Indians and other skilled foreign nationals. Previously, the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment Act of 2022 (EAGLE Act) also saw a big setback with proceedings on the Bill being postponed in December last year.
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Asserting the need for the Bill, Congressman Krishnamoorthi highlighted further impacts of the per-country caps and bureaucratic delays in previous years. In 2020, US immigration officials failed to utilise nearly 9,100 employment-based visas, while, in 2021, they failed to utilise more than 66,000, he added.
Congressman Kirshnamoothi has dedicatedly worked towards improving the immigration system. According to reports, in October 2021, Krisnamoorthi supported the Build Back Better Act which also addressed the green card backlogs. He had also cosponsored the EAGLE Act and led 40 Congress members to send a letter to then-Speaker at the time Nancy Pelosi and majority leader Chuck Schumer. The letter also addressed the backlog of employment-based green cards, which had been addressed in the Build Back Better Act.
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Source: The Times of India
