Democratic Senator Alex Padilla on Monday made a fresh bid to advance his ‘Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929’ bill, which would provide a pathway to lawful permanent residency for millions of long-term US residents, including H-1B visa holders.
What did the bill propose?
The bill seeks to provide a “commonsense” fix to the US’s “outdated” immigration system to counter President Donald Trump’s “systemic attacks” on migrants.
It would also allow long-term US residents to apply for permanent residency if they have lived in the country continuously for at least seven years before applying.
The proposed legislation, if enacted, would provide a much-needed pathway to green cards for more than eight million people, including
- Dreamers (undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children)
- Forcibly displaced individuals (Temporary Protected Status holders)
- Children of long-term visa holders
- Essential workers
- Highly skilled professionals, such as H-1B visa holders, have been waiting years for employment-based green cards.
The bill proposes to amend Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, commonly known as the Registry provision, which gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the discretion to register certain individuals for lawful permanent resident status if they have been in the country since a specified date and meet other eligibility requirements.
Section 249 was first codified in 1929 and last updated in 1986 during the Reagan administration. The current eligibility cutoff date remains January 1, 1972.
‘Congress cannot ignore millions of long-term residents’
“A year ago, I introduced this bill to push back against the Trump administration’s cruel treatment of hardworking immigrants,” Padilla told AP and added, “Since then, President Trump’s campaign of fear has only escalated, with families living under constant uncertainty despite having built their lives in this country.”
“Congress cannot continue to ignore millions of long-term residents who contribute to our economy and communities every day. It’s past time to modernise our immigration laws and create a fair pathway to lawful permanent residency,” he said.
The bill is co-led by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin and cosponsored by US Senators Cory Booker, Tammy Duckworth, Andy Kim, Ben Ray Lujan, Edward J Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, Patty Murray, Bernie Sanders, Brian Schatz, Adam Schiff, Tina Smith, and Elizabeth Warren.
It has also received endorsements from over 30 organisations.
Indian H-1B workers face 15+ year green card waits
The US employment-based immigration system has, for years, been plagued by long green card backlogs, particularly affecting Indian H-1B professionals because of per-country visa caps.
Tens of thousands of highly skilled Indian professionals, primarily in the tech and science sectors, working on H-1B visas, apply for permanent residency every year.
Because demand from India vastly exceeds the 7 per cent annual allotment, a huge queue forms. Data suggest that Indians account for roughly 80 per cent of the overall pending employment-based green card backlog, resulting in wait times of 15 years or more.
