Eminent Indian Americans have launched a nationwide campaign in the US to create awareness about massive backlog for Green Card which they say is impacting some 300,000 high-skilled Indian applicants.
Under the current regulation, skilled immigrants from India need to wait anywhere between 25-92 years for a Green Card due to per-country limits, said the newly-launched group GCReforms.org.
The announcement for the nationwide campaign comes as the White House sent the details of its immigration reform to the Congress.
“We not only support the physician groups involved in the immigration issues but also supports a fair green card allocation process for engineers and other professionals that are caught up in the quandary,” said GcReforms.org president Sampat Shivangi.
“I strongly support the cause,” said Ved Nanda, distinguished university professor for 53 years at the University of Denver Sturm college of law, in a statement issued by GCReforms.org.
Green Card delay needed to be eliminated as this slowed down American innovation and job creation, said Kiran Kumar Thota, one of its founding members. “Many bright individuals who are hard working and self-driven are always under stress to keep the same job role,” said Rishi Bhutada, director at Hindu American foundation.
Jagdish Sharma, chair, Indian American Friendship Forum, rued that as a result of huge backlog, many talented people who worked in Fortune 500 companies, had to wait decades for Green Cards.
“The contributions of skilled immigrants to America and their issues need better understanding and recognition across America, coming together of the Green Card Reforms is a great initiative in that direction,” said Prakash Wadhwa, creator of ‘From the Land of Gandhi’ film on the Green Card backlog
