Disappointed backlogged Indian says “environment in the US is not suitable for Indiansâ€
Two Indian American lawmakers have urged their colleagues to make one more attempt to deliver long due immigration reform after the US House failed to pass the EAGLE Act eliminating 7% per country green card caps.
“Our immigration system is broken and antithetical to our moral values as a country,†tweeted Pramila Jayapal, House member from Washington. “There’s still time left in this session to deliver long-overdue reform. We have to get this done.â€
Read: White House endorses Eagle Act to eliminate green card country cap (December 8, 2022)
“Per-country green card caps create lengthy backlogs to secure permanent status. For immigrants from India, this wait spans 150+ years,†she wrote in another tweet. “As someone who’s been on an H-1B visa, I’m proud to support the EAGLE Act to create a first-come, first-served system.â€
Ro Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley too was “disappointed to see that Congress has still not passed the EAGLE Act.â€
“I urge House leadership to bring it up for a vote before we adjourn this Congress to end arbitrary per-country green card caps and bring down our decades-long backlog for immigrants,†he tweeted.
Rep Eric Swalwell was also “disappointed that the EAGLE Act, a bill to make our employment-based visa system fairer, hasn’t come for a vote in the House. Too many visa holders & their families are stuck in a green card backlog that arbitrarily discriminates against immigrants from certain countries.â€
Read: EAGLE Act, a game changer for green card backlogs? (June 6, 2021)
Their comments were retweeted by Saurabh, a backlogged immigrant who tweeted his letter to Indian Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar and the Ministry of External Affairs “requesting them to issue a travel advisory for F1 & H1-B†– visa used extensively by Indian students and skilled workers.
“The environment in the US is not suitable for Indians and it is our moral duty to educate students and high-skilled workers against traveling & engaging with US institutions,†he tweeted
Coreena Enet Suares noted “700,000 Indian expats await Green Cards. Waiting time to receive a PR for an Indian applying today, is 90 years and around 80,000 children are expected to age out before their parents receive permanent residence.â€
Read: Indians to Benefit From Bill Initiated By US Lawmakers to Fix Green Card Backlog (April 8, 2022)
David J. Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank also urged the Biden administration “to act aggressively to prevent the depopulation of the United States by skilled Indian immigrants.â€
“Now that EAGLE Act is dead, and Congress is dead for at least 2 years. The admin needs to act aggressively to prevent the depopulation of the United States by skilled Indian immigrants,†he tweeted.