Washington DC: There does not seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel for children of legal immigrants, a large number of whom are Indian Americans, who arrived in the US as a child and now risk being deported back to India after they turn 21.
According to figures in Forbes Magazine, after analysing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) statistics, the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) discovered that over 1.2 million Indians—including dependents — were still waiting for green cards under the EB1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories.
Statement Of An Indian Living In The US
"I was forced to start visa-hopping to be able to stay in this country when I was 20 years old. I am about to turn 27 this August. Soon, if my time visa-hopping was personified, they would be older than I was when I first came to the United States," Jefrina, currently a graduate student pursuing an MBA at the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota told PTI.
She came to the US from India in 2005 as a seven-year-old under a dependent H-4 visa. Her family had applied for permanent residency in 2010 when she was 12 years old. Jefrina’s story is one of over 250,000 ‘Documented Dreamers’ - children of long-term visa holders - who are at risk of aging out of their dependent status and are forced to self-deport if they are ineligible for another status.
Lawmakers Call On President Biden To Protect Documented Dreamers
Last month, a bipartisan group of 43 lawmakers, led by Senator Alex Padilla, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, and Representative Deborah Ross, called on the Biden Administration to take urgent action to protect the ‘Documented Dreamers’, which has been stuck in a legislative impasse.
On Thursday, the White House blamed the Republicans for the impasse. "I talked about the bipartisan agreement from the Senate where we negotiated a process to help the so-called Documented Dreamers. And sadly, Republicans, and I've said this many times already at this podium today, which is that they voted it down twice. They voted it down twice,' White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.
Last month, Improve The Dream, an organization representing the children of legal immigrants met with over 100 congressional offices and senior administration officials.
“It is disappointing to see the lack of action and associated proposed regulations deprioritized and delayed. It is time for action and I hope President Biden and the administration see the support from this bipartisan letter and show they care about one of the most bipartisan issues in Congress and rectify the mistakes of the past," said Dip Patel, founder of Improve The Dream said.
He also expressed gratitude for the bipartisan members of Congress. Roshan was forced to leave the US last month. He was working with an American semiconductor manufacturing company and had come to the US with his mother and brother as a 10-year-old on an H4 visa. Roshan graduated from Boston College in 2021 but had aged out in 2019. After nearly 16 years in Boston, he had to leave the US in June.
Patel said every day without action results in young adults, who have been lawfully raised in the United States being forced to leave the country, separating them from their families and stopping their ability to contribute to the economy.
The administration has heard countless stories and examples of Americans raised and educated STEM and health care talent (which comprises 87% of all impacted by aging-out, according to Improve The Dream's survey) contributing in other countries now due to barriers in our legal immigration system.
“All major administrative actions have excluded this population from receiving the benefit, despite the tools for such relief being available and used for others. Until Congress can pass the bipartisan America's Children Act, we need urgent action by the administration to prioritize this issue, which has bipartisan support from Congress and the general public, and clear economic benefit,” Patel told PTI.
