Indian Ambassador Meets Durbin Over A Bill To End Green Card Country Caps

To the glee of Indian green card backlog community, Indian Ambassador to the US, Harshvardhan Shringla, has met Senator Dick Durbin, a key opponent of a bill to end green card country caps. Engaging in a tweet later, Shringla wrote how the skillful Indian professionals bring value to the US economy. He also spoke of how they help fill the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) shortage, critical for the competitiveness of the American tech industry.

Durbin, a top Democrat, has been blocking the passage of S. 386 or Fairness for High Skilled Immigrant Act that would remove the per-country cap on green cards and allow their issuance on the first-come-first-served basis. According to USCIS data, about 77 percent of nearly 400,000 people waiting in the employment-based green card category are Indians. For a large number of the Indian community stuck in an enormous green card backlog, the meeting came as a big deal.

Speaking to the American Bazaar, an emotional Shivani Arora from Illinois said: “It finally feels like, someone from the Indian government came forward to understand our difficulty. It means a lot to us. We feel grateful to ambassador Shringla.” Shringla’s tweet was quickly endorsed by hundreds of Indians and organizations working towards immigration reforms in the US. As efforts continue to build momentum about the need for fair immigration reforms in America, many Indians comprehend that it may be a hardy fight, but hope right voices reaching the Capital may make the process swifter.

Shringla’s meeting with Durbin is being seen with a lot of hope as S.386 has been a top priority for many Indians whose lives are in limbo as they wait for a green card or PR in the US. The per-country cap system confirms that no country gets more than 7 percent of the total GC issued in the year. The process has put Indians in a situation where it would take decades for them to get a green card.