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Over 60,000 Indians received Green Cards in 2017: DHS

Washington DC: Out of the over 600,000 Indians waiting for the most sought-after Green Card, only 60,394 have received the legal permanent residency last year which allows them to live and work in the US, according to the latest official figures.

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 GCReforms.org, a website founded by members of the Indian diaspora living in the United States that focuses on immigration issues.

As of April 2018, there were 632,219 Indian immigrants and their spouses and minor children waiting for Green Cards.

Of the 60,394 Indians who received Green Cards in 2017, the maximum 23,569 were issued to the employment-based preferences like those on the H-1B visas.

Having a Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the US. Indian-Americans, most of whom are highly skilled and come to the US mainly on the H-1B work visas are the worst sufferers of the current immigration system which imposes a 7 per cent per country quota on allotment of Green Cards or permanent legal residency.

As many as 20,549 Indians were issued Green Cards in the capacity of them being immediate relatives (spouses, children and parents) of the US citizens, while 14,962 Indians were issued the Green Cards under the family sponsored categories like brothers and sisters.

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