New York: Several Indians - either direct H-1B visa holders or those dependent on them - are forced to 'self-deport' during the Covid-19 pandemic due to layoffs or deaths in the family. Many of them have been living in the US for years, building homes and settling down while waiting in a long queue for a Green Card, which would allow them to permanently live and work in the country.
While some have lost their family members during the pandemic, others have lost their livelihood.
Venkat (name changed) was working in a product company and was living in Edison, New Jersey. He had moved to the US in April 2011, but was fired in April this year during the coronavirus pandemic as companies were forced to downsize.
"It was an unexpected meeting with my supervisor and soon, the Human Resources department joined the call. An entire team who were working from home were laid off, and they cited the economic slump as the reason," the 37-year-old who hails from Vellore in Tamil Nadu says.
Though H-1B visa holders pay taxes, they are not entitled to unemployment benefits like Green Card holders. Venkat now has 60 days to find another job in order to transfer his work visa to a new employer or has to deport himself as he would turn 'illegal'. "I have been applying to various jobs but the job market is not good and there is a hiring freeze. There are layoffs everywhere. I will have to book a flight to leave but even then it feels unsafe to travel," Venkat adds.
A clogged system
Many feel that skilled workers and their families are often left in the lurch because of the long waiting list for a Green Card among H-1B visa holders. Many of them have to wait for years, before their application comes up. In March this year, a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report highlighted the severity of the backlog and said that Indians may have to wait for decades to get the Green Card as the number of foreign workers sponsored by employers each year exceeds the annual allocation by the Federal government.
"The backlog is adding to the problem. Since the H-1B is sponsored by the employer, job mobility is not easy. Some people have to wait months for the transfer, even after beginning work at their new job with a receipt confirming that they have shifted companies," he adds.
Many Indians have also been pushing for a legislation titled 'S-386', or Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, which would remove the per-country cap of 7% on the number of Green Cards issued to skilled workers. Advocacy groups, including the High Skilled Immigrants for America, argue that as Indians and Chinese are the highest number of H-1B visa migrants, the present system is the reason that they wait for years for a Green Card.
The CRS report too, had highlighted the issue, stating that, "Maintaining the seven per cent per-country ceiling would substantially increase the already long wait times for Indian and Chinese nationals, but it would continue to allow those from elsewhere to receive Green Cards relatively quickly." As per data by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, 42,370 Green Card requests were pending as of 2019, of which 8,233 were Indian and 6,223 were Chinese nationals.
