195 years! That’s how long Indians might have to wait for a Green Card due to recent layoffs

Indians may have to wait for 195 years to get a US Green Card

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As per the US Immigration Laws, after termination of a contract, H-1B visa holders can stay in the United States for up to 60 days legally. After the 60-day time limit, visa holders must either have found a new employer who will sponsor their Visa or be on their way back home.

As per Bloomberg, over the past 3 years, tech companies such as Amazon, Twitter, Meta and Lyft have sponsored around 45,000 H-1B visas. Layoffs 2022 at Meta and Twitter have proven to be disadvantageous for around 350 immigrants.

Through the H-1B Visa programme, US employers are allowed to recruit workers from outside the country in order to meet their employment needs. With the mass layoffs, many of these workers now find themselves stranded and on a frantic job search.

Why 195 years?

As per the data provided by the US Congressional Report in 2020, the wait time for Indians would increase as the Indian Community tends to be on a temporary visa for a longer time due to already existing backlogs in getting US PR, as opposed to other foreign communities.

A similar statement was also said by a Republican US Senator, Mike Lee. “Someone from India entering the backlog today would have to wait 195 years to receive an EB-3 green card. Even if we give their children this limbo status, none of them will have a prayer of becoming a US citizen,” Lee stated at the Senator Floor in 2020.

As per the laws, US can only give around 7 percent of people a Green Card based on their employment in the country. The congressional report further states that around half a million Indians were already in queue for a green card and the US has only 10,000 Green cards to offer per year. Hence, the wait time is bound to increase. As of now, this wait time is reported to be around 195 years.