United States lawmakers passed a bill on Wednesday, which will lift the current seven per cent country-cap on issuing Green Cards. The move will greatly benefit thousands of highly-skilled Indian IT professionals who work in the US on H-1B visas. The US Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the United States.
The bill has been passed by the US House of Representatives and, once signed into law, would greatly shorten the wait for those who have applied for permanent residency, which can often be as long as a decade.
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), this bill will increase the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from seven per cent of the total number of such visas available that year to 15 per cent and will eliminate the seven per cent cap for employment-based immigrant visas.
The bill, however, has to be passed by the Senate, wherein the Republicans enjoy a majority, before it can be signed into law by President Donald Trump.
The move has come in for criticism with some worried that the bill will result in lower paid workers from India and other countries taking over more American jobs.