US Announces 5-Year Employment Cards: The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has unveiled a significant update that will provide advantages to Indian citizens, particularly those awaiting a green card. The most recent development is that the United States has declared that certain non-immigrant categories (including individuals awaiting green cards) will be issued employment authorization certificates for a period of five years.
US Announces 5-Year Employment Cards: Potential Benefits for Indians
For specific non-citizens who are required to petition for employment authorization, the maximum validity period of Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) has been extended by US immigration services to five years, encompassing both initial and renewal EADs. The federal agency stated that these include individuals seeking asylum or having their removal withheld, adjusting their status under INA 245, suspending their deportation, or having their removal cancelled.
The agency’s objective in extending the validity of the EAD to five years was to decrease the issuance of new Forms I-765, thereby aiding in its endeavours to mitigate the consequent delays in processing and backlogs.
As per the USCIS, the maintenance of employment authorization by a noncitizen is contingent upon their EAD filing category, underlying status, and circumstances.
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As an illustration, should an individual obtain an EAD within the specified category on the grounds of a pending adjustment of status application with a maximum validity period of five years, and the adjustment application subsequently fails, it is possible that their ancillary employment authorization will be revoked prior to the designated expiration date on their EAD.
Significantly, the waiting list for an employment-based Green Card in India exceeds 10.5 lakh individuals, and 4 lakh of them may perish before obtaining the highly coveted legal document of permanent residency in the United States.
What is a green card?
A Green Card, formally referred to as a Permanent Resident Card, is a legally binding document that serves as proof that the bearer has been authorized permanent residency in the United States. It is issued to emigrants. The numerical restrictions known as “per-country caps” govern the issuance of green cards to nationals of specific countries.
This year, the backlog for employment-based Green Cards reached a new high of 1,8 million cases, according to a study by David J. Bier of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank.
India accounts for 63% of the 1.8 million cases in the backlog, or approximately 1.1 million. Fourteen percent, or nearly 250,000, are from China, according to the think tank.
