Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, May 29, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, May 29, 2006 |
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Human Resources Industry & Economy - Employment Government - Policy `Low quotas stretch wait for US immigrant visas' Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee
New Delhi , May 28 Inadequate immigration quotas are stretching the wait for green cards in the skilled workers and professional category to over five years now, and the situation may get worse unless US Congress hikes numerical limits on employment-based immigrant visas, warns a report by National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). "Waits for green cards (permanent residence) in the skilled workers and professionals category have worsened considerably in the past few years, with the current wait for a newly sponsored high skilled immigrant in this category exceeding five years," said the study by NFAP, a non-profit organisation focusing on public policy research on trade and immigration. "Analysis of future demand and pending backlogs indicate the problem is likely to grow worse unless the Congress changes the numerical limits on employment based immigrant visas." The wait time for priority workers (first preference) and advanced degree holders and persons of exceptional ability from China and India ranges from 1-3 years, it said, quoting from the US Department of State Visa Bulletin for June 2006. "For those sponsoring family members for immigration in certain categories, forward progress has stopped on waiting lists for the past year. Siblings of US citizens can expect to wait 11-12 years from today before immigrating to America (22 years from the Philippines)," it added. "Since it can take five years or more for a US employer to sponsor a skilled foreigner for permanent residence (green card), the availability of H-1B visas is important, otherwise skilled foreign nationals, particularly graduates of US Universities, could not work or remain in the US." The study was co-authored by Mr Stuart Anderson, Executive Director of NFAP. The NFAP Advisory Board includes economist Prof Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia University), Professor Richard Vedder (Ohio State University), and Mr Cesar Conda, former Domestic Policy Advisor to the US Vice-President, Mr Dick Cheney.
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