1000’s of younger Indians in the USA reside in worry of “self-deportation” as they strategy the age of 21. Beneath present US immigration legal guidelines, kids of H-1B visa holders lose their dependent standing as soon as they flip 21, leaving them in a precarious state of affairs. Beforehand, they’d a two-year grace interval to transition to a different visa, however latest coverage modifications have made their future much more unsure.
Many of those younger Indians, who moved to the US as minors on H-4 dependent visas, at the moment are exploring choices to immigrate to nations like Canada or the UK, the place insurance policies are extra versatile. The US immigration system, significantly the employment-based inexperienced card course of, has a large backlog that disproportionately impacts Indian households. As of March 2023, an estimated 1.34 lakh Indian kids have been anticipated to “age out” of their dependent standing earlier than their households might safe inexperienced playing cards.
The backlog is so extreme that some households face waits of 12 to 100 years for everlasting residency. This has left many younger Indians in limbo, not sure of their future within the nation they name dwelling.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Companies (USCIS) not too long ago introduced the registration interval for H-1B visas for fiscal yr 2026, opening on March 7 and shutting on March 24. The H-1B visa, which permits US firms to rent international staff in specialised fields, has an annual cap of 65,000 visas, with an extra 20,000 reserved for these with US grasp’s levels.
To handle fraud, USCIS has launched a beneficiary-centric choice course of and elevated the registration payment to $215. Nonetheless, these modifications supply little reduction to Indian households caught within the inexperienced card backlog.
A latest Texas courtroom ruling blocking work permits for brand new candidates underneath the Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has additional sophisticated issues. DACA offers short-term safety from deportation for undocumented youth, together with those that lose dependent standing after turning 21. With out this security internet, many Indian youth worry deportation or being pressured to depart the US.
US Senator Bernie Sanders has been a vocal critic of the H-1B program, arguing that it exploits international staff whereas displacing American jobs. “The primary perform of the H-1B program is to not rent ‘the most effective and the brightest’ however to exchange good-paying American jobs with lower-paid visitor staff,” Sanders mentioned.
He has proposed amendments to the Laken Riley Act, together with doubling H-1B visa charges to fund scholarships for American college students in STEM fields and elevating wages for H-1B staff to match native median wages. Whereas these measures intention to guard American staff, they might additional pressure Indian households counting on the H-1B system.
For 1000’s of Indian youth within the US, there is no such thing as a steady future. With restricted choices and an more and more sophisticated immigration insurance policies, many are left with no alternative however to think about leaving the nation they grew up in.
#Harsh #Actuality #Indian #Dependents #America
#Harsh #Actuality #Indian #Dependents #America
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