High skilled immigrants body urges US President Donald Trump to address long sufferings of H-1B visa holders

Washington: A nonprofit body, representing high skilled immigrants from India, has urged President Donald Trump to address their long sufferings of H-1B visa holders by accelerating the pace of Green Card or legal permanent residency and remove bureaucratic, legal hurdles from the most-sought after work visa.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

A Green Card allows a non-US citizen to live and work permanently in America.

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In a recent memorandum to the President, High Skilled Immigrants For America has requested Trump to address their sufferings by the recovery of Green Cards unused in previous years, allow US Citizenship and Immigration Services to receive an application for Adjustment of Status and issue Employment Authorisation with approved I-140 immigrant petition and unitary counting of derivatives.

Representational image. Reuters

"The assistance in resolving above will provide needed relief to over 500,000 skilled immigrants and their families," High Skilled Immigrants of India said in its memorandum to the president.

According to the memorandum, this will significantly benefit the US in many ways. These talented labour force will be able to directly work with the leading American companies, without having to go through middlemen, who make the most money in the current situation, the memorandum said.

"This will enable the American companies to manufacture and develop product and systems right here in the US and not have to send the work offshore due to lack of talent pool," High Skilled Immigrants For America said.

"Many of us have entrepreneurial skills, but we are not able start our business due to long wait for the Green Card. Clearing the backlog will unleash our true potential and setting up hundreds of startups, creating innovations and high-end jobs, Making America Great Again," the memorandum said.

The memorandum opposed the allocation of seven percent quota per country for employment-based on the Green Card, irrespectively of the country's size and demography.

“As we come from the world's second-most populous country and are in high demand by the US companies in need of skills in the area of science and technology, we form far larger pool of immigrants, and thus in a long backlog for the Green Card," it said.