Will the wait for US green cards reduce with a $20,000 fee?

The United States lawmakers are mulling a bill to bring relief for individuals waiting for green cards for years. A bipartisan proposal aims to raise the number of green cards and introduce other immigration reforms.

The Dignity Act of 2025 will increase eligibility for permanent residency and lower visa backlogs. This comes as the US immigration backlog reached 11.3 million (1.13 crore) cases by the second quarter of FY2025.

Let’s take a closer look.

What does the bill propose?

A bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration was introduced by Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida, and Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas, in the US House of Representatives on July 15.

A key provision of the Dignity Act is to reduce immigration visa backlogs by capping wait times to 10 years. People with employment or family-based immigration visas waiting for more than a decade can pay a $20,000 (Rs 17.5 lakh) fee for accelerated processing.

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The bill proposed to enhance the current per-country cap for green cards from 7 per cent to 15 per cent of the yearly total for both employment and family-based categories.

The proposed legislation is a revised version of the Dignity Act of 2023. It suggests setting up a new Immigration Agency Coordinator office to streamline operations across the Departments of Homeland Security, State, and Labor. It also allocates $3.6 billion to support this coordination and reduce visa processing backlogs.

What’s in it for Dreamers?

The changes proposed in the bipartisan bill would benefit several groups, including undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors, known as Dreamers. It will also bring respite for those stuck in visa backlogs and skilled workers witnessing lengthy waits due to per-country limits, as per Newsweek. Individuals with a criminal background will not be eligible.

The bill comes as the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is dealing with a significant surge in applications from migrants. Immigrant attorneys blame the Trump administration for “massive backlogs” as the US government amplifies efforts to find fraudulent cases.

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“The Dignity Act is a revolutionary bill that offers the solution to our immigration crisis: secure the border, stop illegal immigration, and provide an earned opportunity for long-term immigrants to stay here and work. No amnesty. No handouts. No citizenship. Just accountability and a path to stability for our economy and our future,” Florida GOP Representative Maria Elvira Salazar said in a statement.

The bill also proposes several border security measures and immigration reforms, with many of the provisions aimed at expanding access to green cards.

In 2023, the US issued green cards to 1.17 million people, a 15.2 per cent spike from the previous year, reflecting a change in immigration policy post-pandemic.

The majority of green cards (64.6 per cent) are family-sponsored, followed by employment-based at 16.7 per cent.

“This is a work visa reform program that’s very, very specifically tailored so that only those people who have been here for a long time, who have been trying to do it right, who have been trying to work hard, not causing problems, not taking any sort of handouts, it gives them a path. And it closes all the other doors for people to exploit the system,” Colorado Republican Congressman Gabe Evans told CPR.

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What changes for employment, student visa holders?

The Dignity Act recommends updates to employment-based immigration rules.

The bill would prevent children and spouses from being counted against annual visa totals. With this, only the principal applicant would be part of the total visa numbers. This is likely to increase the annual number of high-skilled visas without raising visa caps.

F-1 visas for international students will become dual-intent, allowing foreign students to pursue future employment in the US without proving intent to return home after completing their studies. Those working under Optional Practical Training (OPT) would be required to pay Social Security and Medicare.

A new rule creates a presumption of eligibility for O visas, meant for those with extraordinary ability, for international students with doctorates in STEM or medical fields, to retain high-skilled talent.

With inputs from agencies