Merit over birthplace: US Congress set to debate this change for Green Cards

US Green Cards: The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act of 2022.

The White House supported US Congress to pass a law that seeks to eliminate the per-country quota on green cards to allow US-based employers to focus on hiring people based on merit and not birthplace. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act of 2022.

US Green Card: A Green Card, officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US. (Reuters File)

A Green Card, officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing and working permanently in the country.

Earlier, the bill was cleared by the US House Judiciary Committee in April 2022 and is set to face the test of Congress this week. Once passed, the law would benefit lakhs of immigrants, especially Indian-Americans, reported news agency PTI.

Under existing rules, the US issues only 1.4 lakh green cards every year and there is a 7% cap on every country. This means just 9800 people per country are eligible for Green cards. If applicants from one country overshoot the cap, this results in a backlog. The petitions for Green cards beyond the cap are not considered until their petition falls within the initial 7% per country cap.

The EAGLE Act would eliminate the per-country cap on employment-based green cards as the bill proposes the phasing out of per-country caps over a course of nine years to ensure that eligible immigrants from less-populated countries are not excluded.