HomeWorld NewsUS to process more green cards this year under employment based categories

US to process more green cards this year under employment based categories

According to the USCIS, the annual limit of green cards under the overall employment-based categories for the fiscal year 2022 is approximately twice as high as usual.

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By CNBCTV18.com February 21, 2022, 3:40:29 PM IST (Updated)

US to process more green cards this year under employment based categories
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has urged applicants to switch their employment categories as there are an exceptionally high number of employment-based immigrant visas available under the priority categories during this fiscal year (October 2021-September 2022), reported the Economic Times.



USCIS, the apex body overseeing the immigration process, on February 18, said that eligible employment-based green-card applicants could move to first (priority workers) or second (noncitizens in professions with advanced degrees or with exceptional ability) employment-based preference categories, which will help them to fast track their application. This is a positive development especially for Indian professionals as they are usually made to wait for a long duration.

The USCIS stated that eligible applicants should consider transferring the underlying basis of their adjustment of status application to the first or priority (EB1- with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics) or second (EB2- who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or who have exceptional ability (including requests for national interest waivers) employment-based preference categories.

According to the USCIS, the annual limit of green cards under the overall employment-based categories for the fiscal year 2022 is approximately twice as high as usual. This includes all unused family-sponsored visa numbers, around 1,40,0000, from FY 2021.

Indian applicants face the longest waiting periods for employment-based immigration visas because of the excess number of candidates and annual nation caps that limit the different types of visas that are issued annually.

The new development, however, will ease the process and help Indian immigrants.

Earlier, applications for the third employment-based category (EB3- skilled workers, professionals, or other workers) were moving faster. Thus, many applicants from the EB2 category used to be downgraded to that class. With the latest development, they can improve back to the EB2 category.

“The USCIS wants to approve as many green cards as they can as there has been a huge spillover from the family quota. This has not happened in the past in such large numbers,” Economic times quoted Rajiv S Khanna, Managing Attorney of Immigration.com.

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