US to provide non-immigrants 5-year work authorization cards, helping Indians

US to provide non-immigrants 5-year work authorization cards, helping Indians

Many Indians who now reside in the US will profit from the US's recent announcement that it would provide employment authorization cards to certain non-immigrant categories for a five-year period, including those who are applying for green cards.

For initial and renewal EADs for certain non-citizens who must apply for work authorization, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the maximum validity duration of EADs will be extended to 5 years.

According to the federal government, they include requests for asylum or the deferral of removal, status adjustments under INA 245, and requests for the suspension or cancellation of deportation.

It stated that by extending the maximum EAD validity period to five years, it will receive significantly fewer new Forms I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for renewal EADs over the coming years, aiding in its efforts to cut down on processing times and backlogs.

The underlying status, circumstances, and EAD filing type will still determine whether the noncitizen retains work authorization, it said.

For instance, if a person received an EAD under this category based on a pending adjustment of status application for a maximum validity period of five years, and the adjustment application was subsequently denied, their ancillary employment authorization could be terminated prior to the expiration date specified on their EAD, the document said.

More than 10.5 lakh Indians are waiting in line for an employment-based Green Card, and 4 lakh of them might pass away before receiving the highly desired legal document that would provide them permanent residence in the US.

A Green Card, often referred to as a Permanent Resident Card, is a legal document given to immigrants in the US as proof that they have been granted permission to live there permanently. The per-country limitations are monetary restrictions on the number of green cards that may be issued to citizens of certain nations.

1.8 million cases were added to the employment-based Green Card backlog this year, according to a report by American libertarian think tank Cato Institute researcher David J. Bier.

Of the 1.8 million cases still pending, over 1.1 million (or 63% of them) are from India. Another almost 250,000 people, or 14%, come from China, it claimed.