Visa Retrogression Explained: Why Green Card Dreams Are Crumbling for Thousands
Years after years, U.S. green card has represented a beacon of hope to immigrants in pursuit of their American dream. But today, a lesser-known bureaucratic barrier in the immigration system called “visa retrogression” is now rendering those dreams futile, forcing families into painful stagnation. Some Indian and Chinese Americans are experiencing a different kind of nightmare, suffering from a combination of stress, lack of hope, and financial burden all at once. Here’s what’s triggering this crisis now and what it means for you in the future.
What Is Visa Retrogression?
Visa retrogression happens when the demand for green cards surpasses the annual quota offered by the U.S. government. Every year, there are only 140,000 available slots for employment-based green cards, as well as 226,000 family sponsored ones. There are also caps for every country that limit approvals. When these quotas are full, the eligibility dates are “rolled back” by the Department of State, meaning that even if applicants have already submitted necessary documentation, they will still have to wait indefinitely.
Adjustment in the backlog dates for the indian professionals under the EB-3 employment-based visa category broken down for IT specialists was forecasted for June 2024. Sharma, who has spent 15 years waiting for a chance to emigrate explained that he is forced to watch his children age out of immigration sponsorship.
What’s Prompting This Change Now?
Major Backlogs Are Appearing: An over 1.2 million applicants are waiting to be processed for work-based immigration, out of which 1.2 million belong to India. For instance, a medical professional from France has chances of receiving the green card in two years, whereas an engineer from India has the bleak prospect of waiting over 50 years to finally be processed.
Integration Stalemates: Even with the growth of the tech industry, Congress has failed to change immigrant caps after 1990. Other Acts that aim to remove caps, such as the EAGLE Act, are also unheard of.
Chain Reaction: The immigration retrogression puts a freeze on dependents of primary applicants from receiving work authorization documents, exiling families to a situation with no legal or economic power.
Emotional Toll: “Our Lives Are on Hold”
Plans and dreams postponed paint a picture that is being shared in the online networks.
Aging Out Kids: Children above 21 years of age disable the form of being a dependent which breaks families. Priya Mehta a physician practicing in Ohio, cried while saying, “My son just celebrated his twenty first birthday. This means he has to go back to his country all by himself.”
Career Freeze: Employees cannot change companies or even discuss getting a raise because the problem of the tie to a visa always comes up. Anil Kapoor, a software engineer, bemoaned, “That’s the case for three different promotions I Should have received. My boss does understand these things, but he also knows I’m stuck.”
Mental Health Crisis: Retrogression has become practically synonymous with severe anxiety and depression in the lives of these applicants, a 2023 Stanford study claimed.
What Relief if Any, is There:
Preparatory measures are the orders of the day for immigration lawyers:
Alternative Visas: O-1, H-1B, or EB-1/NIW are to be applied for if they are in the scope of possibility.
Change the Filing Tactic: If benefits are to be secured, then the I-485 (adjustment of status) is strategically best filed for as early as possible.
Advocate: Push gbills such as the Preserving Employment Visas Act which aims to reclaim unused visas.
But given the current situation, hope seems almost impossible. Attorney Emily Nguyen specifically noted, “Congress has turned a blind eye to this humanitarian disaster,” adding “families have become collateral damage in a failed system.”
The Larger Context: An Urgent Need for Change
In 2024, the Biden administration did broaden work authorization to include certain spouses, but experts claim only Congress can deal with retrogression. “The caps on countries need to go, and the quotas need to be updated,” argued David Bier from the Cato Institute. “Until then, the American dream is unattainable.”
For the time being, millions are left with increasingly sparse optimism. Indian petitioner Arjun Patel bemoaned, “I committed the best years of my life to this country. Do I stand a chance to belong here?”
