The surprise for the diaspora people of India is contained in the “American Dream and Promise Act” – the reinstatement of which was announced by the US Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard on Wednesday. The reason was that it promises a path to become a citizen, not just for “dreamers” but also for “legitimate or written dreams” – aka children whose parents are legally moving to the US, it says under the popular visa H-1B program. The legislative bill was ignored by the legal dreamers.
David J Bier, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank, wrote on Twitter, “The Dream and Promise Act has been introduced and it includes most dreamers in the US right now. This is a major development for the bill that will help nearly 200,000 immigrants in the US obtain American citizenship.”
He points out that the bill will benefit everyone behind the green EB card, as well as many L (intra-company) and H-1B visa holders, because once these children have acquired citizenship and are over 21 years, they can apply for the green card for their parents.
According to a previous study by Bier, the backlog of the green card (EB2 and EB3 category) for those from India had reached 7.41 lakh by April 2020, in the expected 84-year period. About 1.36 lakh children from Indian families were caught in this backlog and it was estimated that 84,675 of them (or 62%) would grow old without getting a green card.
‘Improve The Dream’, an organization led by young immigrants raised in the US, has been one of the voices that promote change, that will permanently end old age and provide a way to become a citizen of every child raised in the US regardless of status.
The organization wrote on Twitter: “Good news: The 2021 Dream and Promises Act also includes Documented Dreamers! This is a step forward in ensuring that all children raised here have access to a clear national identity.”
Dreams are now protected from deportation and are eligible for work authorization, but legal dreamers are not happy with this approach. Spouse and children dependent on an H-1B employee have an H-4 or a dependent visa. When these children turn 21, they are no longer able to continue their visa. They may have to apply for an F-1 visa for foreign students – with its own challenges such as high fees and restricted performance; or they should be exiled to India. The huge backlog of green cards resulting from the employment of those from India, encompasses this problem, such as old age before the green card was obtained.
This bill and the previous bill introduced in the country, which seeks to prevent a child from aging due to eligibility for a green card, if he was under 21 when a parent applied for a green card or applied for a certificate were accepted by the Indian diaspora.
