The wait to acquire a U.S. Green Card has been extended to an astounding 134 years for a significant portion of immigrants, specifically leaving 1.1 million highly skilled U.S. employed applicants questioning if the homes and livelihoods they built in this country will ultimately disappear. In other words, David J. Bier, an associate director of immigration studies at Cato Institute, compared the Green Card crisis to a life sentence. Furthermore, this still excludes the other 8.3 million family-sponsored cases, versus the employment-based category, in the backlog also potentially waiting for decades to complete the application process. A Green Card allows immigrants to permanently live and work in the U.S. and is a stepping stone to becoming a naturalized citizen, making this one of the most crucial pieces of plastic a foreigner can vie for. However, the extensive wait time for one places a spotlight on the inefficiencies and distressing impacts of the tiresome process. 

The lengthy wait time can be attributed to a few U.S. immigration policies and the arduous application process. Firstly, the Green Card quotas based on the country of origin are some of the main hindrances for an immigrant in obtaining permanent residence. The limits are set based on the average number of immigrants coming from each specific country. Therefore, an immigrant's predetermined wait time is not based on talent or aspirations, but on birth country. On top of that, immigration laws only allow 140,000 employment-based Green Cards. However, a mere 7% of them is allocated to each country per year, making the window to acquire one even smaller for millions of immigrants to fit through. Additionally, the application process consists of a family or employer advocating on an immigrant’s behalf for permanent residency, filing never-ending paperwork, and finally waiting for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to schedule an interview.  Each step of the process requires a lengthy period of time in between, adding onto the waiting time. With all the paperwork, errors are almost inevitable and can further cause delay, increasing the demand for immigration attorneys. Unfortunately, another obstacle lies in the way: our low supply of these specialized lawyers can’t catch up to the growing demand. 

The wait time also has negative impacts all across the board. For example, a Boundless report found “Even before the pandemic, international student enrollment had dropped, and in 2021, U.S. schools saw an 18% decrease in active M-1 and F-1 students from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.” Fewer international students are applying to U.S. universities on a student visa because even if they complete a degree, they will have between 12-18 months to find an employer who can sponsor an H1B visa to continue working. Once they obtain an H1B visa and a job, switching to a better paying job or earning a promotion becomes difficult since USCIS approval is needed each time without a Green Card. This even applies to students who have lived in the U.S. for many years but haven’t been approved for a Green Card, yet. Therefore, international students often find it easier and faster to go through schooling in their home country and eventually find a job there rather than experience a slow climb up the social ladder in another country. U.S. employers constantly miss out on skilled workers because of this. Additionally, children of immigrant visa holders, depending on the state, potentially pay a higher college tuition because they are ineligible for permanent-resident-only scholarships that could mark down their price. Furthermore, if immigrant parents don’t receive approval for a Green Card, their children “age out” when they turn 21 and will no longer be called a dependent in terms of immigration. This is especially frightening since they are now at risk of deportation and will also have to file their own paperwork for a Green Card, which just adds another individual to the backlog. This is why there is such a burden placed on families to get their Green Card without further delay, so their children do not have to go through the same stressful process. Also, while the U.S. currently has an exceptional talent pool, it is losing out on rising generations to other countries that may have shorter Green Card processing times. The American Dream is succumbing under pressure to a mere piece of plastic. 

The U.S. cannot control the number of immigrants seeking a future in the country, but there are solutions to shorten the time it takes to make their homes permanent. There are currently policies being proposed to solve the problem. For instance, Congress is considering passing the EAGLE Act, a policy that raises the per country cap from 7% to 15%. The Child Protection Service Act (CSPA) also protects children from losing their immigration status when they turn 21. Yes, the government’s first priority is its current U.S. residents, so accepting every dream-seeking immigrant is not possible, but the Green Card quota based on an immigrant’s country of origin should also be eliminated and instead adopt a merit-based acceptance or a first-come, first-serve policy to ensure fairness. Additionally, we can take steps to fill the extreme shortage of immigration lawyers which hinders the application process from proceeding. One reason for the shortage is the language barrier between immigrant clients and the attorney, so if elementary schools can enforce the teaching of a second language, this could help to lessen the stress for some attorneys. Finally, looking at it from a country’s perspective, distributing employment-based (EB) Green Cards should be prioritized over those that are family-sponsored so the U.S. can recruit more talent in a smaller period of time, especially since the EB category has the highest wait time. However, family-sponsored Green Cards should not be on hold for too long either since separating families over long periods will cause unnecessary distress.

I was lucky enough to get my Green Card, but it took 12 years to do so. Nevertheless, I was able to get it before I started to apply for scholarships, colleges, and jobs. The whole process was a roller-coaster ride, but it felt surreal to win this lottery of a privilege. Hopefully, in the future, with more immigration policies to relieve the Green Card wait time, it won’t feel like buying a lottery ticket but rather waiting in line at a grocery store. 

This article was edited by Grace Hur.