Washington, DC – Representatives Deborah Ross (NC-02), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), and Kathy Manning (NC-04) led a coalition of 40 colleagues in sending a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer requesting that the budget reconciliation package provide relief to the 1.2 million individuals stuck in the employment-based green card backlog.

Under the current system, no more than 7% of employment-based green cards are available to individuals from a single country. As a result, individuals from countries with large populations -- such as India and China -- face decades-long wait times to achieve lawful permanent resident status, prohibiting millions of people who contribute significantly to America’s economy from permanently calling the country home.

The letter read in part: “Failure to provide a path to lawful permanent residence for the 1.2 million people in the employment-based green card backlog, most of whom are H-1B visa holders, would be tantamount to staging an economic recovery with one hand tied behind our back. Permanently relegating H-1B holders to nonimmigrant status while China, Russia, and other major powers are ascendant on the world stage – and hungry to be home to the innovators of the 21st century – is simply nonsensical. This can and must be addressed in the budget reconciliation package currently under negotiation.”

Congresswoman Ross previously introduced the bipartisan America’s CHILDREN Act with Representatives Krishnamoorthi, Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), and Young Kim (CA-39). She also led 22 of her House colleagues in urging Congressional leadership to include a permanent path to residency for all Dreamers, including Documented Dreamers, in the budget reconciliation package.

A copy of the letter is available here.

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