Tough visa rules end many US dreams

Hyderabad: This is bad news for green card holders and persons of Indian origin staying in the United States who want to pull in family too. They can no longer sponsor parents or unmarried siblings for immigrant visas that can later facilitate a green card. This comes after the US President Donald Trump has stamped his approval on the proposal of cutting down immigrant visas considerably in the next few years.

According to Prof. G.V.K. Reddy, who returned to Hyderabad after a decade in the US, the new proposal would be a blow to Indians if it is okayed by the Senate. “These visas were issued after a few years of waiting earlier. Now the picture looks uncertain,” he said. Overseas consultant Shubhaker Alapati said there were no specifics in the implementation of the Trump plan so far. “Probably they would like to dwell on this after the Senate gives its clearance,” he said.

According to estimates, more than 10 lakh people are granted legal residency each year in the US, and the fresh proposal would reduce that by 41 per cent in its first year and 50 per cent after 10 years. The most affected will be those who are taken in through family connections. US citizens can sponsor spouses, parents and minor children for an unrestricted number of visas, while siblings and adult children are given preferences for a limited number of visas. Permanent residents holding green cards can sponsor spouses and children.

Mr Mohan Nannapaneni, a US citizen and former president of Telugu Association of North America, said that the proposal would give sleepless nights to Indians because the waiting period for immigration visa approvals has now stretched beyond 20 years anyways. 

“In the 60s and 70s, one used to get immigration visas for family members in just one or two years. In the 80s, it used to take five to six years and in 1990s, approval came in a maximum of 10 years. Now it is taking such a long time that the new restrictions would not matter much,” he said.