A US advocacy group has launched a new proposal for an additional one-time payment of USD 2,500 fee by the green card aspirants to get America’s coveted legal permanent residency.
According to the Immigration Voice, the estimated fund of USD 4 billion, collected through the channel from green card aspirants will be used to improve security mechanism in the US, which also includes the construction of a wall along the Mexico border.
Leon Fresco, working with the Immigration Voice, told PTI that, “This is a win-win (situation) for everybody.” Earlier, Fresco has formerly worked as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Immigration Litigation at Department of Justice Civil Division.
As per the Washington-based non-profit organisation, it is currently working with several US lawmakers and pushing to incorporate this provision in an upcoming legislation. It is referred to as the DACA or deferred action against childhood arrivals package.
Also Read: New Campaign By Indian-Americans To Remove Green Card Backlog
The argument of the organization is that it has to raise USD 4 billion to include ‘HR 392’, or the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act, into any appropriations legislation, that is under consideration, and add a USD-2,500 fee to it.
Each individual is expected to pay the fee when receiving the permanent residency under this bill whose Green Card would otherwise have taken longer under the status quo.
Fresco said that the President Donald Trump has affirmed that US taxpayers should not pay for the wall. On the other side, Mexico does not want to pay for the wall.
Around 1 to 1.5 million Indian Americans in the US are waiting for Green Card. Given the 7% cap that exists per country, Indian Americans have a much longer wait than anyone else.
