USCIS Issues Clarification on Green Card Eligibility for Indian H-1B, L-1, F-1 Visa Holders

US Immigration Policy Overhaul Triggers Concerns Among Global Talent

The United States administration's new memo on green card processing rules has sparked concerns among immigration lawyers, AI leaders, and Indian professionals, with critics warning that the move could disrupt talent mobility and create uncertainty for new H-1B applicants, international students, and employment-based green card seekers.

According to former Infosys CFO and Aarin Capital Chairman Mohandas Pai, the United States is making it increasingly difficult for the brightest global talent to move to America. This shift in policy could have significant implications for American companies, which may increasingly expand and invest outside the US. Many of these companies already derive over 50 percent of their revenues from outside America, while spending a majority of their costs within the United States.

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu made an appeal to Indians staying in the United States on Visa to come back home. Meanwhile, Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner of KS Legal & Associates, argues that the biggest misconception right now is that this will affect only future entrants. Legally, the concern is broader, as employers, universities, and foreign workers will start recalculating long-term plans due to the loss of predictability in the immigration system.

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AI Implications

The policy also attracted criticism from Andrew Ng, one of the leading voices in artificial intelligence. Ng stated that the new White House policy requiring green card applicants to apply from outside the US is a capricious attack on legal immigration, which will hurt families, leave the country with fewer doctors, teachers, and scientists, and hurt American competitiveness in AI.

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman questioned if this policy would mean AI Researchers, employees, and students will now have to leave the country and wait through a backlog process to continue their work. "Harmful move for tech, business, and America broadly," he stated.

USCIS Policy Update

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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memo reaffirming that foreign nationals seeking permanent residency should complete the Green Card process outside the United States through consular processing. Under the updated guidance, adjustment of status within the US will be treated as an extraordinary form of relief rather than a standard route to permanent residency.

Immigration officers have been directed to assess applications individually and consider all relevant factors before granting exceptions. Zach Kahler, spokesperson of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), stated that the agency is returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate the nation's immigration system properly.

Massive Indian Backlog

The move is expected to significantly affect thousands of Indian professionals and students staying in the United States on temporary visas. According to a Forbes report citing an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), over 1.2 million Indians, including dependents, were waiting for green cards across the first, second, and third employment-based categories based on United States Citizenship and Immigration Services data reflecting approved I-140 immigrant petitions as of November 2, 2023.

The figures underscore the scale of the existing backlog that could face further uncertainty under the new policy framework. Chandwani stated that the US government's move reflects a larger philosophical shift in the country's immigration policy, with temporary visas intended to remain temporary and the US no longer wanting people to convert short-term lawful presence into permanent residence from within the country as a matter of routine practice.

Uncertain Future

The proposed move is likely to face legal challenges because adjustment-of-status provisions are rooted in long-standing congressional law. Vijay Thirumalai, founder and CEO of advisory firm Goldwater Global, stated that the proposal could create major uncertainty for new H-1B applicants, F-1 students transitioning to work visas, and employment-based green card applicants, while also complicating talent mobility for US companies, and universities.

In its current form, this proposal is an absolute nightmare for new applicants, Thirumalai added.