300,000 green card applications flood in

300,000 green card applications flood in since July 19 announcement
Immigration official: 'We're working as quickly as we can'

The federal government has received more than 300,000 requests from workers seeking permanent residence in the United States in recent weeks, overwhelming a congressional cap for the employment-based visas.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Bill Wright said Monday that the agency was still counting applications that flowed in after July 19, when it opened a one-month window for people to send in their paperwork. That reversed an earlier decision not to receive more applications, since the government had come close to exhausting its congressional cap of 140,000 visa slots for the year.

"Obviously this is quite a number," said Wright, whose agency typically receives about 55,000 residency applications per month. "This is six times more. We're working as quickly as we can. It's going to take patience."

Employment-based visas are allotted to applicants with U.S. jobs who want to become permanent residents, or green card holders. Many are professionals, like professors, doctors and technology experts. Applicants often face long waits, as do immigrants who apply for green cards based on family ties.

Sanjay Joshi, of Plantation, was among the thousands whose hopes for a green card were dashed in July when federal officials withdrew thousands of green card slots, before reinstating them.

Despite the backlog of visa requests, Joshi said he was relieved to receive another chance to apply for residency. Unless Congress lifts its annual cap, it is unlikely the government will open another application window for two years.

"The caps have been stagnant, and demand has been going up steadily," said Joshi. The threat of lawsuit over the cutback in visa slots, along with a campaign by Indian immigrants who sent flowers to Washington in protest, focused national attention on the green card limits.

U.S. employers have long insisted they need higher caps to attract foreign experts and remain competitive. Those in favor of tighter immigration controls say the government should work harder to prepare U.S. workers for the same jobs. The employment-based green card process requires applicants to prove they are not taking a job that a U.S. citizen could do.

The more than 300,000 green card applications swamped the Citizenship and Immigration Services agency at a time when the government is boosting enforcement measures against undocumented immigrants and their employers.

"This says the caps are inadequate and they always have been," said Crystal Williams, deputy director at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Referring to an immigration overhaul that ran aground in the Senate earlier this year, she said, "Given the failure of Congress to act, I don't know that it's going to get addressed any time soon."

The Internet-based advocacy group Immigrationvoice.org. plans a Sept. 18 march in Washington, D.C., to demand higher caps on green cards and a revision of a secondary cap system that limits slots per country. The group estimates there is a backlog of 1.1 green card applications for employees and their families.

Eligible immigrants who filed their applications over the past few weeks are now waiting for notices that the government received their paperwork. With so many in the pipeline, those notices are likely to be backlogged, immigration lawyers said. Experts advise applicants to check with their lawyers before traveling.

Those who met the deadline will be allowed to stay and work in the United States while they wait for their green cards.