Unused green cards from the last two years may be reinstated under a proposed Senate spending bill. The proposed bill allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reinstate employment- and family-based visa numbers from both fiscal years of 2020 and 2021. The allotment was not able to be processed due to the global pandemic and other delays.

There has been and continues to be a high level of frustration with those seeing green cards, with many waiting years. Continued demand for foreign workers, particularly in the computer occupations area, is slowing company growth, as previously reported. By reinstating these visas, not only does it allow those who have been waiting to be fully processed, but also introduce new talent to the U.S. employment market. In addition, families have not been able to unify due to the delays.

Currently under consideration in the current tax and spending legislation moving through the budget reconciliation process is the recapture of decades of unused visa numbers. There is some concern from critics of the proposal that the calculation method being used focuses on reinstated visas in the family preference category when demand is so high for employment-based green cards.

This proposed spending bill will need to be reconciled with the House proposed spending bill, which has not yet been submitted to a vote. The deadline to finalize spending for the rest of FY2022 is December 3, 2021. If a budget is not agreed upon by that date, an additional stopgap measure will need to be adopted to keep the government operating and funded.

If you have questions about your green card, employment- or family-based immigration issue, contact us at ILBSG. We are here to help.

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