The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), responsible for the US immigration process, has recently stated that due to the extremely high number of employment-based immigrant visas available for the fiscal year ending September 30th, the eligible employment-based green card applicants can will move up to a higher preference category if chosen.

These applicants may file to have their status adjusted to EB1, which is the priority worker category, or to the second category, which is for non-citizens that are professionals who have advanced degrees or exceptional ability. One development that will likely be welcomed by Indians waiting to obtain employment-based green cards in the United States is that more visas will be available in the high priority categories.

The USCIS stated, “The overall employment-based annual limit for the fiscal year 2022 is approximately twice as high as usual because that limit includes all unused family-sponsored visa numbers from the fiscal year 2021, which was approximately 140,000.”

Indian nationals have very long wait times for employment-based green cards because they have a large number of applicants, and there are caps that limit the number of visas that can be issued in any one year.

Technology companies have been sponsoring permanent residency for employees to keep hold of high skilled talent that is in high demand after using all of their extensions on their H-1B work permits.

According to one attorney, this change should be very beneficial to those people who have been waiting a very long time for employment-based green cards. The attorney is hopeful that many people will be able to obtain green cards in the EB2 category if they are quick to apply.

Previously, some people have chosen to downgrade their applications to the EB3 category from the EB2 category because the EB3 category seemed to be a quicker way to obtain their employment-based green card. Now, these people may have the opportunity to upgrade from the EB3 category back to the EB2 category.

The attorney also stated that the USCIS wishes to approve the maximum number of green cards possible because there are a number available from the family quota. The attorney also stated that it is unusual as it has not happened in previous years in these large numbers. This is a good opportunity for more people to gain employment-based green cards.

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