Ro Khanna disappointed over Biden’s green card, H-1B visa inaction

Indian American lawmaker says Immigrants help fill a critical shortage and bring vital skills to US economy

Noting that immigrants help fill a critical shortage and bring vital skills to the US economy, Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna has expressed disappointment over the Biden administration’s inaction to resolve the green card backlog and H-1B issues.

Writing on X, Khanna said he was disappointed that the bipartisan EAGLE Act, a bill aimed at addressing the severe backlog affecting Indian professionals waiting for green cards and dealing with H-1B visa issues, was not given a vote.

The EAGLE Act, or the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment Act, seeks to overhaul the current immigration system by removing the per-country limit on employment-based green cards and increasing the cap on family-sponsored green cards from 7% to 15%.

The White House has endorsed the legislation, recognising its potential to alleviate the long-standing backlog affecting hundreds of thousands of immigrants, particularly from India and China.

“The EAGLE Act will benefit our economy by lifting the arbitrary per-country green card caps to bring down our decades-long backlog for immigrants,” Khanna posted on X. “I am deeply disappointed that my amendment to include it in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act was not given a vote.”

“The EAGLE Act is a bipartisan and common sense bill. 350 amendments were made in order by the Rules Committee but my amendment to add it to the NDAA was blocked by the Republican supermajority on the committee,” the Democratic lawmaker lamented.

“Our industrial base needs more workers to maintain a strong military and outpace our adversaries,” Khanna wrote. “Immigrants help fill a critical shortage and bring vital skills to our economy, supporting all Americans.”

“Per-country green card caps cause unproductive backlogs and ignore the realities of our workforce,” he wrote. “We must end H1B abuse by foreign outsourcing companies. This abuse decreases wages and harms workers.”

“Our industrial base is vital to our national security. Common sense immigration policy can support workers, communities, businesses, and our national defense,” Khanna argued.

“I’m moved by the stories I’ve heard from my constituents about how this bill would help. I will continue to champion this critical legislation and explore ways for it to be signed into law,” he vowed.