Only 10% of Indian applicants received Green Cards last year
Latest official figures released by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have revealed that a meagre 10% of Indian Green Card applicants received their Green Cards last year. Of the total Green Cards allotted to Indians, almost 40% went to H-1B visa holders. Country-wise, China received the maximum number of Green Cards last year, followed by Cuba, and India. Here are the details.
From nearly 600,000 applicants, only 60,394 Indians received their Green Cards last year. Of the 60,394 Green Cards awarded, 23,569 were issued to those with employment-based preferences, like those having H-1B visas. Meanwhile, 20,549 Green Cards were given to Indians in the capacity of them being relatives of US citizens, and 14,962 Green Cards were issued under family-sponsored categories like brothers and sisters.
In 2017, Chinese immigrants to the US were given 71,565 Green Cards, Cuban immigrants were given 65,028 Green Cards, and Indians followed with 60,394 Green Cards.
Despite China and Cuba receiving a greater number of Green Cards in 2017, India's case is slightly different. Among all immigrants to the US, Indians have the highest number of people in queue for Green Cards - as of April 2018, the number was 632,219. However, owing to the extant per country Green Card quota, it might take 151 years for the backlogs to be cleared.
DHS figures also revealed that a total of 1,127,167 Green Cards were given to foreigners in 2017. Of these, nearly half were issued to immediate relatives of US citizens - spouses (292,909), children (74,989), and parents (148,610). Region-wise, people from Asia and North America dominated, with Asians receiving 424,743 Green Cards, and North Americans receiving 413,650 Green Cards.
