Indians not to be affected by new US green card ruling

There is good news for Indian US green card aspirants. The latest US green card ruling will not affect people from the country.

The US Supreme Court gave the go-ahead on January 27 for one of the hardline immigration policies, allowing the government to implement a rule denying legal permanent residency to certain immigrants deemed likely to require government assistance in the future.

Majority of Indians waiting for a green card have gone to the United States on an H-1B visa, putting them in the category of highly skilled and high earning individuals, not dependent on state aid.

Ultimately, the new ruling may impact a small number of people who apply for a green card under the family or relative-based green card category.

The public charge rule was introduced by the Donald Trump administration last year.

It gives discretion to immigration officers to decide who they want to admit into the US based on their assessment of whether the immigrants are likely to become an expense to taxpayers by requiring state-sponsored aid like healthcare or food stamps.

A few weeks ago, over 100 US companies including Microsoft and Twitter, led by US startup Boundless, had signed a ‘friend of the court brief’ requesting the Supreme Court to not strike down the injunction.

The US government had said then that the rule was intended to better ensure that aliens subject to the public charge inadmissibility ground are self-sufficient. Meaning they do not depend on public resources to meet their needs, but rather rely on their own capabilities, as well as the resources of family members, sponsors, and private organisations.

Critics said that the public charge rule is simply an attempt to bypass Congress and block immigrants who aren’t wealthy,” Doug Rand, Boundless president, had said two weeks ago.