US panel votes to process all green card applications within 6 months

A US presidential advisory commission has unanimously voted to recommend President Joe Biden to process all applications for green cards or permanent residency within six months. To be sent to the White House now for approval, recommendations of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders( PACAANHPI) if adopted is likely to bring cheers to tens of thousands of Indian-Americans and those waiting, some for even for decades, for a Green Card. A proposal in this regard was moved by eminent Indian-American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria during the meeting of the PACAANHPI, during which all its 25 commissioners unanimously approved it.

The proceedings of the meeting in the national capital was webcast live last week. To reduce, pending green card backlog, the advisory commission recommended US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to review their processes, systems, policies and establish new internal cycle time goals by streamlining processes, removing redundant steps if any, automating any manual approvals, improving their internal dashboards and reporting system and enhancing policies.It also recommended National Visa Center (NVC) State Department facility hire additional officers to increase their capacity to process green card application interviews by 100 per cent in three months from August 2022, and to increase Green card application visa interviews and adjudicate decisions by 150 per cent by April 2023.