Bill providing Green Card pathway introduced

A GROUP of four top Democratic senators has introduced legislation to provide a much-needed pathway to a Green Card for up to 8 million people, including dreamers, H-1B and long-term visa holders.

Under the bill, an immigrant may qualify for lawful permanent resident status if they have lived in the US continuously for at least seven years.

The Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act was introduced in the Senate by Senator Alex Padilla and co-sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ben Ray Lujan, and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin on Wednesday (28). Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.

The lawmakers said Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the Registry, gives the Secretary of Homeland

Security the discretion to register certain individuals for lawful permanent resident status if they have been in the country since a certain date and meet other requirements.

Congress has modified it four times, most recently in 1986. No changes have been made since 1986 and the cutoff date for eligibility remains January 1, 1972, more than 50 years ago.

The move has been welcomed by the Green Card aspirants living in the country.

‘The only humanitarian and viable solution for us is a pathway to citizenship, which the Registry Bill seeks to offer. We demand that Congress act and do the right thing. Pass the Registry Bill,' said Anil Shahi, TPS Holder from Nepal and organizer with Adhikaar and Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP). He has lived in this country for more than 30 years.