President Trump’s recent executive order on birthright citizenship has significant implications for the legal Indian nationals already facing challenges due to existing immigration policies. Even many recent Indian arrivals don’t understand how problematic the situation is.
Background on Birthright Citizenship
Birthright citizenship, or jus soli, grants citizenship to children born on a country’s soil. While common in the Western Hemisphere, several nations have recently restricted or abolished this practice:
- United Kingdom (1983)
- Australia (1986)
- New Zealand (2006)
So, Trump’s decision to revisit this policy aligns with global trends, though its legality will likely face legal challenges.
The Green Card Dilemma for Indian Nationals
The United States citizenship cannot be acquired without getting permanent residency (green card) first. The executive order exacerbates existing challenges for Indian immigrants due to the current green card system:
- 7% Per-Country Cap: U.S. immigration law limits green cards to 7% per nationality, regardless of population size.
- Limited Employment-Based Green Cards: Only 140,000 of the annual 1 million green cards are allocated for employment-based immigration.
- Lengthy Wait Times: Indian nationals who applied for a green card before January 2013 can receive one in January 2025, with wait times potentially extending to 24 years for someone who applied in Jan 2014!
Impact on Indian Immigrants
As of November 2023, approximately one million Indian nationals were waiting for green cards.
| Employment-Based Category | Primary Applicants | Dependents | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 (Extraordinary Ability) | 51,249 | 92,248 | 143,497 |
| EB-2 (Advanced Degree) | 419,392 | 419,392 | 838,784 |
| EB-3 (Skilled Workers) | 138,581 | 138,581 | 277,162 |
| Total | 609,222 | 650,221 | 1,259,443 |
- Under the current law, any Indian immigrant arriving since 2015 will retire and die as H1-B without ever getting a green card.
- But at least, they could at least promise a good future to their kids.
- Note that these kids are not anchored babies in any sense.
- Their parents didn’t come to the US for birth tourism.
- Their parents came to the US to work, maintained a legal status, carefully avoiding anything that could jeopardize their legal status or visa renewals, and paid millions in taxes.
- Now, when these kids turn 18, they might be told to leave the United States, the country they were born in, the country they spent their whole life in!
The US President has spoken favorably of H1-B and has promised a Green card for all US graduates. So, the only way to explain this Executive Order roping in legal immigrants is that no one in Washington DC properly understands how discriminatory the current green card system is for Indian nationals.
Note:
- The per-nationality green card cap and point-based system have been visited multiple times but it is unlikely to succeed. There is a lobby of citizens and there is a lobby of illegal immigrants, the legal Indian immigrants are too small to form a meaningful vote bank for anyone.
- The Executive order which ignores the uncertainty faced by these parents and their kids is short-sighted and discriminatory.