For many decades, the employment based green card backlog has been allowed to grow to completely unsustainable proportions. As a result, all new applicants of Indian origin will have to wait over 80 years to get to the front of the queue. Big Technology employers in the US shed crocodile tears for their employees and prolong the green card backlog for Indians.
Once upon a time, immigration reform passed through both houses of the US Congress and cleared the US green card backlog. The year was 1986 and Ronald Reagan was president. Additionally, both houses of congress were controlled by Democrats.
At the time, the American public was only nominally opposed to more immigrants. A 1986 Gallup Poll showed that only 49% of Americans thought immigration should be decreased. In 2018, the number opposed to more immigration dropped to 29%.
A strange coincidence? Why can’t immigration reform be passed into law with so much popular support? The answer is that in 1986, the powerful business lobby in the US was strongly supportive of increasing the low wage labor force.
To get more cheap labor, they needed immigrants because Americans did not pursue that type of low wage employment e.g. Slaughterhouse workers, Poultry farms, Landscaping etc. As a result, the bill was passed and immigration posed no problems for Republicans in the 1988 presidential election.
Big Tech Nurtures Green Card Backlog
Since 1986, the needs of the agricultural industry has been largely overshadowed by the insatiable need for technology workers. As a result, hundreds of thousands of qualified immigrants were recruited to the US by technology companies to fill the void. A huge immigration backlog is created and reforms are desperately needed.
In 2020, a new administration is elected and introduces the US Citizenship Act 2021. The legislation contains their campaign promises to eliminate per country caps and the green card backlog. Will it succeed in lifting the per country caps and release a flood of green cards to 800,000 waiting Indians? Not without the support of big business.
In January 2021, CEO of Apple Tim Cook voiced strong support for Biden and “fixing the broken immigration system”. To clarify, in 2020, the stream of new technology employees was halted because of Trump’s guest worker ban. That is not good for earnings. Big Tech supports increasing guest workers from India, but growing the green card backlog is good for business.
As a result, US big technology companies shed crocodile tears for their 800,000 strong army of Indian indentured servants. Big Tech is the source of their problem, not the solution. Of the 1.2 million guest workers in the green card backlog, 2/3rds of them were sponsored by big tech. Why don’t big tech employers in the US do something to support their employees waiting for green cards?
Watch the Dog Chase its own Tail
These five big tech companies Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook make up nearly 25% of the market cap for the entire S&P 500 stock market index. If they wanted the tail to wag the dog, it would happen.
However, no political pressure for elimination of the per country caps has been seen from them. Only support for populist initiatives such as the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program” AKA Dreamers and helping themselves by eliminating the guest workers ban. Support for Dreamers in the public eye is indeed good for business and so is increasing low wage employee numbers.
In January 2021, all five big technology companies plus dozens of other big tech companies signed onto a letter to the US Congress citing popular support for Dreamers and “expanded visa programs for high skilled immigrants”. No mention of clearing the path to citizenship for the 800,000 Indians in the green card backlog was included in the letter to congress.
The Clock is Ticking
An influential economic indicator in the US is non farm payrolls. On September 3, payroll results for August 2021 came in at 235,000 jobs which widely missed analyst predictions calling for an addition of 750,000. This could not have come at a worse time.
At the end of the month, politicians are voting on the US$1 trillion infrastructure bill and Biden’s prize US$3.5 trillion stimulus bill. It was anticipated that reforms eliminating the per country caps and green card backlog would be included with the stimulus bill.
However, after the weak job numbers there is no chance politicians will be seen releasing a flood of high wage workers into the US economy. For Indians in the green card backlog, once again the light at the end of the tunnel is a train.
As for the 120,000 unused family green card slots carrying over from 2020? They will expire on September 30, 2021 without executive action. Unfortunately, these coveted extra green card slots will surely go up in smoke in wake of the weak job numbers.
Wise Indians Avoid Green Card Backlog
A wise alternative to the H1B temporary work visa is the US E2 Visa program. The E2 allows the main applicant plus spouse and also children under 21 years of age to enter the US for a five year initial term which is easily extended every two years.
Simply leave the US and reenter on the E2 visa for a two year extension. Additionally, it is a non immigrant visa which keeps Indians out of the political hot seat.
According to a recent report issued by the US Government hundreds of Indians have successfully renewed their E2 visa between 2014 and 2018.
| US E2 Adjudications for Indians | 441 |
| Approval Rate for Indians | 88% |
| Successful Change from E2 to Lawful Permanent Resident Status | 22,422 Total |
The rejection rate for Indian E2 visa renewals is indeed very low at only 12%. In contrast, E2 rejection rates for other countries whose passport (unlike India’s Passport) qualify under the US tourist visa waiver program were much higher.
| Country | E2 Rejection Rate |
| France | 20.4% |
| Germany | 19.4% |
| Italy | 20.9% |
| United Kingdom | 13.3% |
| Japan | 11.4% |
| India | 12% |
First, Buy the Grenada Passport
To obtain the US E2 visa, applicants must first be citizens of an E2 Treaty country such as Grenada. Fortunately, Grenada has an affordable citizenship by investment program which allows Indian applicants to quickly obtain a Grenada passport within 2-3 months time.
As a result, investing your hard earned money into Grenada citizenship and the E2 visa allows you to secure your career in the US and your family’s future. Indeed, thousands of Grenada passports have been issued since the inception of the program in 2013. Applicants with verifiable assets and a clean background are assured of success.
| Citizenship Approvals | 1,423 |
| Rejections | 145 |
| Rejection Rate | 7.1% |
| Passports Issued | 4,533 |
| Average Family Size | 3.03 |
E2 Business Opportunities
Approval of your E2 visa application requires a “substantial investment amount”. What is the minimum investment amount? The minimum is not set in stone by the United States government. E2 qualified investment amounts range between US$50,000 and US$500,000. However, a safe number is about US$130,000.
Use the investment to buy equipment, commercial property, business licenses, company vehicles etc. The investment can be sold at a later date if you switch to a different visa type or leave the US.
Additionally, the amount is to be invested into a for profit business. The intent of the business is to hire “workers who may qualify for the E2 visa”. As a result, the E2 visa holder can sponsor employees from their home country to work in the business. E2 employees may or may not be family members.
Open a Medical Clinic
The range of employment types include start up enterprise, buy an existing business or invest in a business franchise. Medical clinics are a good choice for Indian doctors. Indeed, 9% of all doctors in the US are of Indian origin. Additionally, half of them are staying in the US on long term visas such as the E2.
As a result, the E2 is a safe option. Invest in commercial property for your clinic location and office equipment. Buying commercial property is a safe bet that will appreciate in value. Your E2 investment will show a very good rate of return.
Business options that meet E2 visa qualifications are multiple. Franchise opportunities come with extensive training. Choose a franchise with a proven business model, grow the business then switch to the EB-5 immigrant visa at an appropriate time. There are indeed many options that will allow you to convert to the US green card.
Green Card Backlog, 80 Years Long
Wise Indians choose the best alternative to get around the green card backlog. First, accept the fact that there is no political solution in the United States for high net worth Indian immigrants. Populist politics is a dangerous game, don’t play it.
Many Indians have successfully obtained the E2 visa and safely renewed the visa without complications. My partners and I have over 35+ years of experience working with the Caribbean citizenship programs. As a result, your Grenada citizenship application approval certain. If there are any issues, we will discover them during pre-approval to ensure that your application is successful.
Additionally, over 330 of our E2 visa applicants have successfully implemented their business franchise in the US. My fees are 100% commission based. As a result, your approval is a requirement for us to get paid. Therefore, we choose to work with qualified applicants who are most certain to be approved.