The U.S. green card backlog has reached 1.2 million applicants, with Indian nationals facing unprecedented wait times due to federal immigration caps.
PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: Indians seeking U.S. green cards now face wait times as long as 179 years due to federal caps on annual green card issuances and country-specific limits. The backlog has reached 1.2 million applicants, with countries like India and China experiencing the longest delays. DETAIL: U.S. immigration law limits green card issuances to 140,000 annually, with no more than seven percent allocated to any single country. This disproportionately affects applicants from populous nations like India and China, who can face decades-long wait times for approval. For Indian nationals with EB-2 status (advanced degree professionals), the wait time is estimated at 179 years, while Chinese applicants face waits of 25 years. In…Open
In 2013, Ana Kikabidze was selected to receive a U.S. green card. When unforeseen circumstances hit she had to move back to her home country. When she came back to the U.S. in May with her children, the family was arrested and sent to the controversial detention center in Dilley, Texas. Kikabidze and a reporter for The Marshall Project, Lauren Villagran, join Peter Alexander to share more on her story.
When the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan five years ago, thousands of Afghans who helped U.S. troops were brought here to rebuild their lives. But now, some fear the U.S. may want to send them back.
AI:Afghans who served alongside U.S. troops during the war in Afghanistan are now facing the potential loss of their green cards and legal status due to shifting administrative policies five years after the U.S. withdrawal. Despite their service in securing American interests, these allies are currently caught in a bureaucratic struggle as the federal government's lack of consistent enforcement threatens their ability to remain in the country. This situation highlights a growing crisis for those who were relocated to rebuild lives here, leaving them vulnerable to deportation and undermining the integrity of commitments made during the conflict.Open
Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment charging 11 people for their involvement in a Chinese marriage fraud scheme.
Authorities have exposed a decade-long marriage fraud operation that helped Chinese nationals secure green cards through sham marriages in one of the largest cases of its kind in U.S. history . PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment charging 11 people for their involvement in a Chinese marriage fraud scheme. DETAIL: The exposed fraud was announced on Wednesday. The scheme involved a network of recruiters, facilitators, and assistants. The scheme involved staging fake wedding photos and coaching participants for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) interviews. Once a green card was secured, divorces were arranged. Participants paid up to $100,000 for fake marriages, while U.S. citizens…Open
AI:Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment charging 11 individuals for their roles in a massive decade-long Chinese marriage fraud ring that generated tens of millions of dollars between 2016 and 2026. This sophisticated operation functioned as a multimillion-dollar cottage industry, utilizing recruiters and facilitators to coach participants through staged wedding photos and fraudulent USCIS interviews to secure green cards for Chinese nationals. Participants reportedly paid up to $100,000 for these sham unions, while U.S. citizens were compensated up to $30,000 to participate, often executing prenuptial agreements to protect assets once the marriages were no longer needed and divorces were arranged. The investigation, which has…Open
A work slowdown by the Trump administration's immigration offices has exploded the backlog of applications for citizenship, green cards and work permits to an unprecedented 7.5 million people, according to the latest agency data. - Add the millions of immigrants waiting on decisions for asylum, work visas and permission to stay in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons, and the total backlog soars to more than 12.1 million. Why it matters: The delays have put potentially millions of people in legal immigration limbo — vulnerable to being arrested by ICE agents and deported, even if they've followed the rules to try to stay in the U.S. - Officials say the delays are being driven by the administration's new focus on stricter vetting. A wave…
The Trump administration formally laid the groundwork Monday to weigh immigrants' use of programs like Medicaid and CHIP in determining whether they should get permanent residency. Why it matters: The policy shift could discourage immigrant families from seeking health coverage if it could put their legal status at risk, public health groups warn. - That could increase emergency room use, raise the cost of uncompensated care and widen health disparities, according to health policy experts. Driving the news: The Department of Homeland Security published a new version of a "public charge" policy, which was expanded during President Trump's first term and then rolled back during the Biden years. - It overrides previous policies that…
The change could potentially impact hundreds of thousands of immigrants seeking green cards from inside the U.S. every year and possibly deter immigrant families from tapping into taxpayer-funded social programs for their needs.
