Although US citizens can sponsor their spouses and small children for green cards and it usually takes no longer than the government’s processing time, permanent residents (green card holders) have a different story. Permanent residents are not assured of immediate reunion with family members in the US as are U.S. citizens.
Many are not used to this being so obvious. Since there is a yearly cap on green cards for family-based immigration, the spouses and children of green card holders have to wait years to bring their loved ones to the United States (on average, families in this situation have had to wait three years or longer to get into the green card line under F2A category (spouses and children of permanent residents).
The Reuniting Families Act
In July 2019, Rep. Judy Chu introduced the Reuniting Families Act which is to eliminate these long lines for family members of permanent residents. HB 1159, if passed, would fundamentally overhaul the existing system by removing the annual green card cap for spouses and minor children of green card holders to accelerate family reunification.
Main Provisions of the Reuniting Families Act
1. No Green Card Caps for Spouses and Children (and Children).
Probably the most significant element of the bill would lift the annual green card limit for green card holders’ spouses and minor children. That would enable about 40,000 immigrants per year to move back with their families into the United States without years of waiting.
2. Recapturing Unused Green Cards
It aims to “retain” green cards never granted due to bureaucratic failures between 1992 and 2015. There were more than 240,000 in the family green card queue and more than half a million in the employment green card queue who could instantly have their green cards through these vacant numbers, which will significantly shorten the wait time for many applicants.
3. Raising Country-Specific Caps
Current rules restrict the number of green cards issued to any particular immigrant from any one country, and so long are the lines that have formed for individuals from China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines. These country-level caps are proposed to be increased from 7% to 20%, decreasing delays for immigrants from these countries.
4. Preserving Wait Times at 10 Years Limiting Wait Times To 10 Years.
No person who wants a green card would need to stand in line longer than 10 years under the bill. That would stop things like the one we are living in, where the lines are always longer and longer and it just seems too bad.
5. The Removing Green Card Caps on Derivative Candidates.
And now, when a primary green card applicant (e.g., worker, student) is approved, their spouse and small children (called derivative applicants) are also eligible for the same green card cap. This leads to frustration for families especially wives and children waiting for their turn. This would make the Reuniting Families Act, which would free these derivative petitioners from green card caps, possible and would bring more families home year after year, immediately.
If it lifts the caps on family-based green cards, this would allow millions more immigrants per year to come with their families to the US. This could even have more of an impact on the U.S. economy because more family reunifications would stimulate economic growth through rising levels of employment and consumption.
Under the current green card framework, green card holders struggle and wait to reunite with their spouses and children in the US. This is what the Reuniting Families Act would attempt to fix by eliminating green card caps, imposing country limits, and making wait times shorter for families. This bill isn’t perfect, but it’s a good bill for fixing the immigration system and family unity. If these changes are implemented, it will be an efficient and more equitable system that is more receptive to families and will increase the American economy.
