Washington, August 6

About 1 lakh employment-based Green Cards are at the risk of being wasted in less than two months, causing resentment among Indian IT professionals whose wait for legal permanent residency now runs into decades. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the US.

This year's quota for employment-based immigrants is 2,61,500, far higher than the usual 1,40,000, Indian professional Sandeep Pawar said.

“Under the law, if these visas aren't issued by September 30, they are lost forever,” he said. The US federal government runs on an October 1 to September 30 fiscal year,” he said. — PTI