Latest news with #DignityAct
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Pay Rs 17 lakh & skip 10-year wait: US Bill proposes green card fast-track
Soon, you may be able to pay $20,000 (Rs 17.5 lakh) and move your US visa application to the front of the queue. A new bipartisan Bill introduced in the US House of Representatives proposes allowing individuals who have been stuck in the green card backlog for over ten years to fast-track their applications by paying this fee. The Dignity Act of 2025 (H.R. 4393), led by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), sets out to clear the legal immigration visa backlog by 2035. 'This Bill is not about left or right,' said Rep. Salazar. 'The Dignity Act is a revolutionary Bill that offers the solution to our immigration crisis: secure the border, stop illegal immigration, and provide an earned opportunity for long-term immigrants to stay here and work. No amnesty. No handouts. No citizenship. Just accountability and a path to stability for our economy and our future.' 'It's about solving a problem that's been broken for decades. The American people are ready for a solution that is both tough and fair,' she said. The Bill is a revised version of a 2023 proposal and reflects a growing willingness in both parties to revisit immigration rules. Its full name stands for 'Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream'. It will soon be open for public comment. $20,000 premium route to permanent residency Under the proposal, eligible applicants in family or employment-based categories who have waited more than a decade could pay $20,000 for premium processing and get their visa ahead of the normal queue. The Bill also places a ceiling on maximum wait times, with a goal to eliminate backlogs within ten years. Higher country caps to reduce delays Per-country limits for both employment-based and family-sponsored green cards would rise from 7 per cent to 15 per cent. The change could shorten waits for high-demand countries such as India and China, which currently face some of the longest queues. Path to permanent status for documented dreamers The Bill offers permanent residency to documented dreamers – children of long-term visa holders – who risk losing legal status when they turn 21. Anyone who has lived lawfully in the US for at least ten cumulative years would qualify. Student and work visa changes The Dignity Act proposes several adjustments to legal immigration rules: 1. F-1 student visas would be 'dual intent', allowing international students to apply for permanent residency after graduation without proving they plan to return home. 2. Students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) would be required to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. 3. Spouses and children of visa applicants would not be counted towards annual visa caps, potentially increasing the number of principal applicants approved each year. 4. O visa eligibility would automatically apply to international doctoral graduates in STEM and medical fields. Immigration agency reforms and funding A new Immigration Agency Coordinator post would be created to improve coordination between the Department of State, the Department of Labor, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Around $3.6 Billion is earmarked to tackle processing delays and work authorisation backlogs. 'The US Chamber of Commerce supports the Dignity Act as a constructive step towards providing the necessary resources to strengthen border security that builds on President Trump's success at the southern border,' stated Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer. 'This bipartisan Bill offers sensible solutions for the legal immigration system, addresses critical workforce needs for businesses, and advances American innovation and productivity.' Key provisions of the Dignity Act The Bill is split into five main sections: Securing the border and restoring law and order • Nationwide E-Verify to ensure all workers are legally employed. • Enhanced physical barriers and technology at the southern border. • New powers to track smugglers and illicit border spotters. • Higher penalties for human trafficking and for damaging border security equipment. • DNA testing to confirm family relationships. Fixing the asylum system • At least three humanitarian campuses to process arrivals within 60 days. • On-site medical, legal, and social services for asylum-seekers. • New immigration centres in Latin America to pre-screen asylum claims and reunite families. • Stricter penalties for fraudulent claims. The Dignity Programme for undocumented immigrants • Conditional permanent residency for ten years for Dreamers and DACA recipients, leading to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status through work, study, or military service. • A separate Dignity Programme for those in the US for more than five years before December 31, 2020. • Restitution payments of $7,000 over seven years, plus back taxes. • No access to federal benefits, no path to citizenship. Support for American workers • A new American Worker Fund financed by restitution payments, expected to raise $70 Billion for training and upskilling unemployed citizens. Modernising legal immigration • The $20,000 premium processing route for applicants waiting over ten years. • Per-country caps raised to 15 per cent. • STEM PhD and medical graduates from US universities eligible for O visas. • Excluding spouses and children from annual visa limits to boost numbers of principal applicants. • New 90-day visitor visa for family, business, or tourism purposes. • F-1 visas made dual intent.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
What Is The US Dignity Act Of 2025 And How It Will Help Indians With Visas
The US has introduced the Dignity Act of 2025, a new immigration bill. It aims to fix the immigration system, reduce long visa wait times, and help some undocumented immigrants become legal. The bill is led by House Representative Maria Elvira Salazar from Florida and Rep Veronica Escobar from Texas, with support from 10 other lawmakers. — Rep. María Elvira Salazar (@RepMariaSalazar) July 28, 2025 Right now, over 11 million (1.13 crore) people are stuck waiting for their immigration visas, some for decades. This causes long delays for families wanting to reunite and for workers trying to come to the US. The Dignity Act wants to clear this backlog by 2035 and make the process faster and fairer. Features Of The Dignity Act 2025 Reduce Visa Backlogs The Act caps the wait time for immigration visas at 10 years. If someone has waited longer than 10 years, they can pay a fee of $20,000 (Rs 17.5 lakh) to get faster processing. Border Security The Act invests in better physical barriers, technology, and more border agents to secure the US borders. It improves the asylum system so most asylum cases are decided within 60 days at special border centres. There will be strict checks and new rules to prevent people from crossing the border illegally multiple times. Help For Undocumented Immigrants The bill creates the Dignity Program, which allows certain undocumented immigrants who have lived in the US for many years to get legal status (but not citizenship) if they pass background checks, pay fines, and follow the rules It also includes protections for Dreamers (young immigrants brought as children) and offers them a path to legal permanent residency and eventually citizenship if they meet certain conditions. Improve Legal Immigration The Act raises limits on how many visas people from each country can get each year to reduce country-specific backlogs. It protects families by making it easier for spouses, children, and relatives of US citizens to stay together. It improves student and work visas, making it easier for international students and skilled workers to come to and stay in the US. Employment Verification Employers will be required to verify that their workers are legally allowed to work in the US through a new system called E-Verify. This will be phased in over time depending on the size of the employer. How The Dignity Act Helps Indians Raising the per-country visa cap from 7% to 15%, allowing more Indians to get green cards each year. Capping visa wait times at 10 years, so Indians stuck in long backlogs can get their visas faster. Offering an option to pay $20,000 for premium processing if they have waited over 10 years, speeding up their green card approval. Improving employment-based visas, which benefits highly skilled Indian workers in fields like technology, engineering, and healthcare. What Else Does The Act Do? Increases penalties for people who break immigration laws repeatedly or try to vote illegally. Creates special humanitarian facilities at the border to help migrants while their cases are decided. Sets up a fund to help American workers get training and jobs as immigration is reformed.
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First Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Will the wait for US green cards reduce with a $20,000 fee?
The Dignity Act of 2025, introduced in the US House of Representatives, aims to introduce immigration reforms. The bipartisan legislation proposes to reduce immigration visa backlogs and increase the per-country cap on green cards. Those with employment or family-based immigration visas waiting for more than a decade can pay a $20,000 fee for expedited processing read more The US immigration backlog reached 11.3 million (1.13 crore) cases by the second quarter of FY2025. Representational Image/Reuters The United States lawmakers are mulling a bill to bring relief for individuals waiting for green cards for years. A bipartisan proposal aims to raise the number of green cards and introduce other immigration reforms. The Dignity Act of 2025 will increase eligibility for permanent residency and lower visa backlogs. This comes as the US immigration backlog reached 11.3 million (1.13 crore) cases by the second quarter of FY2025. Let's take a closer look. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What does the bill propose? A bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration was introduced by Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida, and Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas, in the US House of Representatives on July 15. A key provision of the Dignity Act is to reduce immigration visa backlogs by capping wait times to 10 years. People with employment or family-based immigration visas waiting for more than a decade can pay a $20,000 (Rs 17.5 lakh) fee for accelerated processing. The bill proposed to enhance the current per-country cap for green cards from 7 per cent to 15 per cent of the yearly total for both employment and family-based categories. The proposed legislation is a revised version of the Dignity Act of 2023. It suggests setting up a new Immigration Agency Coordinator office to streamline operations across the Departments of Homeland Security, State, and Labor. It also allocates $3.6 billion to support this coordination and reduce visa processing backlogs. What's in it for Dreamers? The changes proposed in the bipartisan bill would benefit several groups, including undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors, known as Dreamers. It will also bring respite for those stuck in visa backlogs and skilled workers witnessing lengthy waits due to per-country limits, as per Newsweek. Individuals with a criminal background will not be eligible. The bill comes as the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is dealing with a significant surge in applications from migrants. Immigrant attorneys blame the Trump administration for 'massive backlogs' as the US government amplifies efforts to find fraudulent cases. 'The Dignity Act is a revolutionary bill that offers the solution to our immigration crisis: secure the border, stop illegal immigration, and provide an earned opportunity for long-term immigrants to stay here and work. No amnesty. No handouts. No citizenship. Just accountability and a path to stability for our economy and our future,' Florida GOP Representative Maria Elvira Salazar said in a statement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The bill also proposes several border security measures and immigration reforms, with many of the provisions aimed at expanding access to green cards. In 2023, the US issued green cards to 1.17 million people, a 15.2 per cent spike from the previous year, reflecting a change in immigration policy post-pandemic. The majority of green cards (64.6 per cent) are family-sponsored, followed by employment-based at 16.7 per cent. 'This is a work visa reform program that's very, very specifically tailored so that only those people who have been here for a long time, who have been trying to do it right, who have been trying to work hard, not causing problems, not taking any sort of handouts, it gives them a path. And it closes all the other doors for people to exploit the system,' Colorado Republican Congressman Gabe Evans told CPR. ALSO READ: US is making it tougher to obtain green card for married couples. Here's why STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What changes for employment, student visa holders? The Dignity Act recommends updates to employment-based immigration rules. The bill would prevent children and spouses from being counted against annual visa totals. With this, only the principal applicant would be part of the total visa numbers. This is likely to increase the annual number of high-skilled visas without raising visa caps. F-1 visas for international students will become dual-intent, allowing foreign students to pursue future employment in the US without proving intent to return home after completing their studies. Those working under Optional Practical Training (OPT) would be required to pay Social Security and Medicare. A new rule creates a presumption of eligibility for O visas, meant for those with extraordinary ability, for international students with doctorates in STEM or medical fields, to retain high-skilled talent. With inputs from agencies
Economic Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
New immigration bill proposes $20,000 option for applicants to skip the 10-year green card queue
A new bipartisan bill introduced in the US House of Representatives proposes allowing individuals stuck in the green card backlog for over ten years to fast-track their applications by paying $20,000. The Dignity Act of 2025 (H.R. 4393), led by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), sets out to eliminate the legal immigration visa backlog by 2035. The Dignity Act of 2025 is a revised version of a 2023 proposal and reflects growing bipartisan interest in immigration reform. Its full name stands for 'Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream' . 'This bill is not about left or right,' said Rep. Salazar. 'It's about solving a problem that's been broken for decades. The American people are ready for a solution that is both tough and fair.' The bill is expected to spark debate as Congress weighs options to modernize the US immigration system amid public support for reform. Also Read | The Dignity Act of 2025: Faster green cards, dual-intent student visas proposed in bipartisan US bill $20,000 premium route to permanent residency Under the bill, eligible applicants from family or employment-based categories who have waited over a decade will have the option to pay a premium processing fee of $20,000 to receive their visa ahead of the standard queue. The proposal places a cap on maximum wait times and aims to clear long-standing green card backlogs within ten years. Higher country caps to reduce visa wait times The bill also raises the per-country cap from 7% to 15% for both employment-based and family-sponsored green cards. This change is intended to reduce delays for nationals from countries with high demand, such as India and China, and to address uneven wait times across nationalities. Path to permanent status for documented dreamers The legislation provides permanent residency options for documented dreamers—children of long-term visa holders—who may age out of legal status. Those who have lived lawfully in the US for at least ten cumulative years would qualify for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status under this provision. Student and employment visa updates The Dignity Act proposes a series of legal immigration reforms: F-1 student visas would become dual-intent, allowing international students to pursue permanent residency after graduation without proving an intent to return home. Students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) would be required to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. Derivative family members (spouses and children) of visa applicants would be excluded from the annual visa count, increasing the number of primary beneficiaries without raising caps. O visa eligibility would expand to include a presumption of extraordinary ability for international doctoral graduates in STEM and medical fields. Immigration agency reform and funding The bill proposes creating a new Immigration Agency Coordinator to improve coordination across federal agencies. A budget of $3.6 billion is allocated to address visa processing delays and work authorization backlogs across the Department of State, Department of Labor, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Miami Herald
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Reset, not amnesty: A Florida lawmaker's immigration proposal
We have all heard the shouting: amnesty versus deportation. But I think Floridians and Americans are tired of the noise. They want something practical. Something just. A solution that does not punish the good or reward the worst. Here is the proposal I believe Congress should consider adopting. As a Republican state legislator in Florida representing Miami Beach, I see the real-life impact of federal inaction. Our border agents and immigration officers work tirelessly to protect the nation. They deserve a clear, enforceable policy that distinguishes between law-abiding individuals and bad actors. Unfortunately, Congress has yet to deliver the comprehensive solution Americans deserve. It is time for a one-time national reset. Here's how it would work: Every individual who entered this country unlawfully would be given 30 days to voluntarily come forward, plead guilty and agree to strict conditions. If they qualify and comply, they could avoid jail, fines or deportation. This is not amnesty. It is earned redemption. They must learn English, remain crime-free, maintain lawful employment and complete a probation period equal to the time they were undocumented. Employers would be required to register and report, ensuring labor clarity and legal protections across the board. Those who have built stable lives, contributed to their communities and followed the law in every other way should have a lawful, accountable path forward. I mean legal status with strict conditions, not automatic citizenship. Anyone who wants citizenship should go through the regular process. This is about restoring order and giving people a chance to do things right. This proposal is not about blanket citizenship. Of course, those involved in trafficking, fraud or repeat violations would face swift removal. And oversight should not grow government. We can partner with vetted nonprofits, legal clinics and employers to implement this program without building another bloated federal agency. Mixed-status families deserve stability. No U.S. citizen child should live in fear of losing a parent when a lawful alternative exists. And those who waited in line and followed the rules? They should go to the front. Doing it right should still matter. After the 30-day registration period, there would be a final 72-hour public warning. Then full enforcement begins. Those who refuse to comply or violate the terms should be treated as national security concerns and pursued accordingly. I am urging Congress to consider this plan. It is clear, constitutional and compassionate without being soft. It honors the hard work of law enforcement, restores order and closes loopholes without rewarding abuse. Other leaders have offered similar frameworks, including Miami Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar's Dignity Act. I have shared my proposal with her as part of this broader push for serious, solutions-based immigration reform. We may differ in some details, but the goal is the same: a secure, orderly and humane system that upholds the law without abandoning compassion. As a state leader, I support aligning our laws with strong federal enforcement and will work with my colleagues to pass supportive state-level measures. This is not about fear. It is about fairness. I do not want working families living in the shadows. I do not want our nation's values undermined. And I do not want to see another generation trapped in a system that punishes honesty and rewards manipulation. I understand why people flee broken countries. But America cannot fix the world by absorbing its failures. We can, however, invest in rebuilding institutions abroad, fighting corruption and restoring opportunity so fewer people feel forced to leave home in the first place. Let's rise above the extremes. Let's demand that Congress finally do its job. This is just my opinion. But I believe it is a starting point worth serious discussion. Fabián Basabe is a Republican state representative from Miami Beach. He was first elected in 2022.
