US lawmakers have proposed a new bipartisan bill called The Dignity Act to reform the immigration system and reduce long Green Card wait times.
If passed, it could greatly help people from countries like India, where wait times often exceed 100 years due to country limits and application backlogs.
Fast-Track Option for Long-Time Applicants
One key part of the bill allows people who’ve been in the legal immigration line for 10 years or more to pay a $50,000 (Rs 44 lakh) premium fee to move ahead in the queue.
The bill also suggests raising the per-country limit for family and employment-based visas from 7% to 15%, helping reduce delays for applicants from bigger countries.
Clearing the Immigration Backlog
The bill comes at a critical time. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is facing serious delays, with a record 11.3 million pending cases by the end of Q2 FY2025.
Only 2.7 million cases were processed in that quarter — an 18% drop from the previous year. The backlog increased by 1.6 million in three months, with over 34,000 cases still unopened.
Other Key Proposals
The Dignity Act also focuses on several other major concerns:
Protecting children in the US from losing legal status due to USCIS delays.
Creating a Dignity Program, offering a 7-year path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, allowing them to live and work legally if they meet conditions.
Adjusting yearly visa limits — currently 226,000 for family-sponsored and 140,000 for employment-based — to better meet demand.
Hope for Indian Applicants
For Indians stuck in long Green Card lines, the proposed fast-track option and higher visa caps could help speed up their path to permanent residency.
Supporters say this would make the system fairer and faster, though critics may worry about costs and fairness in prioritization.
If passed, the Dignity Act of 2025, introduced by Congresswomen María Elvira Salazar and Veronica Escobar with 20 co-sponsors, would be one of the biggest immigration reforms in years.
Summary (60 words)
The Dignity Act of 2025 aims to reduce Green Card wait times by allowing applicants in line for over 10 years to pay $50,000 for faster processing.
It also raises per-country visa caps to 15% and offers protections for children and undocumented immigrants. If passed, it could greatly benefit those from high-demand countries like India.
