US Vice President JD Vance recently said that "A green card does not give an individual an indefinite right to stay in the United States" - a statement that has become a cause of much anxiety and stress for millions of immigrants, Reports NDTV.
Over the past few weeks, US immigration rules have been tightened significantly, prompting immigration attorneys to issue travel risk advisories for Green Card and H-1B holders.
Due to the Trump Administration's massive crackdown on immigrants - both illegal and legal - key immigration agencies of the US have enhanced scrutiny of those travelling abroad and even more greatly heightened checks for those who return to the country.
The agencies that keep a check of who is leaving or entering the United States include: US Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, Department of Homeland Security or DHS, Customs and Border Protection or CBP.
Millions of people living, working or studying in the US hold either a Green Card or an H-1B or F-1 visas. These have now come under scrutiny at a port of entry while returning to the US. While permanent residents and legal visa holders don't need to worry about the status of their residency or work validity, these enhanced checks will definitely be a test of their patience.
Enhanced checks have begun after Donald Trump announced plans to curb or restrict people from 43 nations to enter the United States.
Heightened checks, they say, have resulted in a massive backlog in visa stamping. The number of people getting detained have also been surged in the past few weeks. The backlog is not just at the port of entry, but also across US embassies and consulates globally, which are facing huge administrative challenges due to the updated rules.
Application and documentation scrutiny have now got to go through additional reviews at every stage, leading to unprecedented delays.
Documentation is reportedly getting stuck with no clear reasons being given as to why it is happening. As a result, the time frame to process an application is getting stretched.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
