Amid President Donald Trump’s continued push against immigration, a Democratic senator has renewed an effort to give millions of long-term US residents, including H-1B visa holders from India, a pathway to permanent residency. If enacted, the legislation would let immigrants apply for a Green Card once they’ve lived continuously in the United States for at least seven years.
Senator Alex Padilla of California said the proposal would modernise an immigration provision that hasn’t been updated since 1986, and could benefit more than eight million people.
“A year ago, I introduced this bill to push back against the Trump administration’s cruel treatment of hardworking immigrants,” Padilla said in a release from his office. “Since then, President Trump’s campaign of fear has only escalated, with families living under constant uncertainty despite having built their lives in this country,” he said.
“Congress cannot continue to ignore millions of long-term residents who contribute to our economy and communities every day. It’s past time to modernize our immigration laws and create a fair pathway to lawful permanent residency.”
For now, though, the bill’s prospects remain slim. Republicans control both chambers and have been moving immigration policy in the opposite direction, and Padilla first introduced a version of this bill back in 2022, when it never made it past the Judiciary Committee.
What the bill actually does
The Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 would let immigrants who have lived in the US for at least seven years apply for lawful permanent resident status. Applicants would need a clean criminal record and would still have to meet all other existing green card eligibility requirements.
The measure would cover Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status holders, essential workers, and children of long-term visa holders. It could also help highly skilled workers, including H-1B visa holders who have waited years for employment-based green cards to become available.
Why this matters for Indian professionals
The proposal carries particular weight for Indian professionals, who account for a large share of H-1B visa holders and often face some of the longest waits for permanent residency because of per-country limits on employment-based green cards.
The bill works by amending Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, known as the Registry provision. That provision, dating back to 1929, gives the Homeland Security secretary discretion to grant permanent residency to people who have lived in the country since a specified cutoff date and meet other requirements.
The current cutoff is January 1, 1972, a date that hasn’t moved since the Reagan administration last updated it nearly four decades ago. That’s left the provision almost entirely obsolete: between 2015 and 2019, only 305 people managed to adjust their status through it.
Padilla’s bill would scrap the fixed date entirely in favour of a rolling seven-year residency requirement, so the provision never goes stale again. The change would take effect 60 days after enactment.
Who’s backing it
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin is co-leading the measure alongside Padilla. Fourteen other senators have signed on as co-sponsors, and Representative Zoe Lofgren of California is leading companion legislation in the House.
With Republicans controlling the legislative agenda and no clear path through committee, the bill’s near-term odds remain low. Its real significance may lie less in this session and more in keeping the Registry update on the table for whenever the political balance in Congress shifts, particularly given how directly it would affect the long-standing green card backlog facing Indian H-1B holders.
Curated news reports, in-depth analysis, and special features by India’s Opinion editorial team.
