Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a bill recently to eliminate current green card backlogs by increasing the number of green cards. S. 2603, entitled the Resolving Extended Limbo for Immigrant Employees and Families (RELIEF) Act, would also classify children and spouses of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) as immediate relatives and exempt derivative beneficiaries of employment-based petitions from annual green card limits. Specifically, S. 2603 would:

  • Eliminate the family and employment green card backlog over five years in the order in which applications were filed;
  • Keep American families together by classifying spouses and children of lawful permanent residents (LPRs) as immediate relatives and exempting derivative beneficiaries of employment-based petitions from annual green card limits;
  • Protect “aging out” children who qualify for LPR status based on a parent’s immigration petition;
  • Lift country caps; and
  • Exempt immigrant visa petitions approved before enactment from the lifting of country caps to petitions approved for five years after enactment.

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