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Often discussed immigration reform will most likely be a long time coming, but several county residents are taking matters into their own hands, lobbying Congress to act now to speed up the waiting time for green cards.

Germantown resident Shyam Sriram is one of them. He is vice president of the Maryland Chapter of Immigration Voice, a grass roots organization concerned about the backlog of green card applications.

Its not ridiculous, its outrageous, Sriram said. The way the laws are written it can take 70 years to [get a green card].

A green card allows an immigrant to become eligible for permanent resident status and work in the U.S. It is also a first step towards becoming a U.S. citizen. It allows holders to open new businesses, change jobs, ask for a raise, travel to their home countries and return to the United States and be assured that they will not have to leave the country if they lose their jobs.

With an H-1B visa for highly skilled workers, that most Immigration Voice members have according to Sriram, those simple acts are difficult if not impossible.

Sriram, 35, came to the United States from India to attend graduate school at the University of Texas, Arlington. He has a masters degree in electrical engineering and works in the transportation business. He has a H-1B visa which allows him to work.

He has to stay with the same employer, in the same job he said. His employer is his green card sponsor and any change in his employment means he must reapply for a green card with the new employer as his sponsor and that would bump him to the end of the line. He has had his application for a green card in for six years, he said, and thinks it will take another 10 years.

Its a complex issue, he said. We want [Congress] to understand the immigration system should be fair to immigrants as well as Americans.

The system as it is now set up works to the advantage of big corporations, he said.

The problem right now is bigger companies are taking advantage of the system by hiring people and keeping them in the same position, he said. The unintended consequence is it hurts Americans as well. The way the law is written employers hire immigrants and keep them.

Original post:
It's not easy getting green: Local workers among those seeking immigration reform