Visa suspension paradox may benefit employment-based green cards

As the federal government recently halted the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, analysts say the move could paradoxically benefit some green card applicants who are not from those countries.

The reason lies in the possibility that unused family-based immigrant visa quotas could be reallocated to employment-based categories.

According to immigration law experts, if family-based green cards left unused due to the visa suspension are transferred to the employment-based quota, roughly 50,000 additional employment-based green cards could become available in the next fiscal year.

Immigrant visas are a key step toward obtaining permanent residency. When visa issuance is suspended, applicants from the affected 75 countries are effectively unable to receive family-based green cards. As a result, annual family-based quotas may go unfilled. Under U.S. immigration law, any unused family-based green cards can be rolled over into the employment-based category.

Immigration attorney Emily Newman told the online outlet Financial Express on January 27 that an estimated 67,000 family-based green cards were issued to applicants from the affected countries in 2024. Even excluding visas already issued in the first quarter of last year, she said about 50,000 green cards could potentially shift to the employment-based quota. However, she added that the scale of the rollover would likely fall short of the level in 2020, when employment-based green card numbers nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, the U.S. State Department announced on social media platform X that it would suspend immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, citing excessive use of public benefits by immigrants from those nations.

The department said immigrants from the listed countries were more likely to become a public charge. The suspension applies only to immigrant visas intended for permanent residency and does not affect nonimmigrant visas such as tourist or business visas. Countries listed in the measure include Somalia, Iran, Haiti, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, and Russia.

Attorney Dave Noh noted that a similar situation occurred during the pandemic, when then-President Donald Trump issued executive orders suspending certain immigrant visas and U.S. consulates worldwide largely shut down operations. As a result, a large number of family-based green cards went unused and were later transferred to the employment-based category. He said applicants already in the U.S. on temporary work visas benefited significantly at the time.

Analysts also say the potential increase in employment-based green cards could be especially advantageous for applicants from India, where green card backlogs are particularly severe. Although the per-country cap of 7 percent remains in place, an expansion in the total number of employment-based green cards would raise the absolute number allocated to each country.

BY KYEONGJUN KIM  [kim.kyeongjun@koreadaily.com]