Washington, Dec 8 (PTI) A presidential commission has recommended including aged-out kids in the Green Card applications of their parents, a move if accepted by the Biden Administration will end the risk of self-deportation to more than 2,00,000 children, an overwhelming majority of whom are Indian Americans.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently.

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The President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders made a recommendation during the meeting this week. The recommendation now goes to President Joe Biden and his team for review.

The move if accepted by President Biden and implemented by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will end the risk of self-deportation to more than 2,00,000 children, an overwhelming majority of whom are Indian Americans.

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As of now, children of Green Card applicants who are ageing out as dependents on their parents' applications cannot easily access other forms of legal immigration status to stay in the United States.

These young people risk losing their legal status and are currently ineligible for other forms of relief putting them at risk of self-deportation. They have no immediate path to a Green Card or citizenship and could lose their work authorisation. As per an estimate currently, they number more than 2,00,000, an overwhelming majority of whom are Indian Americans.

The move by Indian American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria, the President's Commission recommended that USCIS take several steps to address children ageing out of their eligibility to be included in their parent's Green Card application and losing their legal status at the age of 21.

Prominent among them include USCIS should expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme to include these lawfully admitted dependents who have aged out on their parents' Green Card application.

The commission recommended that USCIS should create a programme allowing young people who are ageing to move automatically to another nonimmigrant visa status, which allows them to live and work in the United States and file for Green Card applications.

It also recommended that USCIS should amend its regulations covering dependents of primary visa holders who have aged out of their parents' applications to access the Employment Authorisation Document (EAD), allowing them to work in the United States.

As per the commission's recommendations, the USCIS should allow aged-out children to retain their parents' Green Card application priority date and permit aged-out children to file for their application using the priority date of the visa petition filed by their parents' employers.

The USCIS should amend its policy manual to calculate the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) application date of dependents based on the filing date of the underlying visa application, it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)