Raised Here, Aging Out: The Teenagers Caught Between the H-1B Backlog and Their 21st Birthday

Consider a timeline that is not unusual under current law. A family arrives in 2013 on an H-1B work visa. Their daughter is three. The employer files a green card petition a few years later. The parents work, pay taxes, buy a home, and renew their visas as the rules allow. In 2031 the daughter turns 21 and her green card is still not available.

No one in that timeline broke a rule. The child made no decision at all. On her 21st birthday, her dependent status ends.

How the system works

• The H-1B is a temporary work visa. It is granted for up to six years, with extensions beyond that if a green card application is pending. The annual cap on new visas is 85,000.
• Spouses and unmarried children under 21 receive H-4 status. Children on H-4 generally cannot work in the United States.
• Employment-based green cards are capped at roughly 140,000 a year. Spouses and children count against that number, not just the worker.
• No single country may receive more than 7 percent of green cards in a category. The limit is the same for a country of 370,000 people and a country of 1.4 billion.
• At 21, a child no longer qualifies as a dependent. The Child Status Protection Act of 2002 can freeze a child's age, but only by a formula tied to when a visa number becomes available. For applicants born in India, that date can be many years away.