Immigration Business Roundtable Immigration Committee Chair, Tim Cook, Letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Unused Green Cards

Aug 19, 2022

The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas

Secretary of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528


Dear Secretary Mayorkas:

As we approach the end of the fiscal year, we encourage the Department of Homeland Security to use all available employment-based green cards this year to help ensure we do not exacerbate the existing backlog.

Antiquated numerical and per-country limits have created a decades-long backlog for many high-skilled immigrants and companies unable to fill critical talent gaps. With almost 11 million job openings[1], the United States cannot afford to limit the potential of employees already in the workforce, and children of those employees should not be forced to leave the country due to government inaction. During their wait, employees face limits in their ability to advance their careers or start new businesses.

We applaud U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the multiple process changes it has implemented to prevent the loss of employment-based green cards, and we are pleased to see the increased adjudication rate for applications. We also appreciate the government’s increased transparency surrounding green card utilization and recognize the challenges that USCIS faces in achieving its goal.

While we are cautiously optimistic that all green cards will be allocated, nothing should be left to chance. We encourage the government to continue to take any available action to utilize all numbers this fiscal year and explore every avenue to preserve and recapture any that are unused. We welcome any opportunities to assist in those efforts.


Sincerely,

Tim Cook

CEO, Apple

Chair, Immigration Committee, Business Roundtable


[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm

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