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. The per-country caps are numerical limits on the issuance of green cards to individuals from certain countries. US Green Card Delay: Country-Based Quota Behind Long Wait Time for Permeant Resident Card for People From India, Says Official.
The long and agonizing wait for Green Cards for people from India, China, Mexico and the Philippines is mainly due to the country-based quota system in its allocation which can be changed only by the US Congress, a senior official has said.
For hundreds of thousands of Indian professionals, the wait for Green Card has currently been more than a decade and many a time the Visa wait time goes back by years.
The ruling Democratic party has introduced a Citizenship Act, which among other things, seeks to eliminate the country-quota for green cards and make changes in the much sought-after H-1B visa system.