US President Joe Biden on the day one of his presidency sent a comprehensive immigration bill to Congress which aims major overhauls to the system, including granting legal status and a path to citizenship to tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants and other groups and reduce the time that family members must wait outside the US for green cards.

Called the US Citizenship Act of 2021, the legislation modernizes the immigration system, and also proposes to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards, a move that would benefit thousands of Indian IT professionals whose current wait period for legal permanent residency runs into several decades.

 “Today President Biden sent an immigration bill to Congress. The US Citizenship Act modernizes our immigration system. It provides hard-working people who have enriched our communities and lived here for decades an opportunity to earn citizenship,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a news conference. "The president's priority reflected in the bill is to responsibly manage the border, keep families together, grow our economy, address the root causes of migration from Central America and ensure that America can remain a refuge for those fleeing prosecution,” Psaki said.

The bill will stimulate America's economy while ensuring that every worker is protected. The bill creates an earned path to citizenship for immigrant neighbors, colleagues, parishioners, community leaders, friends, and loved ones — including Dreamers and the essential workers who have risked their lives to serve and protect American communities, the White House said. The term "Dreamers", which is used for the undocumented immigrants living in the US illegally, came from the DREAM Act, a bipartisan legislation that was first proposed in 2001 to provide citizenship to them under certain conditions. It is estimated that some 11 million undocumented people are living in the US.

WHO chief thanks Biden for membership U-turn, US joining ACT Accelerator, COVAX

Dalai Lama greets Biden For Being Sworn In As US President

EU Parliament President invites Biden to speak at plenary session in future