Washington. Mar 2: A Congressman has introduced legislation seeking to permit the admission to the United States of non-immigrant visitors who are the spouses and children of permanent resident aliens (green-card holders) living and working in this country, reports IANS.

Currently the spouses and children of green-card holders have to wait for years until their immigration petitions are approved before they can come to the U.S., because they are invariably refused visitor's visas for fear of overstaying.

"This legislation." Rep. Frank Pallone explained, "is intended to fill a void in our current immigration policy that has’ resulted in permanent resident aliens....being separated from their spouses and children, often for periods of several years."

He said his bill "would simply make it easier for family members to come to the United

States on a temporary basis. Its goal is to alleviate the human hardship of prolonged family separation."

Pallone, former head of the Congressional Caucus on India, noted that the issue of spousal and child reunification has been identified as one of the top domestic priorities of the Indian community in the U.S. and for many other ethnic groups with large number of people who have been forced to leave immediate family members behind under current rules.

According to Pallone. the proposal had already received significant support from some of America's major corporations -- particularly in the information and communications sectors -- which recognise the importance of allowing their valued employees to have greater contact with their families.

Pallone has been pushing for this legislation for several years and has introduced such

bills regularly. But. except for a hearing or two by a House immigration subcommittee, the bill has not made much head-

The Congressman has also sought to have the State Department initiate pilot programmes at several U.S. consulates to determine the effectiveness of the proposed new visas, but the administration has thus far resisted the proposal and it has never gotten off the ground.

Pallone said his legislation would eliminate the implication that the existence of a petition for permanent residence implies that an applicant will not return to his or her home nation and would remain in the U.S. after the expiration of a temporary visa.

"This equitable solution simply grants to immigrant family members the same opportunity to visit the United States as all others desiring to come here as visitors or students." Pallone argued.

He said. "The legislation anticipates the possibility that some may violate the terms of their visas by overstaying the period for which the visa provides."

As a caveat against misuse of the concession. Pallone said his legislation "penalises spouses or children of permanent residents who overstay their visas by allowing the Secretary of State to delay their permanent visa petitions for one year if visa durations are violated."

"In order to allay some of the misunderstandings and opposition that could arise." Pallone said "if should be pointed out that the legislation will not result in an Increase in the numbers of immigrants admitted annually."

He said it would not "have an Impact on the labour market" either "and it will not have any adverse effects on any government social programmes since the spouses will not be entitled to these benefits."