Green Card Seekers Hope Application Policy Fix Will Ease Backlog

Several hundred Indian immigrants who previously applied for green cards are asking a federal appeals court to overturn a government policy that they say has added nearly a decade to their wait to become permanent residents.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear oral arguments Wednesday over whether federal immigration law requires that a visa be available at the time an immigrant files an application or when US Citizenship and Immigration Services grants final approval. The latter approach—which is how the visa system currently operates—can unexpectedly add years to an applicant’s wait time when government projections ...