Sixty-three members of Congress have asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to speed up pending green card applications (Form I-485) for lawfully present immigrants who are losing, or are about to lose, health coverage under eligibility restrictions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that took effect October 1.
The letter, dated October 14 and made public on October 19, was led by Reps. Yvette D. Clarke of New York and Adelita S. Grijalva of Arizona and signed by Indian-American Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pramila Jayapal, and Shri Thanedar, among others. "Needless red tape should never be the determinant between life and death," Clarke said.
The lawmakers ask USCIS to create emergency expedited processing where a coverage loss is imminent, to recognize impending loss of coverage under its existing expedite criteria, and to coordinate with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and state agencies on delaying coverage terminations for people with applications pending. The Congressional Budget Office projects 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants could become uninsured by 2034 under the restrictions.
Why it matters: many Malayalee families in South Florida — including nurses and other healthcare workers — have waited years with an I-485 pending, and a coverage gap during that wait can be serious. This is a request, not a policy change: USCIS has not announced any new expedite route, and nothing here guarantees faster processing for any individual application.
