Green card applications down nearly 80 percent

Green card applications have fallen substantially over the past years, according to a study by the Associated Press. Employers have sponsored less than half the number of employees in 2008 and 2009 than in 2007 and earlier. High unemployment and broader recessionary factors have triggered the decline in permanent resident applications.

In fiscal year 2007, employers submitted nearly 235,000 green card applications. By 2008, applications fell to around 104,000. For the first eight months of this year, fewer than 36,000 employer-sponsored applications have been filed. If current application rates persist through the rest of 2009, volume will have fallen close to 80 percent from the 2007 peak.