India, July 28 -- With the Trump administration tightening its grip on immigration enforcement, a senior Democratic senator is championing a bill that could provide a pathway to permanent residency for upwards of eight million long-term residents in the United States, including a considerable number of Indian professionals who find themselves in the H-1B backlog.

Senator Alex Padilla from California has reproposed 'Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929' bill that would permit immigrants who have resided continuously in the US for a minimum of seven years to seek lawful permanent resident status, assuming they possess no criminal record and fulfill all other current green card criteria.

This bill aims to update a...