Why Indian professionals face the longest wait for US green cards

By Asia Samachar | United States |

High-skilled Indian professionals seeking permanent residence in the United States could face waits stretching decades under the country’s employment-based green card system, with some applicants in one category facing a theoretical wait of 179 years, according to a new policy analysis.

The National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) said an Indian national whose labour certification or employment-based immigrant petition was filed in January 2026 or later could potentially wait 179 years in the EB-2 category, 38 years in EB-3 and four to five years in EB-1.

The August 2026 report stresses that these estimates reflect the size of the backlog and visa availability rather than government processing time.

As of December 2025, an estimated 996,599 Indians were waiting in the first three employment-based preference categories, accounting for 79% of the overall backlog of 1.26 million people. Of these, about 731,566 were in EB-2, primarily covering workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, while 213,414 were in EB-3.

In the five employment-based preferences, the first preference (EB-1) includes outstanding researchers, professors and people of extraordinary ability. The second preference (EB-2) is for workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability while the third preference (EB-3) is for professionals, skilled workers and other workers.

NFAP attributed the lengthy waits primarily to two features of US immigration law.

First, Congress limits employment-based immigrant visas to 140,000 annually, a ceiling established in 1990. That figure also includes spouses and children, who typically consume half or more of the available numbers.

Second, US law generally limits immigrants born in any one country to 7% of available visas. This particularly affects high-demand countries such as India and China. NFAP noted that, under the system, India and China are effectively subject to the same country ceiling as much smaller nations such as Iceland and Luxembourg.

For China, NFAP estimated waits of up to 25 years for EB-2 applicants filing in 2026, seven years under EB-3 and five years under EB-1. The Chinese employment-based backlog stood at an estimated 127,857 people in December 2025.

The problem has accumulated over many years as far more skilled workers are approved than can receive green cards. NFAP cited 2016 as an example: an estimated 98,594 Indians, including dependents, were approved in EB-2, while only 4,407 Indians received permanent residence in that category.

NFAP said legislative changes would be required to significantly reduce the backlog.

There were approximately 3.8 million people on the family-sponsored preference waiting list as of November 2023, according to the most recent report from the State Department. In addition to those backlogs, the Trump administration has made it more difficult for U.S. citizens to sponsor family members through a new public charge rule, a ban on the entry of immigrants from 39 countries and a freeze on applications for individuals from 75 countries.

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