US Green Card Backlog: 1 Million Indians Face 179-Year Wait
Nearly one million Indians are stuck in the US Green Card backlog, with EB-2 applicants facing up to 179-year waits due to 7% country cap.
Indian professionals seeking US permanent residency are confronting an unprecedented backlog, with some facing waits that could stretch beyond a century. According to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), the queue for employment-based Green Cards has grown so long that applicants in the EB-2 category may wait up to 179 years.
The root cause lies in the US immigration system's country-based caps, which limit applicants from any single nation to 7% of total annual Green Card allocations. Since India sends a disproportionately high number of skilled workers to the US, this cap creates a severe bottleneck for Indian nationals.
Nearly one million Indians are currently trapped in this backlog, making them the largest group affected by the per-country limit. The EB-2 category, which covers professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, is the most impacted.
Experts suggest that without legislative reform, the wait times will only worsen. Proposed solutions include raising the per-country cap, exempting certain high-skilled categories from the limit, or implementing a merit-based system that prioritises applicants regardless of nationality.
For now, Indian tech workers and their families face an uncertain future, caught between career opportunities in the US and the prospect of a multi-generational wait for permanent residency.