Green Card Backlog for Indians: Current Wait Times in 2024

Key Takeaways:

Over 1.2 million Indians face unprecedented backlog in U.S. employment-based green card applications, affecting applicants and the economy.
Contributing factors include outdated annual limits, per-country restrictions, and high demand for skilled talent from India.
Prolonged green card delays cause professional, familial disruptions and risk of talent leaving for other countries.

The green card backlog for Indians 🇮🇳 seeking permanent residency in the United States 🇺🇸 has reached unprecedented levels, causing significant challenges for applicants and raising concerns about the U.S. immigration system’s ability to attract and retain highly skilled talent. This issue not only affects the lives of millions of individuals but also presents substantial implications for the American economy and global competitiveness.

Scale of the Backlog

Green Card Backlog for Indians: Current Wait Times in 2024

As of late 2023, over 1.2 million Indians, including both principal applicants and their dependents, are caught in the employment-based green card backlog. This group alone constitutes approximately 63% of the entire 1.8 million employment-based green card cases currently pending. Breaking it down further, the Indians in the top three employment-based categories consist of:

First Preference (EB-1): 143,497 Indians
- This includes 51,249 principal applicants, with the remainder being dependents.
Second Preference (EB-2): About 838,784 Indians
- Half of these are primary applicants; the rest are family members.
Third Preference (EB-3): The balance comprises the rest of the 1.2 million total Indian applicants.

Causes of the Backlog

Several factors contribute to this daunting backlog for Indian applicants:

Annual Limitations: There’s an annual ceiling of 140,000 employment-based green cards available nationwide, a figure that includes family members attached to the primary applicant. This cap was established by Congress over three decades ago and has failed to accommodate the increased demand for skilled immigrants.
Per-Country Restriction: A single country cannot be allocated more than 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, a regulation that severely impacts heavily populated countries with a high demand for U.S. green cards, such as India.
High Demand for Skilled Talent: India’s rapid technological advancement has resulted in a significant upsurge in applicants, vastly outstripping the supply of available green cards. This has become particularly acute in employment categories that focus on advanced degrees and extraordinary skills.

Wait Times and Processing Dynamics

The existing wait times for Indian applicants exacerbate the backlog challenge. For those under the EB-2 category, the cutoff date is presently stuck at May 15, 2012. This date indicates that only applications filed before then are currently being processed. Such prolonged delays mean potential new applicants in EB-2 and EB-3 categories are staring at an astonishing wait of over 134 years. Furthermore, a 2020 estimation by the Congressional Research Service projected it could take near 195 years to dissolve the current backlog for Indians in these three employment-based categories.

Impact on Applicants and Families

The extensive delays have severe repercussions:

Professional Stagnation: Applicants are frequently tethered to their employers, suppressing upward mobility and career change opportunities.
Family Disruptions: Visa constraints often lead to divided families, as dependents are restricted in their ability to reside in the U.S.
Aging Out Concerns: Children dependent on applicants risk losing their status if they turn 21 before their parent’s application is resolved, jeopardizing their legal residency.
Uncertainty and Stress: The looming threat of losing legal status, whether due to employment termination or other factors, fosters a climate of instability and anxiety.

Economic and Competitive Implications

The backlog extends its impact beyond personal and familial struggles to the U.S. economy and its competitive edge:

Talent Exodus: The prospect of prolonged waiting periods could drive skilled professionals to other countries, precipitating a potential “brain drain.”
Innovation Hindrance: Industries dependent on foreign intellect, particularly those in STEM fields, face potential setbacks in sustaining innovation and growth.
Economic and Social Loss: It is estimated that around 424,000 employment-based applicants could pass away before securing their green cards, resulting in a substantial loss of potential economic contributions.

Proposed Solutions and Legislative Efforts

Though many solutions have been proposed, legislative action remains stalled:

Increasing Annual Quotas: Raising the cap on employment-based green cards could effectively alleviate pressure.
Removing Country Caps: Eradicating the 7% per-country limit would more equitably distribute green cards.
Reclaiming Unused Quotas: Bringing back unused green cards from prior years could address some of the backlog.
Family Exemptions: Proposals to exclude dependents from the green card quota could significantly reduce the backlog.

Despite various bills aimed at these solutions, none have succeeded in passing through Congress, stymieing progress toward meaningful reform.

Future Projections

As legislative inertia continues, the anticipated picture grows bleaker:

By fiscal year 2030, the backlog for Indians in prevalent employment-based categories could exceed 2,195,795 individuals.
The cumulative employment-based backlog could balloon beyond 2.4 million across all demographics.

The green card backlog for Indians sits at a pivotal crossroads within U.S. immigration policy, harbinger of both personal hardship for countless applicants and a potential challenge to America’s ability to magnetize world-class talent in a swiftly competitive global landscape. Without substantial policy reform, the burden on individuals, families, and the wider economy is poised to escalate, underscoring an urgent call for action to modernize and adapt U.S. immigration laws to current realities. For those seeking further information and updates on immigration policies, the official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services page offers detailed resources USCIS. Analysis from VisaVerge.com suggests that this backlog could influence not only personal decisions but strategic business outcomes on both sides of the Atlantic, emphasizing the complexity and crucial nature of addressing this multifaceted issue.

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Glossary of Immigration Terms

Green Card
A permit allowing a foreign national to live and work permanently in the United States. Officially known as a Permanent Resident Card.
Backlog
Accumulated number of pending green card applications due to processing delays, exceeding the annual limit of available permits, particularly affecting applicants from high-demand countries like India.
Per-Country Restriction
A limitation in U.S. immigration policy that caps the number of green cards allocated to any single country at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based visas, contributing to prolonged wait times for applicants from populous nations.
EB-2/EB-3 Categories
Employment-based green card preferences for professionals with advanced degrees and skilled workers, respectively. These categories often have long wait times due to high demand, especially from Indian applicants.
Aging Out
A situation where child dependents of green card applicants turn 21 and lose eligibility for derivative immigration benefits, risking their ability to continue residing in the U.S. with their families.

This Article In A Nutshell:

The green card backlog for Indians in the U.S. has reached historic levels, causing difficulties for applicants and highlighting flaws in the immigration system. With over 1.2 million waiting, this issue affects families and threatens America’s ability to attract skilled talent, impacting both the economy and innovation.
— By VisaVerge.com