How Per-Country Caps Affect H-1B Workers Seeking Green Cards

(UNITED STATES) Per-country caps are still the main reason many H-1B workers wait years for Green Cards in 2026. For applicants from India and China, the delay is not a few extra months. It is often more than a decade, even when a U.S. employer is ready to sponsor them.

Those limits sit at the center of the employment-based immigration system. They shape who gets a Green Card, who stays stuck in temporary status, and how long skilled workers must keep renewing visas while their lives remain on hold.

The rule is simple on paper and punishing in practice. Under Per-country caps, no single nation can receive more than 7% of the annual employment-based Green Card total. Because the worldwide quota is about 140,000, that means one country can get only about 9,800 visas each year.

Why the cap hits India and China hardest

India and China supply huge numbers of engineers, software developers, researchers, and other skilled workers. They also send nearly half of U.S. STEM PhDs. That demand quickly overwhelms the country limits, so the queue keeps growing.

The U.S. Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin controls the line through “Final Action Dates.” Those dates show when Green Cards may be issued. As of the February 2026 bulletin, EB-2 dates for India remain in 2013, which means a wait of more than 12 years. China’s EB-2 date sits in 2021. EB-3 dates for both countries remain years behind current demand.

Priority date ordering makes the backlog worse. Applicants cannot move ahead just because they have a U.S. employer, a strong degree, or years of experience. They must wait until earlier filings clear. For many Indian EB-2 workers, the full path can stretch past 15 years when PERM labor certification, I-140 approval, and adjustment of status are included.

VisaVerge.com reports that these queues have become one of the biggest barriers facing high-skilled immigrants in the United States. The site notes that the problem is not a paperwork delay. It is a structural bottleneck built into the law.

H-1B workers live inside the backlog

The H-1B program gives U.S. employers a way to hire foreign specialty workers for up to six years. The annual cap includes 65,000 regular visas and 20,000 for people with U.S. advanced degrees. Many H-1B workers then try to move from temporary work status to permanent residence through employer sponsorship.

That transition now breaks down for many people. An H-1B employee may already be living and working in the United States for years, paying taxes, buying homes, and raising children. Yet the Green Card line remains frozen far behind them.

For Indian workers, the pressure is especially intense. Some projections show waits that could stretch to 70 years if the rules never change, because India occupies most of the oversubscribed queue. China’s delays are shorter, but still severe. Most other countries remain current, which means their applicants move through far faster.

Travel makes the problem worse. Many H-1B holders must leave the United States for visa stamping abroad. In 2026, U.S. consulates in India show no interview slots through much of the year, and enhanced social media vetting introduced in December 2025 has slowed renewals further. That leaves some workers outside the country for long periods and interrupts their jobs and family plans.

A January 2026 Trump administration pause on immigrant visas for 75 countries, based on public-charge grounds, does not stop H-1B or L-1 entries. It does, however, create spillover pressure. If extended through September 2026, it could move EB-2 and EB-3 dates forward by four to five years, similar to what happened during COVID-era slowdowns.

New H-1B rules change selection, not Green Card delays

USCIS has modernized the H-1B lottery for FY2027, which starts in October 2026. These changes affect who gets selected for the visa cap. They do not solve the Green Card backlog caused by Per-country caps.

Registration runs from March 4-19, 2026. Selections are due by March 31, and petitions may be filed from April 1-June 30. The process now uses a beneficiary-centric lottery, which means one entry per worker tied to the passport. Multiple registrations for the same person lead to disqualification.

USCIS is also using a wage-weighted system. Employers must report OEWS wage tiers, and higher-paid positions receive more lottery entries. That favors higher-skilled and higher-paid roles. It also reflects the administration’s effort to direct H-1B slots toward jobs seen as higher value.

A new $100,000 fee applies to consular-processing H-1B petitions for workers abroad. It does not apply to extensions, cap-exempt jobs, or change-of-status filings such as those for F-1 students. Standard filing fees still range from $1,500 to $4,500.

Digital filing and clearer degree-to-job matching rules, introduced earlier, remain in place. Together, these reforms tighten the H-1B system while leaving the Green Card bottleneck untouched.

Paths some workers are using now

Some H-1B workers are trying to step around the backlog rather than wait inside it.

• EB-1A: This self-petition option is for people with extraordinary ability. It skips labor certification and is often current.
• EB-2 NIW: The National Interest Waiver removes the PERM step for people with strong national interest cases.
• EB-1C: Multinational managers may qualify through a faster employer route.
• EB-5: Investors with the required capital may use this path to permanent residence.
• O-1: Workers with extraordinary ability may move to a visa with no annual cap.
• TN, E-3, and H-1B1: These options serve specific nationalities and can give more flexibility than H-1B.

For workers already deep in the queue, some employers are preparing Form I-140 upgrades and keeping Form I-485 adjustment documents ready for a possible spillover year. H-1B extensions beyond six years can also remain available when a Green Card case has been pending for 365 days or more.

Employers are making their own calculations

U.S. companies are not passive in this process. They must document wage tiers, keep clean records for audits, and choose whether to use cap-exempt routes through universities or related institutions. Many also watch the Visa Bulletin every month because one date movement can decide hiring plans for an entire year.

For employers in tech, medicine, and research, the cap system creates a long chain of uncertainty. A worker can be essential to a project but still remain temporary for years. That is one reason business groups keep pressing Congress to remove or relax Per-country caps.

Congress keeps missing the fix

Bipartisan proposals to end Per-country caps have circulated for years. H.R. 3012 is one of the older bills that would have removed the country limits for employment-based Green Cards. Supporters argue that this would cut the Indian and Chinese backlogs and make the system fairer. Opponents warn it would slow other countries and reshape the line overnight.

As of March 2026, Congress has not acted. Political fights over border security keep blocking broader immigration changes. That leaves the current system in place, with H-1B workers waiting in long queues while their careers and families sit in limbo.

The Green Card backlog now shapes where people live, whether they can travel freely, and whether companies keep them or lose them to Canada, Australia, or other countries with faster permanent-residence paths. For many skilled workers, the promise of a U.S. future still depends on a line that barely moves.