- Congressman Shri Thanedar urges Congress to eliminate green card country quotas to retain global talent.
- Indian EB-2 visa numbers are exhausted for fiscal year 2026, halting new issuances until October.
- Proposed legislation aims to recapture unused visa numbers and prioritize high-degree graduates in STEM fields.
Shri Thanedar is urging Congress to end green card country quotas, arguing that the system prevents the United States from attracting and retaining skilled workers as Indian applicants face another employment-visa cutoff.
The Indian-American Congressman made the call on July 16, 2026, as the July Visa Bulletin left EB-2 India unavailable for the rest of fiscal year 2026. EB-1 India moved back to October 15, 2022, while EB-3 India remained at January 1, 2014.
The freeze followed a July 13 announcement from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The agencies said all available EB-2 immigrant visa numbers for Indian nationals in fiscal year 2026 had been used.
More EB-2 numbers can become available on October 1, 2026, when the next fiscal year begins. Thanedar said the current system creates “unnecessary hardship” for skilled professionals and their families.
“Immigration needs to be merit-based and not dictated by arbitrary caps. I am not just a Congressman, I am an immigrant. I came to this country when I was 24 years old with nothing but my American dream. Today, American businesses need these skilled immigrants. Yet, the long Green Card backlog is creating hardship on people, on scientists, on skilled workers and their families.”
The 7% ceiling puts Indian workers into a separate queue
The Immigration and Nationality Act sets the central limit. Under INA Section 202(a)(2), one country cannot receive more than 7% of the employment-based immigrant visas issued each year.
The ceiling applies even when demand from a country far exceeds its annual share. Thanedar says removing it would allow the employment system to better reflect the need for doctors, engineers, researchers and other professionals.
India’s pending cases illustrate the pressure. More than 700,000 employment-based green card applications for Indian nationals were pending as of September 2025. Broader estimates that included family and employment cases reached 1.6 million by the end of Fiscal Year 2022.
The backlog can keep professionals in temporary status for decades. Indian workers in information technology, health care and engineering may remain on H-1B or L-1 visas while they wait for permanent residence.
That uncertainty can limit job changes and business creation. It also reaches family members, as spouses and children face prolonged separation risks and children can age out of eligibility.
Thanedar has warned that the United States could lose highly trained workers to countries with more predictable residence pathways, including Canada and the UK. He characterizes that movement as a brain drain, particularly when people educated in the United States leave after failing to secure a permanent status.
India’s July categories now point to three different outcomes
The July dates vary sharply by employment-based preference category:
| Category | July 2026 position for India |
|---|---|
| EB-1 | October 15, 2022 |
| EB-2 | Unavailable for the rest of fiscal year 2026 |
| EB-3 | January 1, 2014 |
The EB-2 exhaustion blocks additional immigrant-visa issuance for Indian applicants during the remainder of the fiscal year. It does not eliminate existing cases.
A May 2026 industry guide placed Indian EB-2 and EB-3 waits at more than 10 years. Legacy projections based on the existing country limits have suggested waits of 70 to 195 years for some applicants.
Those projections describe the pressure created by the allocation structure, not a fixed wait for every case. The immediate administrative date is October 1, when the new fiscal year can restore visa-number availability.
Thanedar backs several ways to reduce the backlog
Removing the country ceiling is one part of Thanedar’s immigration agenda. He has also sponsored or co-sponsored proposals aimed at unused visa numbers, highly educated graduates and temporary workers.
H.R. 1535, known as the Eliminating Backlogs Act of 2023/2025, would recapture unused employment-based green cards from earlier years and exempt those numbers from the 7% per-country limit. The bipartisan measure is associated with Thanedar, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Larry Bucshon.
Krishnamoorthi said the bill would prevent allotted employment visas from going unused.
“I'm proud to partner with Congressman Bucshon on this legislation to end country-based discrimination in high-skilled immigration to ensure we use every allotted visa.”
Thanedar introduced the PHD First Act on June 23, 2023. Formally called the Putting Highest Degrees First Act, it would create a streamlined route to permanent residence for people who earn a Ph.D. from an accredited U.S. college and have a qualifying job offer.
The Keep STEM Graduates in America Act, from July 2024, takes aim at the H-1B process. It proposes changes intended to help foreign students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics remain in the United States after graduation.
Thanedar is also an original co-sponsor of the U.S. Citizenship Act. That broader proposal seeks to clear visa backlogs and establish an earned path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented individuals.
His personal history informs the emphasis on education and retention. In remarks from 2023 that he reaffirmed in 2026, Thanedar said:
“When I immigrated to America, I had only $20 in my pocket. Through education, I was able to build the life I wanted. I credit education as the reason for my success.”
The campaign has moved into congressional immigration debates
Thanedar’s push has also appeared at events and hearings focused on legal immigration. The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies hosted a June 2026 legislative day where Thanedar and Bethany Morrison, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, discussed Indian Americans’ role in the U.S. economy and possible backlog solutions.
He also confronted DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin during a June 4, 2026, House Homeland Security Committee hearing. Thanedar criticized the administration’s rhetoric and called for attention to legal immigration reform rather than border-only politics.
The debate now has a fixed administrative marker. Indian EB-2 applicants must wait for the fiscal-year reset after the July exhaustion notice, while lawmakers weigh whether to preserve or change the country-based allocation rule.
October 1, 2026, will show how many visa numbers become available for the next fiscal year. Thanedar’s broader proposal would instead change who competes for those numbers, allowing demand from high-skilled applicants to be considered without the current national ceiling.
