Nearly 1 million Indians stuck in US Green Card backlog, wait could stretch to 179 years | Gravitas

Is it virtually impossible to become a permanent resident of America in your life time, if you are an Indian. And you apply today?

According to a new analysis, an Indian professional who applies for a US Green Card today could face a wait of up to a staggering 179 years.

Close to a million Indians are already waiting in line.

At present, Indian professionals tend to apply for an employment-based green card through three main categories.

The first category is reserved for outstanding professors, and those with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, business or sports.

Second preference is given to professionals with advanced degrees.

On the other hand, the third category pertains to those capable of performing skilled labour.

According to a latest study by National Foundation for American Policy, the potential wait time for Indians falling in the second category seeking a green card is 179 years as compared to 25 years for Chinese nationals.

While both Indians as well as Chinese in the first category take close to five years to obtain permanent residency, the gap is again wide as far as skilled workers are concerned.

Now, one of the main reasons which disproportionately affects Indians is the nationality-based green card caps.

As per US law, no country can get more than 7% of all green cards in a single year.

Thus, a small country like Iceland and a large country like India face the same 7% cap.

With only around one hundred forty thousand green cards available annually, very few Indians end up acquiring permanent residence.

If we look at the overall figures, close to a million Indians are still waiting for a green card.

They account for 79% of all the people across the globe who are awaiting permanent residence.

According to the NGO, the green card backlog for Indians has grown by 19% since 2020.

Now, this comes amid the Trump administration tightening restrictions for even legal immigrants.

Last week, it paused all US immigrant visa applications and even cancelled pre-scheduled interviews.

According to reports, this was done to ensure in-depth training of all consular officers.

This is not all.

The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed imposing a fee of over one hundred thousand US dollars on H-1b petitions.

This would considerably increase the cost of employing foreign professionals in US.

This is particularly significant for Indians who accounted for 71% of H-1b beneficiaries in 2024.