However, the wait has become exceptionally long for many Indian applicants.

According to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), nearly 10 lakh Indians are waiting for employment-based Green Cards in the US. Indians account for around 79% of the overall employment-based Green Card backlog.

For applicants in certain employment categories, the projected wait could run into decades. NFAP estimates that Indians whose labour certification application or employment-based immigrant petition was filed in January 2026 or later could face a potential wait of around 179 years under EB-2 and 38 years under EB-3. The estimated wait for EB-1 is around four to five years. These estimates do not include the additional time taken by the US government to process individual applications.

Nearly 10 Lakh Indians Waiting for Green Cards

NFAP estimates that by December 2025, 9,96,599 Indian nationals were waiting for their turn across the first three employment-based preference categories.

The estimated numbers were:

• EB-1: 51619 applicants
• EB-2: 731566 applicants
• EB-3: 213414 applicants

The figures show how heavily the backlog is concentrated in the EB-2 category, which includes many highly qualified professionals. Between April 2020 and December 2025, India's overall backlog increased by 1,61,344 applicants, or 19.3%.

During the same period, the EB-2 backlog increased by 17.6%, while the EB-3 backlog rose sharply by 51.1%. In contrast, the EB-1 backlog fell by 28.3%.

Why Is the Green Card Wait So Long?

The huge waiting period is largely linked to limits built into the US immigration system. According to NFAP, the first major restriction is the annual limit on employment-based Green Cards. The US allows 140,000 employment-based Green Cards each year. This figure, set by Congress in 1990, includes both the main applicants and their eligible dependants.

The second major factor is the per-country limit. Under the current system, nationals of one country generally cannot receive more than 7% of the employment-based Green Cards available in a financial year. This creates a significant problem for applicants from countries such as India and China, which have very large numbers of employment-based immigration applicants. In practice, the same per-country limit applies to India and China as it does to much smaller countries such as Iceland and Luxembourg.

India's Backlog Has Grown Significantly

The growth in India's backlog is particularly visible in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. NFAP estimates that the total backlog across the first three employment-based categories rose from 10,48,342 in April 2020 to around 12,64,495 by December 2025.

Over this period:

• EB-1 backlog fell by 16.6%
• EB-2 backlog increased by 22.9%
• EB-3 backlog increased by 30.1%

The numbers highlight why Indian professionals in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories face such lengthy waits for permanent residency.

What Do EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 Mean?

The employment-based Green Card system is divided into different preference categories.

EB-1: It is designed for people with extraordinary ability, as well as certain outstanding researchers, professors and multinational executives or managers.

EB-2: It is generally covers professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability. In some cases, a bachelor's degree followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the relevant field can be treated as equivalent to an advanced degree.

EB-3: It covers professionals, skilled workers and other workers. A large number of employment-based applicants fall into this category.

Why Indians Face a Particular Problem

The core issue is the mismatch between the number of Indian applicants and the number of Green Cards available to them. India produces a large pool of highly skilled professionals who move to the US for jobs, particularly in sectors such as technology, engineering and other specialised fields. However, the employment-based Green Card system has annual and country-specific limits.

As a result, new applicants continue entering the queue while many existing applicants remain stuck for years.