How Long Does It Take to Get a Green Card for Indians in the USA?

Imagine you’ve lived and worked in the United States for years, contributing to the economy, paying taxes, and creating a life for yourself and your family. Yet, the path to permanent residency—getting a green card—feels like a never-ending journey. For many immigrants from India, this isn’t just an exaggerated feeling. It’s a reality marked by bureaucratic hurdles, wait times spanning decades, and a system that can leave you wondering: "Will I ever get my green card?"

The green card process is anything but straightforward, especially for Indians.

Here’s the crux of the issue: immigrants from India face some of the longest wait times for a green card under the U.S. employment-based immigration system. To fully grasp this, we must first understand the various categories, the caps on green cards by country, and why the backlog for Indian applicants is particularly severe.

Employment-Based Green Cards: A Quick Overview

The U.S. immigration system grants green cards through several paths, including family sponsorship, asylum, and employment. For Indian nationals, employment-based green cards (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3) are the most common routes. These categories are designed for people who have skills the U.S. economy needs:

• EB-1: Priority workers, such as multinational executives, researchers, and those with extraordinary abilities.
• EB-2: Professionals holding advanced degrees or individuals with exceptional abilities.
• EB-3: Skilled workers, professionals, and other workers.

Why the Long Wait?

Here’s where it gets complicated: U.S. law limits the number of employment-based green cards issued per year to 140,000 total, but there’s also a 7% per-country cap. That means no single country can receive more than 7% of the available employment-based green cards in any given year, which equals about 9,800 green cards per country.

For smaller countries, this cap is often enough to meet demand. But for India, with its massive population and a large number of high-skilled workers applying for green cards, the demand far exceeds supply. The backlog for Indian nationals has grown dramatically over the years. As of 2023, there are over 800,000 Indians in the queue for employment-based green cards.

Shocking Numbers: The Reality of the Backlog

You read that correctly: over 800,000 people. With a yearly cap of around 9,800 green cards per country, the math quickly shows that it could take decades for some applicants to receive their green card. In fact, some estimates suggest that certain Indian applicants who applied today might not get their green cards until 2151—more than a century from now!

Take a moment to let that sink in. Over 100 years. That's not just a long wait; that's an entire lifetime. And it’s happening right now in the U.S. immigration system.

Factors Contributing to the Delay

• The Country Cap: The 7% cap per country is a significant factor. While intended to prevent any one country from dominating the system, it has led to disproportionate delays for applicants from countries like India.

• High Demand for Skilled Workers: Indian professionals, particularly in fields like tech, healthcare, and engineering, make up a large portion of the workforce in sectors that sponsor green cards.

• Per-Country Limits Not Adjusted for Population Size: India, with its 1.4 billion people, receives the same number of green cards annually as much smaller nations. This leads to longer wait times simply because there are more applicants than available green cards.

• Family and Dependents: Every green card application includes not just the worker but also their dependents—spouse and children. So, a family of four counts as four green cards, not one, which inflates the waiting list.

The Path to a Green Card: Different Stages

The green card journey for Indians involves several steps, and depending on your category and circumstances, the timeline can vary. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Labor Certification (PERM): This step, required for EB-2 and EB-3 categories, involves proving that no qualified U.S. workers are available for the job. This process can take 6 months to a year.

2. I-140 Petition: Once the labor certification is approved, the employer files an I-140 petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Approval typically takes 6-9 months, but there is an option to expedite this process through premium processing.

3. Priority Date: The priority date is the date when the PERM labor certification was filed. For Indian applicants, this is crucial because the priority date determines when they can file the final step, the adjustment of status (I-485).

4. Visa Bulletin Wait: This is where the biggest delays occur. The U.S. Department of State publishes a Visa Bulletin each month, which indicates when green card applicants can move forward based on their priority date. Because of the backlog, Indian applicants often face years, if not decades, of waiting.

5. I-485 (Adjustment of Status): Once the applicant’s priority date becomes current, they can file for adjustment of status. This step usually takes 8-14 months to complete, but in the grand scheme, it’s the easiest part of the process.

A Case Study: The Life of an Indian Applicant

Let’s take an example: Raj, a software engineer from India, has been working in the U.S. on an H-1B visa for the last 6 years. His employer sponsors him for an EB-2 green card. Here’s how his journey might unfold:

• In 2022, Raj’s employer files the PERM labor certification.
• By 2023, Raj’s I-140 is approved, and he now has a priority date.
• However, due to the backlog, Raj’s priority date for EB-2 Indian nationals won’t become current until 2035 at the earliest, and that’s assuming no further delays in the system.
• Once his priority date is current, Raj will file his I-485 and, after 12 months, receive his green card.

In total, Raj could be looking at 13+ years from the time his green card process started to when he finally holds the card in his hand. And that’s considered a short wait time for Indian nationals under the current system.

The Emotional and Financial Toll

While waiting for a green card, Indian nationals often remain on temporary visas like H-1B, which come with their own set of challenges:

• Job Insecurity: If the applicant loses their job, they may have to leave the U.S. unless they can quickly find another employer willing to sponsor their visa.

• Travel Restrictions: Applicants may face travel limitations during the green card process, making it difficult to visit family in India.

• Spousal Work Restrictions: Spouses of H-1B holders, typically on H-4 visas, may not be allowed to work. This creates financial strain on the family, particularly for those facing long green card waits.

• Missed Opportunities: The long wait for permanent residency also means missing out on opportunities, such as starting businesses, buying homes, or even changing employers freely, as many temporary visas are tied to specific jobs.

Is There Any Hope for Improvement?

The U.S. immigration system is often a hot topic of debate, and several proposals have been floated to address the green card backlog for Indian nationals, including:

• Eliminating Country Caps: One proposed solution is to remove the per-country cap for employment-based green cards. This would allow green cards to be allocated based on the date of filing rather than nationality, which could significantly reduce wait times for Indian applicants.

• Recapturing Unused Green Cards: Another proposal is to “recapture” unused green cards from previous years. In some years, the U.S. didn’t issue the full 140,000 employment-based green cards, and those unused slots could be added back to the system.

• Increasing the Overall Cap: Increasing the total number of employment-based green cards issued each year could help alleviate the backlog for all applicants, not just those from India.

Despite these proposed changes, progress has been slow, and for now, Indian nationals must navigate a system that requires both patience and perseverance.

Conclusion: An Uncertain Journey

The path to a green card for Indian nationals in the U.S. is, without a doubt, one of the longest and most uncertain immigration journeys. With wait times stretching into decades and no clear solution on the horizon, many face the reality of living in a state of limbo—contributing to the economy but unsure when, or if, they’ll ever be granted permanent residency.

For those on this path, the key to survival is understanding the process, staying informed about changes to the system, and—perhaps most importantly—keeping hope alive.