For thousands of indian professionals working in the United States, the road to permanent residency — popularly known as a green card — remains long and uncertain. Despite the monthly release of the U.S. Visa Bulletin, which tracks immigrant visa availability, the wait times for indian applicants continue to stretch into many years, especially in key employment‑based categories such as EB‑2 and EB‑3.
The U.S. Visa Bulletin — published by the State Department — shows how far the government has moved “priority dates,” which determine when an applicant’s green card application can be processed. For indian nationals, both family‑sponsored and employment‑based green card categories remain heavily backlogged. The february 2026 bulletin, for example, shows little or no significant movement in priority dates for indian applicants compared with previous months, meaning many workers must continue waiting with no immediate relief.
The per‑country cap on green cards is a central reason for this stagnation. U.S. immigration law restricts the number of immigrant visas that can be issued to nationals of any single country to about 7 % annually. While this rule aims to promote geographic diversity, it has inadvertently created a bottleneck for countries with very high demand — like India. With hundreds of thousands of indian applicants in the queue for employment‑based categories, the annual limits simply cannot keep pace with demand, leading to decades‑long waits.
In particular:
- EB‑2 (for professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB‑3 (for skilled workers and professionals) categories for india have priority dates stuck in the early 2010s, meaning applicants must wait more than a decade before they can receive a green card.
- EB‑1 (for priority workers) slightly improves access for some applicants but still sees limited progress compared with other countries.
Even earlier progress seen in late 2025 and early 2026 months did not translate into meaningful movement in february 2026, showing how persistent and deep the backlog remains. Family‑based categories also continue to lag, with little advancement in priority dates for indian applicants.
The long waits have broader consequences. Many indian professionals — especially those on H‑1B work visas — remain in visa limbo for years as they wait for their priority dates to become current. This uncertainty affects both personal life decisions and career plans. Some applicants explore alternative routes such as marrying a U.S. citizen to bypass employment caps, while others lobby for legislative reforms like green card recapture or removing per‑country limits altogether to reduce the backlog.
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