Indian Green Card Applicants Could Face Waits of Up to 179 Years, Analysis Finds

An Indian professional applying for a US green card today could face a wait of up to 179 years under the employment-based second-preference category, according to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy.

The estimate appears in NFAP’s August policy brief. It says an Indian national with a labor certification application or an employment-based immigrant petition filed in January 2026 or later could wait five years in the first-preference EB-1 category, 179 years in EB-2 and 38 years in EB-3.

Nearly one million Indian professionals and their dependents are already caught in the backlog. NFAP puts the number at 996,599, or 79% of everyone waiting in the three employment-based green card categories. The nationality-based cap has disproportionately extended the process for Indian professionals seeking permanent residency in the United States.

The employment-based system provides roughly 140,000 green cards each year, with no more than 7% allocated to nationals of any one country. Indian professionals can apply through EB-1, for people with extraordinary ability, EB-2, for workers with advanced degrees, or EB-3, for bachelor’s degree holders and other skilled workers. EB-4 covers special immigrants, including religious workers, while EB-5 is reserved for investors.

Applicants from China face shorter, but still lengthy, waits. NFAP estimates 25 years for Chinese applicants in EB-2 and seven years in EB-3, while Indian and Chinese applicants face similar waits in EB-1. The backlog for Indian professionals stretches back at least a decade, with dependents included in the calculations.