India on long run to get Green Card
According to latest data from the US immigration office, the wait for green cards for applicants from India is anticipated to continue to be lengthy as 369,322 applicants have approved employment visa petitions that are waiting for visa availability.
Nearly all of these are candidates for visas sponsored by technology businesses under the EB2 and EB3 categories (for professionals and skilled employees). On these visas, the option for a green card, or permanent residence, is accessible.
“This only tells you how many people are waiting for their visa numbers to get a green card. They have not provided the number of family members that are attached to these principal applicants, and this is important because visas granted to family members are also counted towards the per-country maximum allowed each year. So, we are looking at several decades of wait time,” said Poorvi Chothani, managing partner at LawQuest, a global immigration law firm.