US Green Card: India Needs 134 Years, Pakistan Needs 2!

The United States migration has virtually abrupt the green card system in the country in order to avoid the aspect of permanent residence of the immigration population.

A recent report has highlighted the massive disparity in US Green Card waiting times, especially impacting Indian applicants.

According to current data, Indians applying under employment based categories like EB 2 and EB 3 could face an extreme wait time of up to 134 years, effectively making it impossible for many to receive permanent residency within their lifetime.

In sharp contrast, applicants from countries such as Pakistan and Somalia reportedly face a waiting period of less than two years for similar Green Cards. This stark difference has sparked widespread debate about fairness in the US immigration system.

The primary reason behind this imbalance is the per country cap rule, which limits each nation to about 7 percent of the total employment based Green Cards issued annually. Due to the huge number of applicants from India, this quota gets exhausted quickly, leading to an enormous backlog.

Estimates suggest that over one million Indians are currently stuck in this queue, with demand far exceeding the limited number of visas available each year.

While recent visa bulletins show slight forward movement in priority dates, experts say it does little to ease the long term crisis. The situation continues to be a major concern for Indian professionals, especially those working in the US on H 1B visas, who remain stuck in long waiting cycles for permanent residency.