The United States has issued a fresh warning that employment-based first-preference (EB-1) green cards for Indian professionals could become unavailable before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, as demand for the category continues to rise. The development adds another layer of uncertainty for Indian applicants already facing long waits for permanent residency in the U.S.
The EB-1 category covers certain priority workers, including individuals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, as well as qualifying multinational executives and managers.
The warning from the U.S. Department of State came in the September Visa Bulletin, signaling that the supply of available EB-1 visa numbers for Indian applicants could run out before the fiscal year closes.
“High demand and number use by aliens chargeable to India in the EB-1 visa category may necessitate making the category unavailable in the coming weeks if India’s pro-rated limit in the EB-1 category is reached before the fiscal year ends,” the update from the bulletin read.
“This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.”
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The warning is especially important for Indian green card applicants because employment-based immigration has been heavily backlogged for years, with applicants from India facing some of the longest waits across several categories.
For September, the EB-1 India final action date stands at October 15, 2022. In practical terms, an Indian applicant generally needs a priority date earlier than the listed cutoff for a visa number to be available for final action, while also meeting all other eligibility requirements.
If the EB-1 category becomes unavailable for India before Sept. 30, applicants may have to wait until the next fiscal year for additional visa numbers to become available. The State Department’s latest warning therefore adds to concerns among Indian professionals who have already spent years waiting for their green cards.
The pressure facing Indian applicants is not limited to the EB-1 category. India’s EB-2 category, which includes professionals with advanced degrees and individuals with exceptional ability, is marked “U,” meaning unavailable, in the September Visa Bulletin.
The State Department uses the “U” designation when visa numbers are not authorized for issuance in a particular category during the period covered by the bulletin.
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Indian applicants are also facing a significant backlog in the employment-based third-preference (EB-3) category, with the cutoff date now sitting roughly 12 years behind. The situation is similarly challenging in the unreserved EB-5 investor category, which is unavailable for final action for India in September. However, the EB-5 set-aside categories covering rural projects, high-unemployment areas and infrastructure projects remain current for applicants from all countries.
The dates for filing provide somewhat more flexibility compared with the final action dates. For India, the September Visa Bulletin lists Dec. 1, 2023, as the filing date for EB-1, while the filing date for both EB-2 and EB-3 is January 15, 2015.
However, applicants applying for adjustment of status from within the United States need to check which chart U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has authorized for use in that particular month. The dates for filing chart cannot automatically be used in every case.
The growing pressure on Indian employment-based applicants is largely driven by the combination of strong demand and the statutory limits placed on the number of employment-based immigrant visas that can be issued each year.
With demand continuing to outpace available visa numbers, Indian professionals remain among those most affected by the long-running green card backlog.