Roger Marshall

US Senator Roger Marshall has promised to push for the removal of country caps on green cards for Indians, saying the current system has left many skilled immigrants facing decades-long waits for permanent residency.

Addressing a packed gathering of Indian-Americans, Marshall said, “We are telling the world’s hardest-working immigrants that the line is 70 years long. Not because of what you did but because too many of you came from the same place.”

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Under existing US immigration rules, no single country can account for more than 7 per cent of the family-sponsored and employment-based green cards issued annually, a limit that has resulted in decades-long backlogs for many highly skilled Indian applicants.

India hits annual EB-2 visa limit

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in May said that all employment-based green cards available to Indian applicants under the EB-2 category for FY 2026 have been exhausted, meaning no additional visas will be issued in this category until the next fiscal year begins.

Each year, the United States issues 140,000 employment-based green cards, with nearly one-third allocated to the EB-2 category along with any unused visas from the EB-1 category. The system is also subject to a per-country cap of 7 per cent, which translates to roughly 2,800 EB-2 green cards per country annually out of an estimated total of around 40,000 visas in the category.

According to the DHS announcement, India has already reached its allocation limit. In 2021, Indians accounted for an estimated pending green card backlog of about 700,000 applicants, the largest of any nationality.

“Since all available EB-2 visas for applicants chargeable to India in FY 2026 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these cases for the remainder of the fiscal year. The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2027) on October 1, 2026. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in this category to qualified applicants,” the DHS said in the announcement.

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Rising costs deepen uncertainty for Indian immigrants

The debate over green card backlogs has unfolded alongside wider changes proposed by the Trump administration that could significantly raise the cost of becoming a US citizen. Under a proposal put forward by the Department of Homeland Security, filing fees for Form N-400, the application used by green card holders seeking naturalisation, would increase sharply. The fee for paper applications would rise from $760 to $1330, while online applications would increase from $710 to $1280, representing a hike of up to 80 per cent.

The proposal has also drawn attention because it seeks to eliminate existing relief measures for lower-income applicants. At present, eligible applicants can apply under a reduced fee of $380 and, in some cases, receive fee waivers. Both provisions would be removed under the proposed rule, making the naturalisation process uniformly more expensive regardless of an applicant’s financial circumstances.

Although the proposal remains under review and will undergo a public consultation process before any implementation, it has already raised concerns among immigrant communities.

For Indians in particular, the implications could be significant. The United States is home to nearly 6.7 million Indians, one of the world’s largest Indian diasporas. Data shows that around 66,800 Indians received green cards in 2024, down from more than 1.27 lakh approvals in 2022 and about 78,000 in 2023. Despite the decline in approvals, demand for US citizenship remains strong among Indians, and the proposed fee increases could delay citizenship plans for many students, working professionals and middle-income families who have already spent years navigating the US immigration system.