US Warns EB-1 Green Cards May Run Out For Indians Before September Ends

The United States has warned that employment-based first-preference (EB-1) US green cards could become unavailable for Indian professionals before the fiscal year ends on September 30 because of high demand, adding fresh pressure to an already severe backlog that has limited permanent residency for Indian applicants.

The EB-1 category is used by priority workers, including people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers.

The US State Department's warning appeared in its September Visa Bulletin, highlighting fresh uncertainty for Indian green card applicants who already face lengthy queues in multiple categories.

"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 read. 

"This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly."

The warning is particularly significant for Indians because several other employment-based green-card queues are already severely constrained.

For September, the EB-1 India final action date is October 15, 2022. That means an Indian applicant generally must have a priority date earlier than the listed cutoff for a visa number to be available for final action, subject to other eligibility requirements.

The Extent of Visa Constraints

The pressure on Indian applicants extends beyond the EB-1 category. India's EB-2 category, which covers professionals holding advanced degrees and people of exceptional ability, is listed as "U" -- unavailable -- in the September bulletin.

The State Department defines "U" as meaning visa numbers are not authorised for issuance in that category during the period concerned.

The backlog is also stark in the employment-based third-preference (EB-3) category, where the queue stretches back 12 years.

India's unreserved EB-5 investor category is also unavailable for final action in September, although the EB-5 set-aside categories for rural projects, high-unemployment areas, and infrastructure remain current for all countries.

The filing dates offer somewhat more room than the final-action dates. For India, the September dates-for-filing chart lists December 1, 2023, for EB-1 and January 15, 2015, for EB-2 and EB-3 categories.

Applicants seeking adjustment of status inside the United States, however, must check which chart US Citizenship and Immigration Services authorises for use in a particular month.

The pressure on Indian employment-based applicants stems in large part from the combination of heavy demand and statutory limits on the number of employment-based immigrant visas available each year.