70 Year Wait For Green Card Unfair To Indians
Great Andhra
Republican Senator Roger Marshall has come out in support of Indians waiting for Green Cards in the United States, even as some of his party colleagues have been calling for a permanent pause on the...
Republican Senator Roger Marshall has come out in support of Indians waiting for Green Cards in the United States, even as some of his party colleagues have been calling for a permanent pause on the entry of Indians through the H-1B visa route.
Marshall said he does not support the per-country cap on Green Cards, which has pushed Indian applicants into extremely long waiting periods, stretching up to 70 years in some cases.
Addressing Indian-Americans at an event, the senator said the system was unfair to one of the hardest-working immigrant communities in the US.
“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,” Marshall said.
The Green Card wait is particularly long for Indians because of the annual country-wise cap. Under the current system, no country can receive more than 7 percent of the family-sponsored and employment-based Green Cards issued every year.
Since the number of applications from India has far exceeded the annual allocation for years, a massive backlog has built up.
Depending on the category, Indians receiving Green Cards in 2026 may have applied around 2013 or 2014.
Speaking at a Capitol Hill event organised by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, Marshall described the per-country Green Card cap as one of the great injustices in the US immigration system. He said he would continue to raise the issue in a legal and sensible manner.
Praising the India-US relationship, Marshall said both countries benefit when the partnership works well.
“Both countries win when this relationship works. American farmers win, Indian consumers win, and the strategic balance of the 21st century tilts towards democracy and away from authoritarianism,” he said.
Marshall also highlighted the economic contribution of Indian-Americans. He said Indian-Americans make up only about 1.5 percent of the US population but pay around 5 to 6 percent of all federal income taxes.
“Every time someone in Washington questions whether legal immigration works, you’re the answer,” he said. “You’re not the argument, you’re the answer.”
Do Indians Really Have To Wait 70 Years For A Green Card?
The Green Card waiting period varies depending on the category under which a person applies.
The 70-year wait is a widely cited estimate based on projections for someone entering the queue today, assuming the per-country cap remains unchanged and application numbers continue to grow.
However, the actual waiting time can keep changing. Some applicants leave the queue and return to India, while others move to different categories. Such changes can slightly alter the backlog over time.
Still, for thousands of Indians in the US, the Green Card wait remains painfully long, turning what was meant to be a path to permanent residency into a decades-long struggle.
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