How long does EB-2 take for India?

What this wait actually means

For April 2026, the EB-2 Dates for Filing cutoff for India is May 15, 2013 — roughly 12.9 years behind today's date. This is one of the most backlogged green card lines in the system. A new applicant should plan for a wait that may exceed 15 years, sometimes spanning two decades. Many applicants file knowing they will not see a green card until their children are nearly grown.

India-born applicants face the longest employment-based waits in the system because of the per-country 7% cap colliding with very high petition volume — particularly in EB-2 and EB-3. The annual EB cap is the same for India as for any other country, but India consistently fills its share faster than any other country. Some applicants in EB-2 India have been waiting more than a decade.

The full timeline, step by step

1. Petition filed. The employer files Form I-140 (or in EB-1A/NIW cases, the applicant self-petitions). For PERM-required EB-2/EB-3, the priority date is actually the date the Department of Labor accepted the PERM application — earlier than the I-140 itself.
2. USCIS processes the petition. I-140 adjudication typically takes 6 to 12 months (or ~2 weeks with premium processing for I-140).
3. Wait for visa number. Wait for your priority date to become current. Right now that wait is approximately 12.9 years for EB-2 India.
4. File the green card application. If you are already in the United States in valid nonimmigrant status (H-1B, L-1, O-1, F-1 with OPT, etc.) and a visa number is available, you can file Form I-485 to adjust status without leaving. Otherwise the case finishes at a U.S. consulate abroad.
5. Interview and decision. Most green card cases include an in-person interview at a USCIS field office (for adjustment of status) or a U.S. consulate abroad (for consular processing). After approval, the green card arrives by mail within a few weeks.

What you can do right now

• File the underlying petition as early as possible. The priority date locks in on the day USCIS or DOL receives the form, so any delay on your end pushes back the entire timeline.
• Track your priority date against the monthly Visa Bulletin. Set a reminder on the second Tuesday of each month, when the State Department releases the next bulletin.
• Maintain valid status if you are inside the United States. Letting nonimmigrant status lapse can complicate or block adjustment of status later.
• Keep a clean immigration record. New criminal issues, prolonged absences abroad, or unauthorized employment can derail an otherwise straightforward case.
• Once your I-140 is approved and over 180 days old, you have portability rights — you can change employers without losing your priority date, as long as the new job is in the same or similar occupation.

Why these waits exist at all

Congress sets the annual cap at roughly 226,000 family preference visas and 140,000 employment-based visas. No single country may receive more than 7% of either pool — the per-country cap. When demand from a single country exceeds 7% of the worldwide total in a given category, a backlog forms. India consistently exceeds its 7% share, which is why India-born applicants face longer waits than worldwide applicants.