EB-3 Timeline 2026: Indians Face Decades-Long Wait as Green Card Categories Hit Annual Cap

The EB-3 and EW (Employment-Based Third Preference, Other Workers) green card categories have been reported as fully allocated for FY2025, effectively blocking further visa issuances until the new fiscal year begins in October 2025. This annual cap exhaustion is a recurring challenge under the U.S. immigration system, where roughly 40,000 EB-3 visas are distributed globally each year. Indian nationals bear a disproportionate burden of these backlogs due to the per-country numerical limitation, which caps any single country at 7% of total employment-based visas issued annually. Given that India consistently produces the highest demand for EB-3 visas, Indian-born applicants face wait times that can stretch decades — far longer than applicants from most other countries. For EB-3 workers already in the pipeline, this development means their priority dates will not advance until new fiscal year allocations open in October 2025, and even then, progress may be marginal. Applicants are advised to monitor the monthly Visa Bulletin issued by the U.S. Department of State to track movement in the Final Action Dates for their category and country of birth. The EW (unskilled/other workers) subcategory is particularly affected, as it shares the EB-3 annual cap and has historically seen even slower movement for Indian-born applicants. This situation underscores the structural challenges facing legal immigrants pursuing permanent residency through employment-based pathways in 2026.