Green Card Backlog Alert: Indian EB-2 Still Stuck in 2013 as White House Reviews Premium Processing

Indian nationals waiting for employment-based green cards under the EB-2 category continue to face a severe backlog, with priority dates stalled at 2013 — meaning applicants who filed over a decade ago are still waiting for visa availability. This freeze reflects the chronic oversubscription of per-country annual limits, which cap each country at 7% of total employment-based visas regardless of demand. The backlog disproportionately affects Indian-born professionals, who represent the largest share of employment-based green card applicants. With hundreds of thousands of pending cases and annual visa numbers far below demand, analysts project multi-decade waits for many Indian nationals in both EB-2 and EB-3 categories. The White House is reportedly reviewing changes to the premium processing program, which currently allows applicants to pay an additional fee for expedited adjudication of certain petitions. Any policy changes to premium processing could affect how quickly I-140 immigrant petitions and other filings are processed, potentially influencing the overall pace of green card workflows. For EB-3 applicants from India, the situation mirrors EB-2 — both categories are subject to the same per-country limits. Applicants are advised to monitor the monthly Visa Bulletin closely, particularly the November 2026 edition, for any movement in Final Action Dates or Dates for Filing for Indian nationals across all employment-based preference categories. Immigration attorneys recommend that affected applicants maintain valid nonimmigrant status, keep I-485 adjustment of status applications active where eligible, and consult legal counsel before any international travel to avoid jeopardizing pending green card cases.