US Congressman Josh Gottheimer has spotlighted the deepening crisis facing Indian professionals trapped in America's employment-based Green Card backlog, warning that nearly 80 per cent of the more than 1.2 million people in the queue are from India. An Indian applicant filing in the EB-2 category on or after January 2026 faces a projected wait of 179 years, according to data cited by the New Jersey Democrat's office after a roundtable with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community leaders on 6 October 2026 at the Palisades Park Library in northern New Jersey.

The Scale of the Backlog

The figures align with an August 2026 analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), an Arlington, Virginia-based research organisation. NFAP estimated that about 996,599 of the 1,264,495 people in the first three employment-based preference categories were Indian nationals as of December 2025, representing 79 per cent of the total queue.

The research group projected waits of 179 years in the EB-2 category and 38 years in the EB-3 category for an Indian national filing in January 2026 or later. Without legislative changes, NFAP warned, the backlog could exceed two million by 2040.

Why Indian Applicants Wait the Longest

The root cause, according to NFAP, is a combination of annual and per-country limits on employment-based immigrant visas and persistently strong demand. Under current US law, no single country can receive more than seven per cent of the Green Cards issued in a given year — a cap that falls disproportionately on applicants from populous nations like India. This structural bottleneck has remained unchanged despite decades of lobbying by technology industry groups and diaspora organisations.

Gottheimer, a member of the India Caucus and co-chair of the American Sikh Congressional Caucus, voted to eliminate the per-country caps on employment-based Green Cards. His office stated that he believes the US can secure its border and enforce immigration law while treating applicants fairly.

Broader Concerns Raised at the Roundtable

Beyond the Green Card backlog, Gottheimer flagged a Small Business Administration (SBA) policy, in effect since 1 March, under which the agency no longer backs loans to businesses with any non-citizen ownership. Even a Green Card holder with a one per cent stake disqualifies the entire business. In fiscal year 2024 alone, the SBA had backed 8,900 loans worth $7.2 billion to Asian-owned businesses.

The congressman also raised concerns that new restrictions on lawfully present immigrants under the One Big Beautiful Bill law — which Gottheimer voted against — could cost roughly 300,000 New Jersey residents Medicaid coverage, primarily due to documentation requirements.

Sikh Community Issues and Legislative Push

Gottheimer also advanced his Sikh American Anti-Discrimination Act, introduced in January 2026 alongside Republican Congressman David Valadao of California. The bill proposes a Justice Department task force on anti-Sikh discrimination, a federal definition of anti-Sikh hate, education programmes, and an annual congressional report. New Jersey is home to roughly 100,000 Sikhs, according to his office.

The roundtable included New Jersey Assemblywoman Shama Haider, River Edge Councilwoman Priti Dhariwal, and Yogi Virk, President of the Sikh Chamber of Commerce. Roughly 127,000 residents of Gottheimer's Fifth District — about one in six — are Asian American, including nearly half of Englewood Cliffs and more than 43 per cent of Fort Lee.

With the backlog now a generational issue and no federal reform on the immediate legislative horizon, the trajectory of Indian professionals in the US employment-based immigration pipeline will hinge on whether bipartisan support for per-country cap elimination can translate into a floor vote.