# Indian EB-2 queue stuck at 2013, Gottheimer flags 179-year wait

2026-10-18T06:21:07+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

US Congressman Josh Gottheimer has renewed his call to abolish per-country limits on employment-based green cards, as the latest US visa bulletin shows Indian professionals with advanced degrees still reaching application dates from November 2013. The New Jersey Democrat posted on X: ‘Imagine waiting 179 years for a green card. That's the projected wait for Indian green card applicants.’ He noted he voted to end the caps to expedite the process. The 179-year estimate comes from an August analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), projecting that an Indian national filing in January 2026 or later could wait 179 years in the EB-2 category and 38 years in EB-3, excluding government processing time. The State Department's October 2026 Visa Bulletin, first of fiscal year 2027, lists a final action date of 1 November 2013 for Indian EB-2 applicants, against 1 January 2025 for most other countries. Gottheimer voted for the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act in July 2019, which passed the House but did not become law.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Both sources report the same facts identically, presenting straight wire-style coverage with no discernible slant. Yespunjab.com and The Hans India each lead with Gottheimer's call and the 179-year NFAP estimate, then detail the visa bulletin dates and backlog figures without editorial comment. The coverage is uniform: neither source emphasises or omits any element that would favour or criticise the US government, the Indian government, or any party. The story's core remains unchanged across both versions.

## Coverage

Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
- yespunjab.com (neutral report) <https://yespunjab.com/indian-eb-2-green-card-queue-stuck-in-2013-as-us-congressman-flags-179-year-wait/>
  Straight wire-style reporting, no editorial framing or slant.
- thehansindia.com (neutral report) <https://www.thehansindia.com/news/international/indian-eb-2-queue-stuck-in-2013-as-us-congressman-flags-179-year-green-card-wait-1133508>
  Identical wire-style coverage, no editorial framing or slant.

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.

Tags: EB-2, EB-3, Josh Gottheimer, National Foundation for American Policy, US State Department
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Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indian-eb-2-queue-stuck-at-2013-gottheimer-flags-179-year-wait/#story-in-brief

How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/