Washington, Oct 13 (IANS) US Congressman Josh Gottheimer has highlighted the plight of Indian professionals stuck in the employment-based Green Card backlog, saying nearly 80 per cent of the more than 1.2 million people waiting are from India.
An Indian applicant in the EB-2 category faces a projected wait of 179 years, the New Jersey Democrat’s office said in a release here after a roundtable with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community leaders.
The figures match an August analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), an Arlington, Virginia-based research group.
NFAP estimated that about 996,599 of the 1,264,495 people in the first three employment-based preferences were from India as of December 2025, or 79 per cent.
It projected waits of 179 years in EB-2 and 38 years in EB-3 for an Indian national filing in January 2026 or later. NFAP said the backlog could exceed two million by 2040 without changes to the law.
The waits are caused by annual and per-country limits on employment-based immigrant visas, combined with strong demand, NFAP said. Under US law, no single country can receive more than seven per cent of the green cards issued each year, which hits applicants from populous India hardest.
Gottheimer voted to eliminate the per-country caps on employment-based green cards, the release said. It added that he believes the country can secure the border and enforce its laws while treating people fairly.
The roundtable was held on October 6 at the Palisades Park Library in his Fifth District in northern New Jersey.
“The AAPI community represents different ethnicities, languages, faiths, and traditions, but the same drive to strengthen our communities. That’s why I’m working so hard in Washington and across the aisle to support you. But celebrating this community isn’t enough,” Gottheimer said.
He also pressed his Sikh American Anti-Discrimination Act, which he introduced with Republican Congressman David Valadao of California in January 2026.
The bill would create a Justice Department task force on anti-Sikh discrimination, set a federal definition of anti-Sikh hate, develop education programmes and require an annual report to Congress. New Jersey is home to roughly 100,000 Sikhs, according to the release.
Gottheimer is a member of the India Caucus and co-chairs the American Sikh Congressional Caucus. He is also a member of the Korea, Taiwan, Asia Pacific American and Pacific Islands caucuses.
Roughly 127,000 residents of his district, or about one in six, are Asian American, the release said. That includes nearly half of Englewood Cliffs and more than 43 per cent of Fort Lee.
The release also flagged a Small Business Administration policy, in effect since March 1, 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 a business, it said.
In fiscal 2024 alone, the SBA backed 8,900 loans worth $7.2 billion to Asian-owned businesses, according to the release.
It said 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, mostly because of paperwork.
Among those at the roundtable were New Jersey Assemblywoman Shama Haider, River Edge Councilwoman Priti Dhariwal and Yogi Virk, President of the Sikh Chamber of Commerce.
The release also cited his ICE Standards Act and his push to secure funding to protect houses of worship.
–IANS
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