Moving to the USA from India: Visas, Green Card Backlogs and Where to Apply

No. India is not among the 39 countries restricted by Proclamation 10998 (in force since January 1, 2026), and it was not on the 75-country immigrant visa pause that began in January 2026.

Several worldwide changes do affect Indian applicants:

• Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates worldwide while consular officers are trained on public charge reviews. Scheduled interviews were moved to later dates, and no restart date has been announced as of September 2026. Visitor, student, and temporary work visas are not part of this pause. Details: immigrant visa pause.
• H-1B changes. Since February 27, 2026, the H-1B lottery gives more entries to higher wage levels. A separate $100,000 fee on some new H-1B petitions (from a September 2025 proclamation) is being fought in court, with judges split as of September 2026. See H-1B $100k fee.
• More screening. Since December 2025, H-1B and H-4 applicants face an expanded online presence review, similar to the review for students. This has lengthened waits for some interview dates in India.
• Students. Since September 15, 2026, new F-1 students are admitted until a fixed date instead of for "duration of status", so you may need to file for an extension if your program runs longer. See F-1 fixed admission period.

India has no E-1 or E-2 treaty, so Indian nationals cannot use the treaty investor visa unless they hold another citizenship from a treaty country.

For an overview of every route, see our guide to US immigration and how US immigration works.

Yes. India is not in the Visa Waiver Program. You need a B-1 business or B-2 tourist visa: fill in the DS-160, pay the fee, give biometrics at a Visa Application Center, and attend an interview. Wait times for first-time visitor visa interviews in India have often been long, so check the State Department's appointment wait times and apply early. Interview waivers are now limited to a small group of renewal applicants. The State Department's guidance is to apply for a visitor or other temporary visa at the US embassy or consulate in the country where you live. Applying elsewhere is possible but can make it harder to show you qualify.

US law limits each country to about 7% of employment and family green cards each year. Because demand from India is very high, Indian-born applicants have their own column in the Visa Bulletin, and it moves much more slowly than the "rest of world" column.

• EB-2 and EB-3: waits for new applicants born in India are measured in many years, and in recent years the queue has been described as a decade or more. In fiscal year 2026 the State Department announced that India had reached its per-country limit in EB-2.
• EB-1: usually shorter than EB-2 and EB-3, but India still has a backlog.
• EB-5: India reached its per-country limit in the EB-5 unreserved category in fiscal year 2026; set-aside categories (rural, high-unemployment, infrastructure) may move differently.
• Family: spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of US citizens have no wait for a visa number. Other family categories use Indian dates, which are similar to or slower than rest-of-world dates.

Your place in line depends on your country of birth, not citizenship. If your spouse was born in a country with shorter waits, you may be able to use their country ("cross-chargeability"). See priority dates and how to read the Visa Bulletin.

No. People born in India are not eligible for the Diversity Visa lottery because more than 50,000 Indians immigrated to the US in the previous five years. You may qualify only through a spouse's country of birth, or in limited cases a parent's. The Diversity Visa (DV) lottery is paused: visa issuance stopped on December 23, 2025, and DV-2027 registration never opened. See DV lottery paused.

The State Department lists these US visa posts in India:

A US consulate also opened in Bengaluru in 2025, but it is not listed as a visa post on the State Department's India page as of September 2026. Book appointments through the embassy's website and see our visa interview guide.

For immigrant visas, the State Department's India page lists:

• Police certificate: Indian nationals living in India get a Police Clearance Certificate from the Regional Passport Office (through Passport Seva). Indian passport holders living abroad get one from the Indian embassy or consulate where they live. Non-Indians who lived in India apply to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
• Birth certificate: from the municipal authority or the Registrar of Births and Deaths. If your birth was registered late or not at all, the State Department page explains which alternatives are accepted.
• Marriage and divorce records: a marriage certificate from the registrar (or a certified religious record where registration was not done) and a final divorce decree from the court.

You also need police certificates from other countries where you lived for the required period.

Indian Americans are one of the largest and fastest-growing immigrant groups in the US. Big communities live in the San Francisco Bay Area of California (Fremont, San Jose, Santa Clara), central New Jersey (Edison and Jersey City), the New York area, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston in Texas, Chicago in Illinois, Seattle's eastside in Washington (Bellevue and Redmond), Atlanta, and the Washington, DC area. Temples, gurdwaras, regional-language associations, and professional networks help newcomers settle.