Washington, D.C., USA: The U.S. State Department, working with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has announced that the EB-3 and EW green card categories have reached their quota for the 2025 fiscal year. This development comes shortly after similar updates confirming that the EB-1 and EB-2 categories had already maxed out their limits.
As a result, no further EB-3 or EW visas will be issued by U.S. embassies and consulates until the new fiscal year begins.
The next cycle for visa allocation will open on October 1, 2025, when fresh visa numbers are released.
What EB-3 and EW Categories Represent
The U.S. employment-based immigration system divides green cards into multiple preference groups, ensuring opportunities for different categories of workers and investors.
EB-3 visas are set aside for professionals, skilled workers, and other qualified employees. By law, EB-3 receives 28.6% of the total employment-based visas each year, along with any leftover numbers from EB-1 and EB-2.
The EW (Other Workers) subcategory within EB-3 is intended for positions that require less than two years of training or experience. This segment is capped at 10,000 visas annually.
Because of its structure, EB-3 is one of the most in-demand categories and often suffers from significant backlogs—especially for applicants from high-demand countries like India.
Impact on Indian Applicants
For Indian professionals applying under EB-3 and EW, this pause means longer delays in moving forward with their green card cases. Even applicants whose priority dates fall within the cut-off will not see progress until the start of the new fiscal year.
India continues to experience some of the longest wait times for employment-based green cards. According to the September 2025 Visa Bulletin, there was no movement in priority dates for Indian EB-3 applicants. The final action date remains stuck at May 22, 2013, meaning only those who filed before that date are eligible to proceed.
While Indian applicants in the EB-5 investor category saw a positive shift in August 2025, with final action dates advancing by several months, those in EB-3 and EW remain stalled.
The earlier suspension of EB-1 and EB-2 has already compounded the backlog, making the situation even more difficult for thousands of Indian workers waiting for permanent residency.
