In a recent meeting held by the U.S. State Department to review visa and consular services, Douglas Rand, Senior Advisor of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), shed light on the enduring obstacles faced by Indian nationals in obtaining the highly sought-after American Green Card. Rand attributed the prolonged waiting periods to stringent per-country limits imposed on the issuance of these permits for permanent residence in the United States. According to U.S. law, there are annual caps on the allocation of Green Cards, with 226,000 reserved for family-sponsored applicants and 140,000 for employment-based applicants. Additionally, a critical limitation is in place, which restricts any single country from claiming more than seven percent of the total visas. Rand highlighted the impact of this regulation, stating, "This restriction significantly affects countries like India, China, and Mexico, as it limits the issuance of Green Cards to approximately 25,620 per country. While this may not be a concern for smaller nations, it
