Many Indian citizens who have lived and worked in the United States under H1(b) and are now awaiting lawful permanent residency (Green Card) through EB-2 or EB-3 have been stuck in immigration purgatory that, like the purgatory from Dante’s inferno, will never end. The current priority date for Indians is July and October 2009. For those with priority dates after 2010, the actual wait time will be many decades long. Realistically, the green card through H1-B dream has become a nightmare.
It is a horrible thing that the US has not fulfilled its promises. Indian nationals came here, did everything according to the rules: got good jobs, paid taxes and now are stuck in visa-status purgatory. There is no impetus to change the system. Employers like it this way, as it has made a whole class of people indentured servants. Even worse, the status-quo is under attack. The Trump Administration has threatened to end spousal EAD, which could cripple people financially and they have gone as far as to suggest that all H1-B holders undergo labor recertification under heightened standards that could end their current status in the very near term.