Prospective U.S. green card applicants may experience significant changes in 2027, as unused family-based visas could be reallocated to employment-based categories, creating opportunities for skilled workers.
In a notable development for prospective U.S. green card applicants, immigration attorneys are predicting a significant shift in 2027. They believe that tens of thousands of unused family-based immigrant visas may be reallocated to employment-based categories, largely due to the travel and visa restrictions implemented during the Trump administration.
Experts suggest that a combination of expanded country bans, suspended immigrant visa processing, and annual quota regulations under U.S. immigration law could create a rare opportunity for skilled foreign workers. This situation may potentially accelerate green card timelines for employment-based applicants in the next fiscal cycle.
This shift comes amid a broader tightening of U.S. immigration policy, as the Trump administration intensifies restrictions on both legal and illegal migration pathways. In December, President Trump signed a proclamation that expanded a travel ban affecting numerous countries. Following this, the U.S. State Department announced in January that it would suspend immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries, citing an executive order from November that imposed stricter eligibility and vetting standards.
These measures are expected to slow or halt the issuance of family-based immigrant visas, creating a backlog and potentially leaving thousands of visa slots unused within the current fiscal year.
According to immigration attorney Rahul Reddy, a partner at Reddy Neumann Brown, U.S. immigration operates under a fixed annual quota system, with limits divided between family-based and employment-based green cards. He explained that if the family quota is not fully utilized in a particular fiscal year, the unused green cards will be allocated to employment-based categories the following year.
“If in a particular fiscal year the family quota is not used up, then that extra — the wasted green cards — will be given next year to the employment-based green cards,” Reddy noted on a company podcast.
Under existing immigration law, the fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, and each category has numerical caps. Unused family-based visas automatically roll over to employment-based allocations in the following year. This means that employment-based green card applicants may benefit if family-based visa issuance declines sharply due to the travel bans.
Emily Neumann, another partner at the firm, cited Department of State data to estimate the potential scale of this spillover. “Looking at 2024 data, we analyzed countries affected by the ban, and it adds up to about 67,000 green cards,” she said. Neumann explained that because restrictions were implemented after the fiscal year had already begun, some visas were likely issued before enforcement took effect. “If roughly one quarter of those visas were already used — about 17,000 — that leaves approximately 50,000 unused family-based green cards,” she added.
If visa processing remains suspended for the rest of the fiscal year, those unused visas would likely roll over into the employment-based quota starting October 1, 2026, marking the beginning of the 2027 fiscal year. Neumann concluded, “That may open up 50,000 additional green cards to be added to the employment-based quota for 2027.”
If this spillover occurs, it could significantly reduce wait times for employment-based green card applicants. It may particularly benefit H-1B workers, STEM professionals, healthcare workers, and international graduates. Immigration attorneys suggest that this could be one of the largest single-year boosts to the employment-based quota in recent history, especially given the long wait times many skilled migrants currently face.
<p“This could meaningfully move priority dates forward for thousands of applicants,” said one immigration policy analyst.
Critics argue that these policies have slowed green card approvals even for lawful applicants, making the system more restrictive despite the ongoing demand for skilled labor.
President Trump has continued to emphasize a hardline immigration stance, stating his intent to dramatically curb migration. In a recent post on Truth Social, he wrote, “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States.” His administration maintains that tighter controls are necessary to protect national security, jobs, and economic stability.
A report from the National Foundation for American Policy, a nonpartisan think tank, estimates that up to 2.4 million fewer immigrants could obtain green cards by the end of Trump’s second term due to restrictive immigration measures. “The administration may want to permanently end certain green card programs, but the legal framework makes it difficult to dismantle them without Congressional approval,” said Ricky Murray, former USCIS chief of staff for Refugee and International Operations. This suggests that while executive actions can slow processing, eliminating green card categories entirely would require legislative reform.
Immigration experts advise prospective applicants to monitor Visa Bulletin priority date movement starting late 2026, prepare documentation early if applying through employment-based categories, and stay updated on policy shifts, court rulings, and visa quota updates. While the spillover remains dependent on ongoing restrictions, attorneys believe it represents a realistic opportunity for thousands of workers who have faced prolonged uncertainty.
“This could be a rare window of faster movement in employment-based green card categories,” Neumann said.
The projected visa spillover underscores a broader reality: U.S. immigration policy is increasingly shaped by political ideology, executive action, and global geopolitics, often producing unexpected outcomes. While family-based applicants in affected countries may face longer delays, employment-based immigrants — particularly those already working legally in the U.S. — could see new momentum. As policymakers debate the future of immigration, the 2027 fiscal year may mark a turning point for skilled migrants seeking permanent residency, according to GlobalNetNews.