The United States continues to attract high-skilled workers, yet recent data reveals a growing uncertainty in their path to permanent residency due to backlogs and visa shortages.
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 18 — The United States remains dependent on high-skilled workers from around the globe to maintain its competitive edge in critical sectors such as technology, engineering, and health care. However, new data indicates increasing strain on the employment-based immigration system, with many workers facing heightened uncertainty and obstacles in their pursuit of permanent residency.
Two recent reports from the American Immigration Council analyze a decade’s worth of data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions for high-skilled workers. The findings reveal that while the demand for high-skilled labor remains robust, with high approval rates for various nonimmigrant visa categories—including the H-1B—challenges are mounting.
USCIS is struggling to keep pace with the rising demand for temporary workers, leading to significant backlogs. For those seeking employment-based green cards, the situation is even more precarious, characterized by record backlogs, limited visa availability, prolonged wait times, and increased scrutiny in certain categories.
“The United States continues to recruit and rely on high-skilled workers from around the world, but for many of those workers, building a permanent future here means navigating years of uncertainty,” said Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council. “If the United States wants to compete for the world’s best talent, it needs an immigration system that allows employers and workers to plan for the long term with greater confidence.”
The Council’s analysis indicates that while USCIS is still approving a significant number of petitions for temporary high-skilled workers, the agency is increasingly unable to meet the growing demand. This strain is particularly evident for those seeking permanent residency, as processing delays have become more pronounced. Backlogs for employment-based green cards have surged, with workers often waiting years to complete the process, even after their immigrant petitions have been approved. In some high-skilled green card categories, denial rates have also escalated sharply.
“These findings show a system in which employers and workers have to spend years navigating a backlogged system. That kind of uncertainty makes it harder for workers to build their lives here and for employers to retain the talent they need,” stated Steve Hubbard, senior data scientist at the Council.
Key findings from the reports highlight several critical issues:
Temporary high-skilled worker petitions continue to receive high approval rates, yet processing challenges are on the rise. Nearly 98 percent of H-1B petitions were approved in fiscal year 2025, while approval rates for L-1 and O categories remained above 90 percent. However, USCIS struggled to manage the influx of more than 456,000 H-1B petitions in fiscal year 2025 alone, resulting in a growing backlog.
For workers pursuing employment-based green cards, the path is fraught with challenges. The backlog of employment-based green card petitions has more than quadrupled over the past decade, reaching a record 180,439 pending cases by the end of fiscal year 2025. At the current processing pace, it would take over nine months just to clear this backlog. Many applicants are opting to pay additional fees for expedited processing, generating an estimated $300 million in fees for USCIS in fiscal year 2025.
Denial rates have also increased in key employment-based categories. At one point in fiscal year 2025, USCIS denied approximately one in six employment-based immigrant petitions. Denial rates nearly doubled for two categories aimed at exceptionally accomplished workers, the EB-1A and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW).
Visa availability remains a significant bottleneck in the process. Once USCIS approves a petition for an employment-based green card, the process is far from over. Employment-based green cards are subject to legal caps, meaning that workers may wait years for a visa number to become available, even after their applications have been approved. By the end of fiscal year 2025, over 642,000 approved workers were still waiting for a visa number.
“The U.S. government is essentially telling high-skilled workers that while we want your talent to build companies, conduct research, treat patients, and grow the U.S. economy, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to build a future here,” Wu remarked. “If we want to attract and retain these high-skilled workers, we need an immigration system that provides them with more long-term certainty.”
For more detailed insights, the full reports can be accessed through the American Immigration Council.
According to American Immigration Council.