An Indian nurse who received a job offer from a Texas hospital has found herself stuck in limbo for almost a year now. Her I-140 got the green light in mid-2023, but since then, her case has been at a standstill.
And she’s not the only one. A growing number of EB-3 skilled worker applicants outside the U.S. are voicing their frustrations about the same situation. Some have job offers in hand, others have already packed their bags, yet none have heard a peep from the U.S. embassy.
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The annoyance goes beyond just the waiting game. It’s the deafening silence that’s really getting to them. No emails from the NVC, no interview dates, no estimated timelines—just a case number lingering on the screen with “In Process” for months on end.
The hospital hasn’t pulled the offer yet, but how long can that last? Some candidates hesitate to reach out to their employers for updates, fearing it might come off as a nuisance. Others are putting major life decisions on hold—like getting married, buying a house, or quitting their current jobs—because everything hinges on a visa that seems stuck in neutral.
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This isn’t about missing paperwork or denied applications. These are approved I-140s—real cases that should have been scheduled ages ago. Yet, post-COVID embassy backlogs, staffing shortages, and country caps have created a bottleneck that no one seems to be tackling.
The emotional strain is also significant. Families are torn apart, careers are on pause, and people wake up each day hoping for a visa bulletin update, only to go to bed disappointed. It’s a slow, creeping kind of stress that builds up without warning.
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Many are now left wondering: How long must skilled workers wait, even after their approvals? Why is there such a lack of transparency regarding timelines once the green card is within reach?
The system isn’t just sluggish; it’s eerily quiet. And in that silence, valuable talent is losing time, money, and their peace of mind.
