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THE COST OF A GREEN CARD

The draining, emotionally-taxing towards permanent residency in the U.S.

INDRANI SHAH

Journalist, 50 years old (From Calcutta, IN)

Indrani arrived in the U.S. at LaGuardia Airport from lege and earn a master’s degree in journal ism. Now living in Washington D.C., Indrani decided she wanted to cultivate her career in the United States and strive to recieve permanent residency.

heart, with whom she has a son. In 2018, she and her husband decided to prepare for Marisa’s future citizenship.

Unemployed, 29 years old (From Karaj, IRN)

Karaj, to cross the Darien Gap to reach the Mexican-U.S. Border to ask for asylum on the basis of religion. Currently, living in San Franscisco with another asylee he met in a detention center he hopes to be granted asylum status.

It’s Been Years and Counting

“The thing about immigration is that it’s super factspecific. If you’ve seen one case, you’ve seen one case.”

– Lynn Tramonte,

Founder of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance

The stories that show years of waiting.

These individuals experiences, drawn from interviews by CBS, The Texas Tribune, and Boston Magazine show how long waits and individual circumstances shape the outcomes of green card applications.

6 Years

ASYLUM PATHWAY

Before arriving to the U.S., Hamid flew into Venezuela to attempt a dangerous journey through the Darien Gap (crossing Venezuela to Panama) to plead for asylum at the MexicanU.S. Border.

9 Years

MARRIAGE PATHWAY

Marisa is a DACA recipient, meaning she could have filed Form I-131 to leave and re-enter legally, avoiding the riskier consular processing she now faces. Instead, she must work with an attorney and risk leaving the U.S. without a guaranteed return.

26 Years

EMPLOYMENT PATHWAY

Indrani came to the U.S. due to her father encouraging her to leave for better opportunities as a journalist. Now, Indrani has to maintain her career with her current company to maintain her visa status.

The U.S. green card system has long been a cornerstone of the nation’s immigration process with millions seeking permanent residency each year. As of last year, an estimated 34.7 million applications were found pending across the various categories and stages of the process. The card is widely recognized for what it represents, but the system and processes behind it remain largely unclear or misinterpreted by both applicants and Americans.

In a 2023 KFF/LA Times survey, 3,358 immigrant adults were asked: Approximately five out of ten (45%) do not have enough information.

Do you feel you have enough information about U.S. how it affects you and your family, or do you not have

Factors such as immigration status, language barriers, and education levels contribute to this gap, making an already complex process even harder to access and navigate. Originally, the concept of citizenship did not fully formulate in the United States until the Naturalization Act of 1790, which defined only “free white persons” becoming citizens. From then on issues such as labor shortages opened U.S. ports to immigrants from various countries to try and achieve the unmeasurable “American Dream.” In the same survey

previously mentioned, immigrants were asked if they felt they achieved the American Dream (based on immigration status.)

However, when considering Americans stance/ knowledge of the system , in a survey conducted by

About 2 in 3 Americans stated they themselves or anyone close to them have never gone through the green card process.

Inside the Delays No One Sees

KEY FACTOR: LEGAL ASSISTANCE

Hamid gained asylum after six years, but his journey is still not complete. He must wait another year before applying for lawful permanent residency, and this doesn’t erase the months he spent in detention or wearing an ankle monitor.

KEY FACTOR: LEGAL ASSISTANCE

Since 2017, Marisa has lived in her home village with her grandmother. With her current attorney, she hopes to appeal the decision and return to her family. Her previous representation mismatched her paperwork with her statements, raising red flags at the consulate and leading to a rejection.

KEY FACTOR: THE BACKLOG

As of 2025, Indrani is still waiting for a decision on her application, which has been at the top of the pile since 2021. Because she is from India, a country known for long wait times driven by the U.S. backlog and the 7% per-country cap, limited annual approvals often push cases into the next year.

Over 1,200,000

Indians are waiting in the employment-based green card categories in 2024.