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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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Immigration attorneys say a Trump administration ban affecting the issue of immigrant visas in dozens of countries could result in tens of thousands of unused family-based green cards being reallocated to employment-based applicants in the 2027 fiscal year.
Why It Matters
The administration has tightened restrictions on the legal immigration system in recent months. In December, President Trump signed a proclamation expanding the list of countries subject to a full travel ban, and earlier in January, the State Department announced it would suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries following a November order that imposed stricter requirements.
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What To Know
Speaking on a company podcast, Rahul Reddy, a partner at a business immigration law firm, Reddy Neumann Brown, explained how unused family-based visas can spill over into employment-based categories under existing U.S. immigration law.
He said U.S. immigration operates on annual numerical limits, with the federal fiscal year running from October 1 through September 30. Within that framework, family-based immigration categories, including those for siblings of U.S. citizens and other preference groups, are subject to quotas.
"If in a particular fiscal year…the family quota is not used up, then that extra, the waste over green cards will be given next year to the employment-based green cards," Reddy said.
Emily Neumann, also a partner at the firm, said on the podcast that Department of State data suggests the current ban could leave a significant number of family-based visas unused. While 2025 figures have not yet been published, she said data from 2024 provide a useful reference point.
"So, looking at 2024, we pulled out the list of all of the countries that are in that ban, and it adds up to about 67,000 green cards," Neumann said.
Neumann said the ban was implemented after the first quarter of the fiscal year had already passed, meaning some visas were likely issued before restrictions took effect.
"We can assume if we’re talking about roughly 67,000 green cards and they’ve already used up one quarter’s worth, October, November, December 2025, that comes up out to about 17,000 green cards that probably did get used before the ban was in place, leaving about 50,000," she said.
If the restrictions remain in place for the remainder of the fiscal year, those unused visas would not be lost entirely. Instead, they would likely be added to the employment-based green card quota for the following year.
"That may open up 50,000 green cards to be added to the employment-based quota for next year, starting October 1, 2026, which will be the 2027 numbers," Neumann said.
The possible spillover comes amid major changes in immigration policy under the Trump administration, which has emphasized stricter controls on migration. The administration has supported expanded country-based restrictions, increased vetting, and policy changes that immigration advocates say have made it more difficult to obtain green cards, even through long-established legal pathways.
An analysis by the nonpartisan National Foundation for American Policy estimates that as many as 2.4 million fewer immigrants will obtain green cards by the end of President Donald Trump’s second term as a result of the administration’s restrictive immigration policies.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post on Thursday: "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, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden's Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States."
Ricky Murray, who served as USCIS chief of staff for Refugee and International Operations, previously told Newsweek in a statement: "I think the administration would like to permanently end various green card programs; however, there is a legislative framework set up that would be almost impossible to work around without congressional action."
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