The U.S. Green Card system is a "Zero-Sum Game" designed to ensure that the annual quota of 140,000 employment-based visas is utilized as fully as possible. Understanding "Spillover" is key to predicting when your Priority Date will become current.
The 3 Golden Rules
- •Base Quota: 140,000 Employment-Based visas per year.
- •Country Cap: No single country can use more than 7% (approx 9,800) unless there are leftovers.
- •Spillover: 'Leftover' visas flow down to other categories or across to backlogged countries.
1. Horizontal Spillover (The Big Pot)
This is the flow of unused visas from Family-Based categories into the Employment-Based annual limit.
FormulaAnnual Employment Limit
140,000 (Base) + Unused Family Visas from Previous Year
Why it happens: If U.S. consulates abroad process fewer family visas than the 226,000 floor (often due to inefficiency or closures like during COVID), those unused numbers are added to the Employment pot for the next fiscal year.
Impact on Backlogs
2. Vertical Spillover (The Waterfall)
Once the total pot is established, visas are distributed among the Employment preference categories (EB-1, EB-2, etc.). If a higher category doesn't use its quota, the leftovers "fall down" to the next category. This is the Waterfall.
EB-4 & EB-5 (Special & Investors)
If these categories have unused visas, they flow up to EB-1.
EB-1 (Priority Workers)
Priority Workers get 28.6% of the total limit + any leftovers from EB-4/5.
The Key: If EB-1 usage is low (few applicants), the unused numbers spill down to EB-2.
EB-2 (Advanced Degree)
EB-2 gets 28.6% of the total + any spillover from EB-1.
The Bottleneck: This is where most Indian nationals are stuck. Movement depends heavily on EB-1 having leftovers.
EB-3 (Skilled Workers)
EB-3 gets 28.6% of the total + any spillover from EB-2.
Note: Visas rarely spill "up" from EB-3 to EB-2 unless specifically reallocated.
3. Fall-Across (The "Rest of World" Gift)
This is the specific mechanic that allows India and China to exceed their 7% cap.
The law says: "If the Rest of the World (ROW) countries do not use their full quarterly allocation, those unused visas act as a pool for oversubscribed countries."
Scenario A: Normal
ROW demand is high. They use all their visas. India/China are strictly limited to 7%.
Scenario B: Spillover
ROW demand is low. 5,000 visas go unused. These 5,000 are swiftly given to the oldest Priority Dates in line (mostly India), allowing them to bypass the 7% cap.
Critical Timing & "Lost" Visas
Timing is everything. Unlike Family-Based visas, Employment-Based visas do NOT carry over to the next year.
The 'Use It or Lose It' Rule
This is why you often see rapid forward movement in August/September—USCIS is rushing to "burn" the visa numbers so they aren't wasted.