221(g) Slip Colours: Yellow vs Pink vs White (and Blue, Green) — What Each Means in 2026
Live numbers, as of 13 November 2026
Recalculated from the tracker every time this page loads. Days run from the interview to the approval, for cases that report both dates. Community-reported, not official figures.
White slips: 96 cases with both dates, median 5d, 75% within 29d, 79% within 30 days. 261 white-slip cases are still pending.
| Slip colour | Cases | Median | 75% within | Within 30 days | Pending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| white | 425 | 5d | 29d | 79% | 261 |
| yellow | 89 | 7d | 28d | 86% | 62 |
| pink | 59 | 8d | 96d | 57% | 44 |
| blue | 56 | — | — | — | 46 |
| green | 65 | 4d | 11d | 91% | 46 |
White slips by consulate (posts with at least 5 dated cases)
| Consulate | Dated cases | Median | 75% within | Within 30 days | Pending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | 22 | same day | 2d | 86% | 39 |
| Hyderabad | 20 | 4d | 29d | 85% | 37 |
| New Delhi | 15 | 14d | 39d | 67% | 17 |
| London | 9 | 21d | 26d | 78% | 8 |
Stamping in India this December? Compare all five Indian consulates.
Yellow slip vs pink slip vs white slip, in one paragraph
A yellow 221(g) slip means the case needs more time, usually for checks the officer cannot finish at the window; in 2026 that is most often social-media vetting, nothing is usually asked of you, and the tracked cases clear in days to a few weeks. A pink slip means the officer wants something from you or your employer, most often documents or the petition, and the case waits until they arrive. A white slip is the standard printed 221(g) sheet with boxes ticked for whatever applies, and it dominates the 2026 reports. Blue and green are post-specific variants covered below. Colour conventions vary by post, so read the ticked boxes before the colour.
The slip color is the first thing people compare after a 221(g). Of 544 tracked cases that named a color (updated November 2026):
| Colour | Cases | Still pending | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 327 | 57% | The standard printed 221(g) sheet; read the ticked boxes |
| Yellow | 73 | 68% | More processing, often with nothing asked of you |
| Green | 55 | 71% | Post-specific; often a document request |
| Pink | 48 | 73% | Often petition or employer questions |
| Blue | 41 | 83% | Post-specific; often longer administrative processing |
Where cases have resolved with dates, white (70 cases) and yellow (13) both cleared in about a week at the median, with a quarter of each taking about a month or more. The other colours have too few resolved cases for a reliable figure.
Two cautions from the data: the same case type gets different colors at different posts (one Pakistan petition case was called pink in one report and green in another), and color alone predicts less than what was requested. A white slip with a social-media email request behaves very differently from a white slip with “no documents needed — wait for contact”.
White slips have their own page with the 2026 numbers by post and what is asked for with them: 221(g) white slip: meaning and wait time.
Whatever your color: the playbook covers the submission format, and the comparator tells you if your wait is still in the normal band.