In 2021, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas promised that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, will focus on improving case processing, as there were significant backlogs that prevented immigrants from receiving benefits they had applied for. In 2022, we began to see some progress with processing times for the I-360 petitions that were filed and pending adjudication for several months.

In the first few months of 2023, we have continued to see improvements in processing times for many petitions and applications. For example, the current processing time for the I-129 petition is approximately 2 months. While not all I-129 petitions are adjudicated within this time frame, at least 80 percent of cases are being approved within the listed processing times, according to the USCIS website. We are certainly encouraged by this listed processing time.

Processing times for the I-360 petition have also improved and are approximately 19 months. Although, this may seem like a very long time, we have received decisions on these cases sooner than the listed processing times, which is certainly encouraging.

The processing times for the I-485 application, I-765 application and I-131 application vary depending on where the case is pending. The I-485 application and its associated applications can be filed in either the Phoenix Lockbox, Elgin Lockbox, Chicago Lockbox, or the Dallas Lockbox. Once the I-485 application and associated applications are received, the lockbox staff will generate a receipt notice, assign the case to the appropriate service center and forward the case file for further review and adjudication to the service center. There are a total of five service centers: the California, Nebraska, Potomac, Texas and Vermont service centers. It is important to continue to check the processing times of the pending applications if the applications are transferred and assigned to a new service center, as each service center has its own processing time.

Please see below a breakdown of the processing times for the Texas, Nebraska, and California service centers, as they typically review and adjudicate the I-485 application, I-765 application, and I-131 application:

Overall, we have seen some progress in the adjudication of the I-765 application for the employment authorization document, which on average takes a few months to be adjudicated, but the processing times and adjudication the for the I-485 application for the green cards continues to be quite lengthy.

If you are interested in checking the processing times for a pending immigration application or petition, please click on this link: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/. Processing times are subject to change and should be checked frequently.

Interested in checking your case status? To check your case status please click on this link: https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do and insert your receipt number, which can be found on the upper left-hand side of the receipt notice.

Please contact your RIS attorney if you have any questions about the processing times for your pending application or petition or case status.