As of January 4, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) petition processing times are posted using a specific date format rather than weeks or months. According to USCIS, this is the “first step to providing processing times that are timelier and easier to understand.” Based on the new format, if the “receipt date” on the petitioner’s/applicant’s I-797 (Notice of Action) is before the dates that USCIS lists on the Processing Times webpage, the petitioner/applicant should expect USCIS to have started adjudicating their petition/application. However, USCIS is not clear about how long the adjudication process is expected to take after the starting date of adjudication.
As of May 31, 2017, USCIS is processing the I‐526 petitions that it received before October 18, 2015 (a 17 day increase to the date publishes times for April); the I‐829 petitions that USCIS received before December, 3 2014 (a 1 week advance); and the I‐924 applications that USCIS received before October 22, 2015 (a 10 day advance from April processing times).
Key Data Points:
- Average I-526 processing time is around 20 months, minor increase from last month and 18% increase year-over-year.
- Average I-829 processing time is around 30 months, minor increase from last month. A 50% (or 10 months) increase year-over-year.
- Waiting times for I-924 adjudication is around 20 months representing minor increase from last month. However, this is a a 50% (or 10 months) increase in a year-over-year comparison.
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