The official USCIS processing times tool is the first place to look when your application feels slow. This guide explains what the published number actually measures, how to find the right figure for your form and office, when USCIS lets you ask about your case, and what you can do next: a service request, an expedite request, the CIS Ombudsman, a congressional inquiry or, as a last step, a federal lawsuit.
Why are there no USCIS numbers on this page? USCIS updates its figures regularly, and they differ by form, category and office. A number copied onto another website goes out of date quickly, so we send you to the official tool instead. We last checked the tool and the official pages cited below on September 26, 2026.
For most forms, USCIS says the time shown is the amount of time it took the agency to complete 80% of adjudicated cases over the last six months. The count runs from the day USCIS received the case to the day the case was completed, meaning approved or denied.
USCIS allows inquiries for cases that are taking longer than the time it took to complete 93% of adjudications, not 80%. The tool turns that figure into a case inquiry date for your receipt date. If the date has already passed, you can submit a service request right away. If the date is still in the future, USCIS generally expects you to wait until then.
Once your case inquiry date has passed, you can contact USCIS through:
Keep a record of each contact: the date, any reference number and the answer. You will need it if you later go to the CIS Ombudsman or a congressional office.
An expedite request is different from a service request. You are asking USCIS to decide your case ahead of others who filed earlier, so the agency weighs the urgency carefully, and the decision is within its sole discretion. USCIS lists these criteria, among others:
USCIS also sets practical rules. You generally request an expedite after you receive a receipt notice. Finish anything pending on your side first, such as biometrics. USCIS does not consider expedite requests where premium processing is available, except for a narrow nonprofit situation. Make only one request, because duplicates can slow things down. Most requests go through the Contact Center, Emma or a secure message, and you should be ready to provide evidence. For a travel document, USCIS asks you to make the request at least 45 days before you plan to leave. A decision to expedite is not an approval of the case itself. Read the full guidance on the USCIS Expedite Requests page.
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman is an independent office within the Department of Homeland Security. It is not part of USCIS. It can bring your problem to USCIS’s attention and recommend a solution, but it cannot approve your case or compel USCIS to act.
Details are on the Ombudsman’s case assistance page.
Your U.S. Representative and your two U.S. Senators have caseworkers who can contact USCIS about a constituent’s case. The office will usually ask you to sign a written consent before it can inquire. A congressional inquiry does not change the law or the eligibility rules, but it can prompt USCIS to look at a case that appears stuck. It works best when you can show that your case inquiry date has passed and that you already used USCIS’s own service tools.
If a case stays pending far beyond normal times and administrative steps have failed, a federal lawsuit may be an option. Federal district courts have jurisdiction over actions in the nature of mandamus to compel a federal officer or agency to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff (28 U.S.C. 1361), and the Administrative Procedure Act allows a court to compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed (5 U.S.C. 706(1)). The lawsuit asks the court to make the agency decide. It does not ask the court to approve the case. Whether a delay is unreasonable depends on the facts, so this step needs a careful review. See our page on mandamus lawsuits for USCIS delays.
Many green card cases pass through other agencies before or after USCIS. They publish their own timeframes, and those timeframes read differently from the USCIS tool.
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification posts processing times at flag.dol.gov/processingtimes. These are not wait estimates. They show the month and year of filing for the cases DOL is working on now. A snapshot from that page:
| Queue | Cases being processed | DOL “as of” date |
|---|---|---|
| PERM analyst review | Filed in December 2025 | September 22, 2026 |
| PERM audit review | Filed in December 2025 | September 22, 2026 |
| PERM reconsideration request | Appealed in April 2026 | September 22, 2026 |
| Prevailing wage for PERM (OEWS) | Requested in May 2026 | August 31, 2026 |
| Prevailing wage for PERM (non-OEWS) | Requested in May 2026 | August 31, 2026 |
DOL also reported an average of 336 calendar days for PERM analyst review determinations issued in August 2026. DOL notes that if a PERM application was filed more than three months before the month posted, the employer may contact the PERM Help Desk for a status update. Always check the live page, because DOL updates it every month.
After USCIS approves a petition for a relative or worker who will apply abroad, the National Visa Center (NVC) creates the case, reviews the documents and, for most cases, schedules the interview. NVC publishes its timeframes on travel.state.gov. As of September 21, 2026, NVC reported that it was:
NVC says these timeframes do not apply to diversity visas, special immigrant visas, K (fiancé(e)) visas or adoption cases.
Ozek Law Firm attorneys are admitted in Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia. California matters are handled with California-licensed co-counsel. Immigration law is federal, so we represent immigration clients across the U.S. and worldwide. Fees are quoted at the consultation because the scope of each case varies.
For most forms, it is the time it took USCIS to complete 80% of adjudicated cases over the last six months, counted from the date USCIS received the case to the date it was approved or denied. It describes cases USCIS already finished. It is not a promise about your case.
After your case inquiry date. USCIS sets that date using the time it took to complete 93% of adjudications. Enter your receipt date in the official processing times tool to see it. If the date has passed, you can submit a service request.
Yes, but the decision is discretionary. USCIS considers criteria such as severe financial loss, emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations, qualifying nonprofit requests, government interests and clear USCIS error, and it generally expects supporting evidence. USCIS does not consider expedite requests where premium processing is available, except in a narrow nonprofit situation.
Not by itself. USCIS says that the need to obtain employment authorization, standing alone and without other compelling factors, does not warrant expedited treatment. Job loss may be enough, depending on the individual circumstances.
You must have contacted USCIS in the last 90 days and given it at least 60 days to resolve the problem. If delay is your only issue, your case inquiry date must also have passed, with limited exceptions. The Ombudsman is independent of USCIS and cannot approve a case or force USCIS to act.
A congressional office can ask USCIS about your case, which can help when a case appears stuck. It cannot change the eligibility rules, and it cannot guarantee a faster decision.
When the case is far beyond normal processing times and service requests, expedite requests and other administrative steps have not worked. A federal court can order the agency to make a decision, but it does not approve the case for you. An attorney should review the delay and the record first.
The Department of Labor posts PERM and prevailing wage processing times at flag.dol.gov/processingtimes, and the National Visa Center posts its timeframes on travel.state.gov. Both show the dates of the cases being worked on now rather than an estimate of your wait.
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