I-130 Median Jumps 11 Days but Eight-Week Improvement Trend Holds
The week of June 8 brought the largest single-week rise in the 12-week window, yet the broader trajectory remains downward. A 147-day gap between processing centers added a second signal worth tracking.
The I-130 final-stage median rose to 67 days the week of June 8, up 11 days (+20%) from 56 days the prior week. That is the largest one-week increase in the 12-week window. Yet the context softens the read: the 12-week trailing average sits at 70 days, the 8-week slope is -2.9 days per week, and this week's 67 lands in the middle of the 12-week range of 54 to 91 days. Separately, an uneven-centers flag fired because MSC (the National Benefits Center) posted a 213-day median against IOE's 66-day median, though MSC handled only 25 of 3,729 approved cases this week. Both signals are real; neither overrides the other.
- The I-130 final-stage median rose 11 days to 67 days the week of June 8, a +20% week-over-week move and the largest single-week jump in 12 weeks.
- The 8-week slope remains -2.9 days per week, placing this week's reading against a still-improving backdrop despite the one-week increase.
- An uneven_centers anomaly fired (value 88.97), driven by a 147-day gap between MSC's 213-day median (25 cases) and IOE's 66-day median (3,704 cases).
- RFE (Request for Evidence)-stamped cases cleared in 37 days, against 72 days for cases processed without one, roughly half the non-RFE wait.
- The active I-130 backlog of pending cases grew by approximately 49,747 cases (+61.6%) over 43 days, with new May 2026 filings accounting for the largest share of that growth.
One week up, eight weeks down
The median final-stage wait for I-130 petitions rose to 67 days the week of June 8, up from 56 days the prior week, a gain of 11 days or 20%. That is the largest single-week increase across the past 12 weeks. At the same time, it fits comfortably inside a broader pattern: the 12-week trailing average is 70 days, the 8-week slope is -2.9 days per week, and the 12-week range runs from 54 to 91 days. At 67 days, this week's reading sits near the midpoint of that band, not at its ceiling.
The 12-week arc, including a noisier mid-April
The week of April 27 (W18) produced a 91-day median, the highest in the 12-week window, but it rested on only 1,686 approved cases, the thinnest weekly sample in the period. A reading at that sample size can reflect who happened to receive approval that particular week as much as any underlying shift. After W18, medians fell from 73 days to 54 days across five consecutive weeks before this week's partial reversal to 67. The 8-week regression slope of -2.9 days per week points in the right direction, though an R² of 0.38 means week-to-week noise remains substantial and the direction language should be held lightly.
147 days between centers — but context matters
The uneven_centers flag fired this week with a value of 88.97, driven by the gap between MSC (the National Benefits Center, USCIS's Lee's Summit, MO facility) and IOE, the e-filing channel. MSC posted a median of 213 days against IOE's 66 days, a 147-day spread. The sample split matters here: IOE handled 3,704 of the 3,729 approved cases (99.3%), while MSC handled 25. IOE's 8-week slope of -3.0 days per week (R² = 0.39) aligns with the overall improvement. MSC's slope of +11.9 days per week (R² = 0.51) points in the opposite direction, but at 25 cases per week, that reading is too thin to treat as a confirmed trend; case-mix variation alone could shift MSC's median by many weeks.
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