The monthly Report to Congress: how much of each queue has waited more than six months
As of July 31, 2026, 62.3% of N-400 cases awaiting a decision had been waiting more than six months, up from 20.8% a year earlier.
The N-400 shift stands out; other lines in this report moved by far less over the same year.
62.3%
N-400 share waiting long
As of July 31, 2026
87.4%
I-130 share waiting long
As of July 31, 2026
96.4%
Highest share across lines
As of July 31, 2026
| Month | Awaiting a decision | Waiting more than six months | Share waiting more than six months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2022 | 506,183 | 180,578 | 35.7% |
| Dec 2022 | 479,331 | 170,578 | 35.6% |
| Jan 2023 | 474,549 | 157,768 | 33.2% |
| Feb 2023 | 463,204 | 143,082 | 30.9% |
| Mar 2023 | 461,397 | 130,817 | 28.4% |
| Apr 2023 | 464,301 | 123,991 | 26.7% |
| May 2023 | 462,758 | 115,374 | 24.9% |
| Jun 2023 | 456,610 | 108,699 | 23.8% |
| Jul 2023 | 453,991 | 108,202 | 23.8% |
| Aug 2023 | 442,543 | 108,654 | 24.6% |
| Sep 2023 | 418,559 | 100,851 | 24.1% |
| Oct 2023 | 417,681 | 99,234 | 23.8% |
| Nov 2023 | 415,212 | 98,041 | 23.6% |
| Dec 2023 | 416,964 | 96,105 | 23.0% |
| Jan 2024 | 422,033 | 93,179 | 22.1% |
| Feb 2024 | 426,255 | 90,043 | 21.1% |
| Mar 2024 | 465,561 | 86,296 | 18.5% |
| Apr 2024 | 466,275 | 82,116 | 17.6% |
| May 2024 | 466,291 | 77,968 | 16.7% |
| Jun 2024 | 465,136 | 76,207 | 16.4% |
| Jul 2024 | 483,611 | 75,545 | 15.6% |
| Aug 2024 | 507,844 | 79,736 | 15.7% |
| Sep 2024 | 517,125 | 96,571 | 18.7% |
| Oct 2024 | 521,418 | 101,964 | 19.6% |
| Nov 2024 | 533,709 | 111,709 | 20.9% |
| Dec 2024 | 535,601 | 119,145 | 22.2% |
| Jan 2025 | 540,820 | 127,193 | 23.5% |
| Feb 2025 | 531,595 | 129,981 | 24.5% |
| Mar 2025 | 538,903 | 128,946 | 23.9% |
| Apr 2025 | 535,141 | 118,459 | 22.1% |
| May 2025 | 530,238 | 118,829 | 22.4% |
| Jun 2025 | 532,310 | 112,551 | 21.1% |
| Jul 2025 | 532,052 | 110,789 | 20.8% |
| Aug 2025 | 528,842 | 113,954 | 21.5% |
| Sep 2025 | 537,769 | 118,313 | 22.0% |
| Oct 2025 | 641,468 | 130,810 | 20.4% |
| Nov 2025 | 627,819 | 146,852 | 23.4% |
| Dec 2025 | 622,664 | 168,881 | 27.1% |
| Jan 2026 | 630,860 | 198,235 | 31.4% |
| Feb 2026 | 647,193 | 234,728 | 36.3% |
| Mar 2026 | 663,951 | 282,227 | 42.5% |
| Apr 2026 | 683,960 | 419,201 | 61.3% |
| May 2026 | 712,572 | 441,362 | 61.9% |
| Jun 2026 | 744,412 | 458,485 | 61.6% |
| Jul 2026 | 778,489 | 485,003 | 62.3% |
Each share is of that month's own queue, so the monthly shares cannot be averaged into a period figure.
The change amounted to 41.5 percentage points over the year, moving from 20.8% as of July 31, 2025 to 62.3% as of July 31, 2026.
| Month | Awaiting a decision | Waiting more than six months | Share waiting more than six months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2022 | 1,942,575 | 1,480,107 | 76.2% |
| Dec 2022 | 1,965,088 | 1,512,124 | 76.9% |
| Jan 2023 | 1,973,920 | 1,525,389 | 77.3% |
| Feb 2023 | 1,975,432 | 1,527,237 | 77.3% |
| Mar 2023 | 1,975,943 | 1,520,870 | 77.0% |
| Apr 2023 | 1,970,917 | 1,521,157 | 77.2% |
| May 2023 | 1,968,487 | 1,514,014 | 76.9% |
| Jun 2023 | 1,977,040 | 1,518,297 | 76.8% |
| Jul 2023 | 1,981,219 | 1,514,631 | 76.4% |
| Aug 2023 | 1,986,078 | 1,523,807 | 76.7% |
| Sep 2023 | 1,993,520 | 1,540,888 | 77.3% |
| Oct 2023 | 2,007,061 | 1,555,196 | 77.5% |
| Nov 2023 | 2,026,146 | 1,580,859 | 78.0% |
| Dec 2023 | 2,042,955 | 1,600,707 | 78.4% |
| Jan 2024 | 2,041,211 | 1,607,676 | 78.8% |
| Feb 2024 | 2,060,390 | 1,623,648 | 78.8% |
| Mar 2024 | 2,121,601 | 1,647,909 | 77.7% |
| Apr 2024 | 2,163,012 | 1,665,443 | 77.0% |
| May 2024 | 2,168,804 | 1,680,112 | 77.5% |
| Jun 2024 | 2,176,394 | 1,701,143 | 78.2% |
| Jul 2024 | 2,189,622 | 1,714,949 | 78.3% |
| Aug 2024 | 2,192,899 | 1,727,711 | 78.8% |
| Sep 2024 | 2,207,387 | 1,800,711 | 81.6% |
| Oct 2024 | 2,235,799 | 1,815,343 | 81.2% |
| Nov 2024 | 2,271,955 | 1,830,398 | 80.6% |
| Dec 2024 | 2,313,876 | 1,853,955 | 80.1% |
| Jan 2025 | 2,355,271 | 1,872,469 | 79.5% |
| Feb 2025 | 2,384,024 | 1,889,486 | 79.3% |
| Mar 2025 | 2,408,119 | 1,892,511 | 78.6% |
| Apr 2025 | 2,414,723 | 1,899,108 | 78.6% |
| May 2025 | 2,416,102 | 1,916,571 | 79.3% |
| Jun 2025 | 2,411,946 | 1,928,316 | 79.9% |
| Jul 2025 | 2,404,876 | 1,942,951 | 80.8% |
| Aug 2025 | 2,389,683 | 1,952,870 | 81.7% |
| Sep 2025 | 2,369,937 | 1,955,348 | 82.5% |
| Oct 2025 | 2,361,576 | 1,961,328 | 83.1% |
| Nov 2025 | 2,356,426 | 1,975,730 | 83.8% |
| Dec 2025 | 2,362,651 | 1,993,341 | 84.4% |
| Jan 2026 | 2,354,209 | 2,003,555 | 85.1% |
| Feb 2026 | 2,357,158 | 2,020,098 | 85.7% |
| Mar 2026 | 2,366,204 | 2,036,406 | 86.1% |
| Apr 2026 | 2,383,998 | 2,062,983 | 86.5% |
| May 2026 | 2,424,101 | 2,108,153 | 87.0% |
| Jun 2026 | 2,431,662 | 2,119,021 | 87.1% |
| Jul 2026 | 2,451,921 | 2,142,026 | 87.4% |
Each share is of that month's own queue, so the monthly shares cannot be averaged into a period figure.
Of the 2,451,921 I-130 cases awaiting a decision as of July 31, 2026, 2,142,026 had been waiting more than six months, the largest queue of any line in this report.
| Line | What it is | Awaiting a decision | Waiting more than six months |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-485 (Cuban) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Cuban) | 355,379 | 96.4% |
| I-130 | Petition for Alien Relative | 2,451,921 | 87.4% |
| I-360 | Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant | 312,489 | 82.0% |
| I-485 (Asylum) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Asylum) | 134,162 | 79.2% |
| I-485 (Refugee) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Refugee) | 155,341 | 76.0% |
| I-485 (Family) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Family) | 604,449 | 73.9% |
| I-751 | Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence | 350,668 | 73.3% |
| I-485 (Other) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Other) | 73,649 | 71.6% |
| I-765 | Application for Employment Authorization | 2,100,336 | 65.9% |
| N-400 | Application for Naturalization | 778,489 | 62.3% |
| I-485 (Employment) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Employment) | 269,963 | 50.5% |
The gap between lines was wide as of July 31, 2026: I-485 (Cuban) cases waiting more than six months reached 96.4% while I-485 (Employment) stood at 50.5%.
| Line | What it is | Awaiting a decision | Average months |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-485 (Asylum) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Asylum) | 134,162 | 30.6 |
| I-485 (Other) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Other) | 73,649 | 27.1 |
| I-751 | Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence | 350,668 | 23.5 |
| I-485 (Cuban) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Cuban) | 355,379 | 22.2 |
| I-485 (Refugee) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Refugee) | 155,341 | 21.3 |
| I-130 | Petition for Alien Relative | 2,451,921 | 17.7 |
| I-485 (Family) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Family) | 604,449 | 11.8 |
| N-400 | Application for Naturalization | 778,489 | 11.4 |
| I-485 (Employment) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Employment) | 269,963 | 10.5 |
| I-360 | Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant | 312,489 | 10.4 |
| I-765 | Application for Employment Authorization | 2,100,336 | 5.8 |
Among cases finished in the month ending July 31, 2026, the longest average processing time was 30.6, compared with 5.8 for the fastest line.
Before you use these numbers
- A share waiting more than six months describes that month's own queue only, so monthly shares cannot be averaged into a single period figure.
- These are snapshots at each month end, not monthly activity, and cannot be added across months to estimate totals.
- A rising share can reflect fewer new filings as easily as slower decisions, and this file does not separate the two.
- Averages across lines can hide wide differences between individual queues, so a single figure should not stand in for any one form.
Cases awaiting a decision and the part that had been waiting more than six months
| Form | What it is | Received that month | Approved | Denied | Awaiting a decision | Waiting more than six months | Average months, cases finished that month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-130 | Petition for Alien Relative | 54,475 | 30,430 | 5,480 | 2,451,921 | 2,142,026 | 17.7 |
| I-765 | Application for Employment Authorization | 153,170 | 135,089 | 30,068 | 2,100,336 | 1,383,136 | 5.8 |
| N-400 | Application for Naturalization | 55,579 | 16,514 | 4,160 | 778,489 | 485,003 | 11.4 |
| I-485 (Family) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Family) | 29,317 | 28,271 | 6,039 | 604,449 | 446,387 | 11.8 |
| I-485 (Cuban) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Cuban) | 1,355 | 308 | 318 | 355,379 | 342,636 | 22.2 |
| I-751 | Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence | 15,548 | 3,845 | 467 | 350,668 | 256,939 | 23.5 |
| I-360 | Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant | 7,674 | 5,476 | 775 | 312,489 | 256,364 | 10.4 |
| I-485 (Employment) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Employment) | 14,109 | 12,927 | 1,169 | 269,963 | 136,226 | 10.5 |
| I-485 (Refugee) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Refugee) | 3,300 | 60 | 15 | 155,341 | 118,087 | 21.3 |
| I-485 (Asylum) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Asylum) | 5,174 | 827 | 128 | 134,162 | 106,277 | 30.6 |
| I-485 (Other) | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Other) | 4,353 | 699 | 192 | 73,649 | 52,750 | 27.1 |