USCIS April–June 2026 report: which forms got slower, and 12.8 million cases pending
Last updated 2026-10-20 · General information, not legal advice
USCIS has published its all-forms report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 (1 April to 30 June 2026), listed on its immigration and citizenship data page. Across all forms, 12,807,907 cases were pending at the end of the quarter, 678,002 more than at the end of January–March. During the quarter USCIS received 2,176,844 cases and completed 1,583,671. Set beside the reports for July–September 2025 and January–March 2026 and filtered by one rule, 10 rows show a median processing time at least 2 months longer than in July–September 2025, among them N-400 (5.7 months to 9.5), the I-765 work permit filed on an adjustment application (2.3 to 6.4) and I-129 (3.6 to 9.5). One row, I-140, got shorter by 2 months or more (6.4 to 3.9).
All forms together
The top line of the report, taken from three quarters:
| Jul–Sep 2025 | Jan–Mar 2026 | Apr–Jun 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received | 2,566,968 | 2,135,145 | 2,176,844 |
| Completed | 2,541,464 | 1,510,594 | 1,583,671 |
| Pending (end of quarter) | 11,651,012 | 12,129,905 | 12,807,907 |
Between July–September 2025 and April–June 2026, completions fell from 2,541,464 to 1,583,671 a quarter, a drop of 37.7%. Receipts fell from 2,566,968 to 2,176,844. The pending count rose by 1,156,895, or 9.9%.
"Completed" is the report's Total Completions column. Note 4 defines it as approved plus denied, and adds that some benefit types, asylum I-589 among them, also count administrative closures, so approvals and denials do not always add up to completions. "Pending" is the Pending column, which footnote 5 defines as the applications or petitions awaiting a decision as of the end of the reporting period. It does not separate cases that are within normal processing times from cases that are not. The same footnote says total pending counts cannot be calculated from earlier quarters because administrative closures and transfers between offices are not reflected, so "received minus completed" and the change in pending do not have to match.
Two limits apply. The report for October–December 2025 (the first quarter of FY2026) is not used here, so adjacent columns in the tables are a quarter apart. In the July–September 2025 file, the I-131 rows and one DS-230 row carry different titles from the later two files and cannot be matched, so the table below leaves them out.
Which forms got noticeably slower
The selection rule comes first: at least 10,000 completions in the quarter (below that the median jumps around), and a median processing time at least 2 months longer than in July–September 2025. Rows whose median is 0 are skipped, for the reason given further down. Among rows present in all three reports, ten qualify:
| Form / category | Median processing time (months) Jul–Sep → Jan–Mar → Apr–Jun | Pending Jan–Mar → Apr–Jun | Completed Jul–Sep → Apr–Jun |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-400 naturalization (regular, excluding military) | 5.7 → 7.4 → 9.5 | 648,583 → 727,371 | 233,528 → 67,565 |
| I-765 work permit, adjustment of status (the report's "Adjustment Of Status" row) | 2.3 → 4.3 → 6.4 | 584,851 → 671,362 | 110,179 → 82,172 |
| I-129 nonimmigrant worker petition (H-1B, L-1 and others) | 3.6 → 7.1 → 9.5 | 120,477 → 192,712 | 169,624 → 183,308 |
| I-539 extend or change status | 2.9 → 3.4 → 5.7 | 109,156 → 133,056 | 66,975 → 46,914 |
| I-130, all other relatives | 38.0 → 39.4 → 43.3 | 1,597,832 → 1,617,823 | 31,652 → 16,834 |
| I-751 remove conditions | 18.8 → 25.0 → 22.6 | 299,880 → 339,830 | 29,545 → 10,994 |
| N-600 certificate of citizenship | 3.8 → 6.1 → 6.9 | 57,163 → 58,165 | 12,970 → 10,030 |
| I-765 work permit, DACA | 0.4 → 3.9 → 4.1 | 226,375 → 231,872 | 65,361 → 76,535 |
| I-821D DACA | 0.4 → 3.9 → 4.1 | 223,522 → 228,969 | 65,028 → 76,629 |
| Waivers (I-191, I-192, I-193, I-212, I-601, I-602 and I-612 in one row) | 24.2 → 35.9 → 36.3 | 542,885 → 575,908 | 12,827 → 12,077 |
One row goes the other way: I-140 fell from 6.4 months to 3.9, with 45,044 completions and 203,204 pending in the quarter. It rose by 0.5 months from the previous quarter (3.4), and pending grew from 184,209 to 203,204.
Rows with fewer than 10,000 completions are not in the table, though several rose steeply: I-485 asylum-based from 11.9 months to 25.6 (2,642 completed, 126,267 pending), I-485 refugee-based from 7.5 to 17.6 (148 completed, 149,470 pending), I-821 Temporary Protected Status from 7.0 to 15.5 (8,106 completed, 567,110 pending) and I-914 T status from 24.2 to 31.2 (535 completed, 122,593 pending). Samples this small show a direction and little more.
Where the median barely moved, the line may still be growing
The median processing time counts only cases completed in the quarter (footnote 6: the months from receipt to completion, taking the median of cases completed that quarter). The cases that have waited longest are still in the pending column, so they are not in the number. Some rows look steady until you read pending and completions beside them:
- I-485 family-based: median 6.0 → 5.9 → 7.0 months. Completions were 66,918 this quarter against 167,694 in July–September 2025, about 60% fewer, and pending went from 543,486 in July–September 2025 to 611,067.
- I-601A provisional waiver: 25.2 → 24.0 → 25.4 months, almost flat. Completions were 4,132 against 16,320 in July–September 2025, and pending went from 73,373 then to 77,755.
- I-751 (also in the table): the median fell from 25.0 months last quarter to 22.6, with 10,994 completions this quarter against 17,372 in the last, while pending rose 13%. The median fell and pending kept growing.
How to read this report
- The median counts finished cases only. If USCIS spent a quarter clearing older cases, the median would also lengthen. The report does not say which rows are which, and it gives no reasons, so this article does not guess.
- Fewer completions do not explain every longer median. On the I-129 and DACA rows, completions this quarter were higher than in July–September 2025 and the median still grew. The last two columns of the table have to be read separately.
- This is not the 80% line on the processing-times page. USCIS publishes the 80% line by office and by category, and you can look it up row by row in the processing-times table. The quarterly report gives one national figure that mixes offices and categories.
- The figures get revised. Note 3 of the report says counts for received, completed and pending cases may differ from earlier published reports because of processing delays, the time the data are queried, system updates and post-adjudicative outcomes. The numbers here come from the versions that can be downloaded today: FY2025 Q4, FY2026 Q2 and FY2026 Q3.
- Rows with a median of 0 were not used. The asylum I-589 row shows 0 in all three reports, yet 47,654 cases were completed this quarter, so that 0 cannot mean zero months and is treated as no usable figure.
What this means for a delay case
The thresholds for suing on this site do not change because of this report. They sit in the guide for each category (N-400, I-765, I-130, I-751 and others) and rest on the facts of your own case, not on a national quarterly figure.
A court deciding whether a delay is unreasonable applies the TRAC factors to the facts of your case (see when a delay case makes sense). The guides here treat the processing time USCIS publishes for your category and processing location, the figures on the processing-times page, as the most direct yardstick. The national median in the quarterly report shows a trend and does not fit onto an individual case. The N-400 median in this report is 9.5 months, while in this site's 2026-10-17 snapshot of the processing times USCIS published on 17 September 2026, the 80% line for N-400 runs from 9 months to 18 months across 90 offices.
What the report does tell you is different. Across these ten rows pending cases are rising, and on seven of them completions are lower than in July–September 2025. If you are already past the 80% line for your category, or your receipt date is already earlier than the 93% date, the report offers no basis for "wait a little longer and it will clear on its own." You can send a free case inquiry and keep the date and the reply. The guides on this site list it among the free steps before filing; a case inquiry is not a legal prerequisite to suing, but it leaves a written record.
One boundary: a writ of mandamus gets you a decision, not an approval. It does not speed up the whole line either; what it affects is whether your own case is assigned to a person and decided.
What to do
- Find your form in the two tables above. If it is missing, download the report itself and look up the form number.
- Do not use the national median as your timetable. Open the processing-times table and, with the Received Date and the processing location from your receipt notice, find the 80% line and the 93% date for your category.
- If your receipt date is earlier than the 93% date, send a case inquiry. The steps are in how to file a case inquiry.
- If you are past the threshold for your category, read its guide: N-400, I-765, I-130, I-751 or I-485.
- Keep the date, reply and reference number of every inquiry. The figures in this report will change next quarter, and your record will not.
If you are not sure whether your wait is long enough, the 60-second self-check will work it out from your receipt date.