I-130 processing times

Petition for Alien Relative. Newest: Apr–Jun 2026.

Immediate Relative

All Other Relative

All categories

If you file today, most likely

11–22 months

could be 8–40 months

How we worked this out

The range starts from USCIS’s median of 13.0 months for Apr–Jun 2026 and widens it by how far real waits landed from the median in past quarters. In past quarters, the typical wait fell in the most likely range about half the time, and in the could-be range 8 times in 10. We make the range wider when USCIS decides far fewer cases than usual. But in past slowdowns like this, the typical wait fell inside the could-be range only about 2 times in 3.

Time to clear backlog

24 months

up from 15 months

Pending applications

786,723

+3% vs. previous quarter

Decided in Apr–Jun 2026

99,297

−34% vs. previous quarter

Approval rate

83%

−6 pts vs. previous quarter

All categories together have newer numbers, to Aug 2026: see them month by month.

Special cases:

Next: the National Visa Center, then an interview at a consulate. The spouse visa timeline puts the whole wait as dates.

If you file today

Category	Most likely (50%)	Could be (80%)	USCIS median
Immediate Relative	11–22 months	8–40 months	13.0 months
All Other Relative	Depends on your priority date: see today’s cutoff dates.		43.3 months

What happened to the applications

Approved
Denied
Pending at quarter end
Filed

Last 6 years

All years

Source: USCIS’s quarterly All USCIS Application and Petition Form Types reports, via the Immigration and Citizenship Data page. A dashed line ("split by category"): From Oct–Dec 2024, USCIS gives the I-130 numbers by category; before, it gave them only for all categories together. A category’s earlier quarters here are added up from USCIS’s report by office. A diamond marks a pending count that doesn't match the quarter before's count plus the quarter's filings minus its decisions: it is what USCIS reported, but USCIS doesn't say why they differ, so the pages draw no conclusions from it.

Month by month, all I-130 categories together:

Month	Filed	Decided	Pending
Aug 2026	54,973	42,729	2,475,445
Jul 2026	54,475	35,910	2,451,921
Jun 2026	54,503	34,307	2,431,662
May 2026	56,320	32,261	2,424,101
Apr 2026	58,222	49,882	2,383,998
Mar 2026	60,560	68,003	2,366,204

Pending is counted on the last day of each month. USCIS counts months and quarters separately, so these can differ a little from the chart. Source: USCIS’s Application Processing Data reports.

USCIS median and backlog over time

Time to clear backlog is how long USCIS would need to decide every pending case if it kept deciding them at the same speed. It is not your wait: the pile includes cases on hold and cases USCIS cannot decide yet.

How to read the chart

For Apr–Jun 2024, USCIS published the quarter before's medians again, so the chart has none for Apr–Jun 2024.

Time to clear backlog
USCIS median: Immediate Relative
USCIS median: All relatives (before the split)

Last 6 years

All years

USCIS’s median is how long the cases it decided in the quarter had taken. A dashed line ("split by category"): From Oct–Dec 2024, USCIS gives the I-130 numbers by category; before, it gave them only for all categories together. A category’s earlier quarters here are added up from USCIS’s report by office. A diamond marks a pending count that doesn't match the quarter before's count plus the quarter's filings minus its decisions: it is what USCIS reported, but USCIS doesn't say why they differ, so the pages draw no conclusions from it.

By category, Apr–Jun 2026

Category	Received	Approved	Denied	Pending	USCIS median
Petition for Alien Relative (Immediate Relative)	126,417	82,636	16,661	786,723	13.0 months
Petition for Alien Relative (All Other Relative)	39,905	7,951	8,883	1,617,823	43.3 months