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I-130 processing at Helena, MT

USCIS’s own quarterly numbers for this office. Newest: Apr–Jun 2026.

Time to clear backlog

Not shown: too few decisions

Pending applications

466

+228%, cases moved or routed in

Decided in Apr–Jun 2026

36

too few to compare with the quarter before

Approval rate

97%

too few decisions to compare with the quarter before
Special cases:

USCIS publishes no times per office. Nationally, I-130 (Immediate Relative) cases filed today are most likely decided in 11–22 months. See the national ranges.

For now, from our reading of the numbers:

USCIS is deciding far fewer of these cases than usual, and the field offices have so many waiting that your case may take longer than this range.

Details

USCIS decided 51% fewer of these cases in Apr–Jun 2026 than its average over the four quarters before.

USCIS moved I-130 cases to the field offices in Apr–Jun 2026. At the end of that quarter, they had 711,526 Immediate Relative cases waiting, and they decided 63,335 in the quarter. At that speed, deciding all of them would take 34 months (12 months the quarter before). At 81 of the 90 field offices, the cases already waiting would take longer than the most likely range to decide, at that office's own speed.

By category, Apr–Jun 2026

CategoryReceivedDecidedPendingTime to clear backlog
Immediate Relative11036466not shown: too few decisions
All Other Relative70492not shown: too few decisions
All categories11736958not shown: too few decisions

What happened to the applications

  • Approved
  • Denied
  • Pending at quarter end
  • Filed
0100200300400500202120222023202420252026cases moved in
Source: USCIS’s quarterly I-130 by Category, Case Status, and USCIS Field Office Location reports, via the Immigration and Citizenship Data page. A dashed line ("cases moved in"): In Apr–Jun 2026, USCIS moved these cases to the Helena office: its pile, and the time to clear it, changed for that reason, not because the office sped up or fell behind.

Backlog over time

Time to clear backlog is how long the office would need to decide every pending case at last quarter’s pace. It is not your wait: the pile includes cases on hold and cases USCIS cannot decide yet.

How to read the chart

USCIS sometimes moves pending cases between offices. A dashed line marks a quarter in which it did: the pile, and the time to clear it, then include the cases moved in (or leave out those moved away), so they don't show the office falling behind or catching up. The chart leaves it out for quarters in which the office decided fewer than 100 of these cases.

Time to clear backlog
0123months202120222023202420252026cases moved in
A dashed line ("cases moved in"): In Apr–Jun 2026, USCIS moved these cases to the Helena office: its pile, and the time to clear it, changed for that reason, not because the office sped up or fell behind.