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I-485 processing at California Service Center

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

Time to clear backlog

56 months

up from 47 months

Pending applications

21,053

+6% vs. previous quarter

Decided in Apr–Jun 2026

1,134

−11% vs. previous quarter

Approval rate

70%

−11 pts vs. previous quarter

Over the last four quarters, this center has cleared its pile of these cases clearly slower than the country as a whole.

Recent news:
Special cases:

USCIS publishes no times per office. For I-485 (Employment) cases the wait depends on the priority date: see today’s cutoff dates. See the national I-485 numbers.

By category, Apr–Jun 2026

CategoryReceivedDecidedPendingTime to clear backlog
Family1024not shown: too few decisions
Employment1,5321,13421,05356 months
Humanitarian004not shown: too few decisions
Other2027not shown: too few decisions
All categories1,5351,13421,10856 months

What happened to the applications

  • Approved
  • Denied
  • Pending at quarter end
  • Filed (or routed here)
05k10k15k20k202120222023202420252026cases moved outcases moved or routed in
Source: USCIS’s quarterly I-485 by Category, Case Status, and USCIS Field Office Location reports, via the Immigration and Citizenship Data page. A dashed line ("cases moved out"): In Jul–Sep 2022, USCIS moved these cases away from the California Service Center: its pile, and the time to clear it, changed for that reason, not because the office sped up or fell behind. A dashed line ("cases moved or routed in"): In Oct–Dec 2023, USCIS moved these cases to the California Service Center and routed new filings here, which the filings line counts: 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 waiting for a visa number.

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. The line under the boxes on the office’s pace compares the time to clear its pile at the pace of its last four quarters with the same for the country as a whole; it says slower or faster only where one is more than 1.5 times the other.

Time to clear backlog
050100months202120222023202420252026cases moved outcases moved or routed in
A dashed line ("cases moved out"): In Jul–Sep 2022, USCIS moved these cases away from the California Service Center: its pile, and the time to clear it, changed for that reason, not because the office sped up or fell behind. A dashed line ("cases moved or routed in"): In Oct–Dec 2023, USCIS moved these cases to the California Service Center and routed new filings here, which the filings line counts: its pile, and the time to clear it, changed for that reason, not because the office sped up or fell behind.