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I-485 processing at Montgomery, AL

New public charge rules from September 18, 2026

For green card applications (Form I-485) filed from September 18, 2026, USCIS can look at more kinds of public benefits that you get from that date. If you or your family get public benefits, talk to an immigration lawyer before you file.

Details

DHS has rescinded (cancelled) its 2022 public charge rule. USCIS's new guidance applies to every Form I-485 postmarked or filed online on or after September 18, 2026. For those applications, USCIS can consider any means-tested public benefits (benefits that depend on your income) received on or after that date. For benefits received before that date, it can consider only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense.

Applications filed from December 23, 2022 to September 17, 2026 are decided under the 2022 rule.

States and cities have sued to stop the new rule. It is in effect while the lawsuits go on.

If you or your family receive public benefits, talk to an immigration lawyer or accredited representative before filing.

Sources: USCIS: USCIS Issues Guidance on Making Public Charge Inadmissibility Determination (Aug 18, 2026); USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 8, Part G: Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility; Federal Register: Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility (Jul 20, 2026); JURIST: Two lawsuits challenge the revised public charge rule.

Last checked Sep 26, 2026.

Applications based on a family relationship with a US citizen or permanent resident.

USCIS does not publish processing times per office. Nationally, I-485 (Family) filers can expect a decision in 6-12 months if they file today, going by USCIS’s median for Apr–Jun 2026. USCIS decided 46% fewer of these that quarter than its average over the four before, so plan for the later end. See the national I-485 range for each category.

Latest USCIS data: Apr–Jun 2026, from the I-485 by Category, Case Status, and USCIS Field Office Location report.

Time to clear backlog

13 months

easing vs. previous quarter

Pending applications

3,950

unchanged vs. previous quarter

Decided in Apr–Jun 2026

910

+43% vs. previous quarter

Approval rate

92%

−3 pts vs. previous quarter

Quarter-over-quarter highlight: The pile of pending I-485 (Family) applications at the Montgomery office stayed at 3,950 in Apr–Jun 2026. At that quarter's pace of decisions, clearing it would take 13 months, down from 19 months. Going by its average pace over the four quarters to Apr–Jun 2026, the Montgomery office's backlog of these cases would take about as long to clear as, not clearly longer or shorter than, that of all field offices together.

By category, Apr–Jun 2026

CategoryReceivedDecidedPendingTime to clear backlog
Family7059103,95013 months
Employment988

incl. filings routed here

291,639not shown: too few decisions
Humanitarian22412,927not shown: too few decisions
Other0049not shown: too few decisions
All categories1,9179408,56527 months

What happened to the applications

The bars are the I-485 (Family) decisions the Montgomery office made each quarter, approved in blue and denied in red. The amber line is its backlog: how many applications were still waiting at the end of that quarter, most of them filed in earlier ones. The dashed line is how many came in.

  • Approved
  • Denied
  • Pending at quarter end
  • Filed
01k2k3k4k202120222023202420252026
Source: USCIS’s quarterly I-485 by Category, Case Status, and USCIS Field Office Location reports, via the Immigration and Citizenship Data page.
The numbers are stored in a JSON file on GitHub.

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, and 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.

Time to clear backlog
010203040months202120222023202420252026
Time to clear backlog is the pending applications at the end of each quarter, divided by the decisions (approvals and denials) made per month during it.