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I-485 processing at New Jersey Central, NJ

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

Time to clear backlog

13 months

up from 11 months

Pending applications

4,043

+11% vs. previous quarter

Decided in Apr–Jun 2026

900

−11% vs. previous quarter

Approval rate

86%

−1 pts vs. previous quarter

Over the last four quarters, this office has cleared its pile of these cases about as fast as all field offices together.

Recent news:
Special cases:

USCIS publishes no times per office. Nationally, I-485 (Family) cases filed today are most likely decided in 6–12 months. See the national ranges.

For now, from our reading of the numbers:

USCIS decided 46% fewer of these cases in Apr–Jun 2026 than usual. Plan for the later end of the range.

By category, Apr–Jun 2026

CategoryReceivedDecidedPendingTime to clear backlog
Family1,0259004,04313 months
Employment1,8358355,01918 months
Humanitarian15062,319not shown: too few decisions
Other2522not shown: too few decisions
All categories3,0121,74611,40320 months

What happened to the applications

  • Approved
  • Denied
  • Pending at quarter end
  • Filed (or routed here)
01k2k3k4k5k6k2023202420252026cases 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 or routed in"): In Apr–Jun 2023, USCIS moved these cases to the New Jersey Central office 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 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. 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 all field offices together; it says slower or faster only where one is more than 1.5 times the other.

Time to clear backlog
010203040months2023202420252026cases moved or routed in
A dashed line ("cases moved or routed in"): In Apr–Jun 2023, USCIS moved these cases to the New Jersey Central office 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.