I-765 processing times

Application for Employment Authorization. Newest: Apr–Jun 2026.

If you file today, most likely

6–11 months

could be 4–20 months

How we worked this out

The range starts from USCIS’s median of 6.4 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.

Time to clear backlog

25 months

down from 36 months

Pending applications

671,362

+15% vs. previous quarter

Decided in Apr–Jun 2026

82,172

+67% vs. previous quarter

Approval rate

56%

−21 pts vs. previous quarter

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

Special cases:

Usually filed with the I-485 and the I-131 travel document. The marriage green card timeline puts the whole wait as dates.

If you file today

Category	Most likely (50%)	Could be (80%)	USCIS median
Asylum	0.7–1.3 months	0.5–2.5 months	0.8 months
Adjustment of Status	6–11 months	4–20 months	6.4 months
DACA	3–5 months	2.2–6.8 months	4.1 months
Other Categories	2.8–5.5 months	2.0–10.2 months	3.3 months

What happened to the applications

Approved
Denied
Pending at quarter end
Filed

Source: USCIS’s quarterly All USCIS Application and Petition Form Types reports, via the Immigration and Citizenship Data page. 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-765 categories together:

Month	Filed	Decided	Pending
Aug 2026	130,329	155,224	1,921,541
Jul 2026	153,170	165,157	2,100,336
Jun 2026	175,621	181,501	2,112,052
May 2026	202,820	121,084	2,119,836
Apr 2026	240,636	125,679	2,032,567
Mar 2026	262,829	120,422	1,918,736

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 processing time

USCIS’s median is how long the cases it decided in the quarter had taken. 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
Application for Employment Authorization (Asylum)	125,663	117,965	10,986	108,565	0.8 months
Application for Employment Authorization (Adjustment Of Status)	153,039	46,405	35,767	671,362	6.4 months
Application for Employment Authorization (DACA)	81,835	76,053	482	231,872	4.1 months
Application for Employment Authorization (All Other)	212,410	125,656	19,787	1,098,913	3.3 months