How Long Will It Take to Process My Application?

One of the most common questions I receive is, "How long will it take to process my green card/alien relative petition/employment authorization/naturalization application/adjustment of status, etc.?" The answer depends on the type of application or petition you've filed, and where you filed it. Luckily, USCIS lists the processing timeframes for all of these documents.

If you want to know how long it will take to process your immigration application or petition, USCIS lists the processing times of specific forms at each of its field offices and service centers online. Please note that this information is just for applications and petitions filed at USCIS offices and centers. If you're hoping to get a visa from your local consulate, you'll need to look at those wait times separately.

The information is updated monthly, so you can keep track of how quickly USCIS is processing a particular type of application or petition.

USCIS has a goal of processing applications within a 5-month timeframe. However, it is still dealing with the effects of a 100% increase in applications and petitions from July 2007 just before the last fee increase. Some offices are still trying to work through those applications so in those locations, processing times may be longer than the current 10-12 month average. USCIS has shown that it is doing what it can to expedite processing: 1,500 additional workers have been hired, staff has been redeployed to busier service centers, and work hours have been expanded to hold weekend naturalization interviews.

Photo: Stockbyte/Getty Images