I-130 IR Consular Processing Shows No Signs Of Improvement

Over the past few months, we have been closely monitoring changes in I-130 IR Consular processing. We first highlighted signs of this slowdown in our March 5th article, when the data suggested a meaningful dip in activity. By our April 14th update, it had become clear that what initially appeared to be a mild slowdown had developed into a full-on stall out.

Unfortunately, as of May 2026, there are still no meaningful signs of improvement.

At the start of the year, USCIS was processing I-130 IR Consular cases at an impressive pace. Throughout January and into early February, processing was consistent and predictable, pushing wait times down to approximately 12 months from priority date to decision. These were some of the lowest I-130 IR Consular wait times to be seen in years.

That momentum began to fade in mid-February when daily processing volumes started to decline. While occasional slow periods are normal, this slowdown persisted far longer than expected. As of mid-March, the slowdown became even more pronounced, with processing volumes of Track My Visa customers dropping to less than 50% of pre-slowdown levels. Unfortunately, this trend has only worsened, with activity levels dropping even more significantly since then.

As of May 2026, the Front of the Line has not moved forward since mid-March 2026. The "Front of the Line" is a term coined by Track My Visa and is not official USCIS terminology. It represents the filing date of the most recently filed cases USCIS has started working on. In simple terms, it shows how far USCIS has progressed through the backlog. When the Front of the Line moves forward, it means USCIS is reaching newer filing dates. When it stalls, it means processing is no longer advancing meaningfully through the queue.

As you can see, the Front of the Line for I-130 IR Consular cases has not shifted in almost 3 full months. For people still waiting, that represents 3 months of additional waiting without USCIS getting closer to their case. For people who are just filing, the backlog is now 3 months' worth of cases larger. Cases continue to be added as new applicants file, but USCIS is not removing a significant number of cases from the backlog, resulting in a very rapid build-up.

The Front of the Line is currently pinned at cases filed on or before February 25, 2025. The trickle of activity we are seeing is coming from cases filed before then. If USCIS started processing cases actively again today, the current end-to-end wait times would be approximately 15 months — cases from late February 2025 processed now in late May 2026. For each week USCIS continues to stall, end-to-end processing times will be that much worse when they start back up.

The cause still remains unclear. While there have been rumors of internal processing changes and resource reallocation within USCIS, no official explanation has been provided. For now, the data continues to show the same pattern: lower processing volumes, a stalled Front of the Line, and no clear signs of recovery.

Surely, USCIS will start moving again. Here at Track My Visa, we're holding our breath, anxious to see the numbers start to move forward again. Everyone on the team knows first hand the hardships that accompany a 1+ year wait. When USCIS does start working again, they will have a significant backlog to burn through in order to get back to sub-1-year wait times.

As always, we will continue tracking the data closely and will share updates as soon as we see meaningful changes in processing activity or Front of the Line movement.

— Track My Visa Team