USCIS I-130 Processing Time
Electronic Immigration System
— Receipt # IOE
Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative is the first step in sponsoring a family member for a Green Card. Processing times vary depending on the category type.
Petitions filed from within the U.S. together with an Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) are typically processed the fastest. Our data indicates that Immediate Relatives (IR) of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents, and children under 18) going through consular processing are currently taking about 14 months. Other family-based categories are subject to annual visa quotas, which often result in significantly longer processing times.
With the Ultimate Tracker, powered by our advanced prediction software, you can access personalized estimates and real-time insights for your IR-1, CR-1, IR-2 or IR-5 consular case.
To better understand the differences between Immediate Relative and Family Preference categories, visit our FAQ.
What does the current case backlog look like?
This graph shows the status of I-130 cases (with receipt # IOE09) received by USCIS in the last 2 years.
The backlog helps us understand the big picture. For example, we can see that USCIS generally processes cases in the order they were received.
Newer cases are shown on the right side of the graph. They mostly have the Case Received status. On the other side of the graph, around 80% of the old cases have been processed - either Approved or Denied. The remaining ~20% reflects cases that will take longer based on immigration quotas or individual case complexity.
While the backlog chart is a rich source of data, it isn't able to answer all questions. To see how fast USCIS is processing cases and to see exactly what month they are working on, we need to look at the graphs below.
To learn more about each status, visit our FAQ page.
How many cases is USCIS processing?
The USCIS I-130 processing rate is mostly stable but trending upwards, indicating that wait times will continue to drop in the near future.
