Analysis

The USCIS backlog, explained in its own numbers What the pending pile is actually made of, form by form. 2 min read · 60 published figures The longest USCIS processing times, ranked Every form USCIS publishes a median for, slowest first. 2 min read · 71 published figures Is the USCIS backlog growing? What two quarters show Receipts against completions, form by form — who is falling behind and who is catching up. 2 min read · 79 published figures The fastest USCIS forms, and what they have in common A handful of forms clear in weeks. They are the ones with the least to decide. 2 min read · 71 published figures

Why USCIS is slow, in its own numbers Not an opinion: the agency publishes how much it receives, how much it decides, and what is left over. 1 min read · 9 published figures The fastest USCIS field offices right now Ranked by how long each office's queue actually ran, not by how quickly it says it works. 3 min read · 115 published figures The slowest USCIS field offices, and how far behind they are Some offices are running queues five times longer than others on the same form. 3 min read · 115 published figures Service centre or field office: which one is faster? They do different jobs at different scales, and the comparison people reach for is the wrong one. 1 min read · 31 published figures USCIS queues by state: where the wait is longest Every state with a field office, ranked by the caseload sitting in it. 3 min read · 110 published figures

I-130 processing time by relationship: spouse, parent, child, sibling USCIS reports two I-130 queues, not six. Here is which one your relative is in. 1 min read · 35 published figures How long naturalisation takes, and where it takes longest N-400 waits across the country, plus the military route USCIS reports separately. 2 min read · 77 published figures The fastest family route to a green card, by the numbers Which relationship actually moves quickest through USCIS — and where the real wait starts. 1 min read · 27 published figures Immediate relative or preference category: the difference is years The same form, two queues, and a gap that decides how long a family waits. 1 min read · 20 published figures

EB-2 vs EB-3: what the petition data actually shows Volumes, approval and denial rates for both, thirteen years deep — and the one thing neither number tells you. 2 min read · 60 published figures NIW approvals: how many USCIS actually grants National interest waiver approvals by year and country of birth, from the agency's own report. 2 min read · 45 published figures I-140 by country of birth: India, China and everyone else Country of birth does not change the petition. It changes everything after it. 1 min read · 35 published figures I-140 denial rates by preference, and how they have moved EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 denials as a share of decisions, since 2014. 1 min read · 45 published figures EB-1 approvals: what extraordinary ability looks like in numbers The three EB-1 sub-categories, and how the mix has shifted. 2 min read · 64 published figures

EAD processing times: OPT, H-4, asylum and adjustment compared USCIS reports I-765 by eligibility basis. Four queues, four very different waits. 1 min read · 26 published figures USCIS denial rates by form — and why we refuse to grade on them The figures are published, so here they are. What they cannot tell you is the point. 3 min read · 80 published figures