I-140 EB-2 for Philippines

Professionals holding an advanced degree, people of exceptional ability, and national interest waiver petitions.

263

Petitions filed

FY2026 born in the Philippines

148

Approved

in the same year

3.3%

Denied, of decisions

5 denials

110

Pending

still awaiting a decision

How long an I-140 takes

USCIS reported a median processing time of 3.4 months for I-140 in FY2026 Q2 — for the form as a whole. The agency does not publish a separate processing time for EB-2, or for any other preference, so no page on this site claims one.

What it does publish per preference is the volume: how many petitions were filed, approved, denied and left pending, by fiscal year and by country of birth. That is everything below.

EB-2 is the most oversubscribed employment category for India and China. For those countries the visa queue after approval, not this petition, is what determines the wait.

Year by year for Philippines

Fiscal years, by the year the petition was received.

Fiscal year	Filed	Approved	Denied	Denial share	Pending
FY2026 (part year)	263	148	5	3.3%	110
FY2025	474	283	62	18.0%	129
FY2024	357	246	68	21.7%	43
FY2023	287	232	50	17.7%	5
FY2022	380	352	19	5.1%	9
FY2021	373	340	32	8.6%	1
FY2020	409	375	32	7.9%	2
FY2019	591	450	137	23.3%	4
FY2018	781	630	142	18.4%	9
FY2017	1,046	824	209	20.2%	13
FY2016	1,411	1,109	280	20.2%	22
FY2015	1,117	944	170	15.3%	3
FY2014	1,403	1,178	212	15.3%	13

A petition received in one year is often decided in a later one, so approvals and denials in a row do not add up to that row's filings. The most recent year is partial — it runs only to the end of the quarter this release covers.

What EB-2 approvals were granted under

FY2026 approvals born in the Philippines. USCIS reports the sub-category only for petitions it approved, so there is no denial figure at this level.

Professionals with Advanced Degrees 139

National Interest Waiver 9