Recent data appears to show that the USCIS is transferring to local field offices responsibility for adjudicating standalone Forms I-130, Petitions for Alien Relatives, filed by U.S. citizens on behalf of their immediate relatives (spouses, parents, and minor children). At the same time, posted processing times have increased to nearly seven years at field offices.
Key Terms
A Form I-130 is filed by a U.S. citizen with USCIS to establish they have a genuine, qualifying family relationship with a foreign relative. It is the first phase in the process to apply for lawful permanent resident status, i.e., a green card.
In the second phase, the relative files a Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, with USCIS, or files an immigrant visa application with a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.
A “standalone” Form I-130 means one filed without a Form I-485, usually because the relative is abroad.
USCIS Statistics for FY2026 Q3
Between March and June 2026, USCIS appears to have transferred responsibility for over 400,000 immediate-relative Forms I-130 from its regional service centers to local field offices.
USCIS’s FY2026 second-quarter I-130 performance report (covering Jan. to Mar.) shows that nearly half a million I-130s were pending for immediate relatives at regional service centers:
| USCIS Offices: | Number of Pending I-130s: |
|---|---|
| Regional Service Centers | 480,881 |
| National Benefits Center | 12,624 |
| Local Field Offices | 255,509 |
| Total | 761,638 |
In contrast, USCIS’s FY2026 third-quarter I-130 performance report (covering Apr. to June) shows a huge drop in these cases at regional service centers and a corresponding increase at local field offices:
| USCIS Offices: | Number of Pending I-130s: |
|---|---|
| Regional Service Centers | 62,418 |
| National Benefits Center | 12,779 |
| Local Field Offices | 711,526 |
| Total | 786,723 |
In March 2026, USCIS reported that regional center processing times for immediate-relative I-130s averaged 17 months. Now, in Oct. 2026, USCIS reports that field office processing times for such cases is 83.5 months:
In short, U.S. citizens appear to be subject to increases of more than 5 years in processing their relatives Forms I-130. It’s now reportedly taking USCIS nearly 7 years to adjudicate a Form I-130. During this time, citizens living in the United States are separated from their spouses, parents, and minor children waiting abroad.
Silence from USCIS
USCIS does not appear to have made any announcement about the transfer of responsibility for these Forms I-130 or the increased processing time.
USCIS has archived a 2023 webpage titled “Workload Transfer Updates” that explained:
If we transfer your case, we will send you a transfer notice. Your receipt number will not change, and the transfer will not delay the processing of your case.
These days, USCIS does not consistently advice petitioners that their cases have been transferred away from the office noted in their receipt notice. This can be frustrating to attorneys and clients. One tip is that calling the USCIS Customer Service Center may help discover whether a transfer has taken place. See AILA’s practice pointer, Understanding USCIS Updates to Processing Times Information (May 1, 2026).
Maybe there’s an intrepid immigration reporter interested in trying to get to the bottom of this topic. I’ve also reported this to the AILA USCIS Operations Committee to see if they can find out more.
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