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Original Date Announced
September 11, 2026The American Immigration Council reports that new government data reveal a continued and accelerating growth in the USCIS backlog even as new filings have decreased. AIC attributes the trend to the Trump administration's restrictive immigration policies and procedures.
Despite a 45% decrease in received forms compared to the prior year, the backlog of pending cases climbed to 12.1 million in the second quarter of FY2026. Approval rates for the following petitions dropped most sharply between FY2025 Q2 and FY2026:
- I-485 applications for Adjustment of Status (AOS) by Cuban nationals: 44.6 percentage-point decrease
- I-485 applications for AOS by refugees: 31.3 percentage-point decrease
- Petitions for workers of extraordinary ability (EB-1 E11): 31.0 percentage-point decrease
As a result of these processing declines, the estimated time to clear the backlog has nearly doubled year-over-year to 24.1 months.
Notably, the number of approvals for employment-based I-485 AOS applications nearly doubled between Q1 and Q2 in FY2026.
For more information, visit the USCIS Immigration Filing Trends Dashboard.
Trump 2.0 [ID #2403]
2026.09.11 Reported: USCIS Backlog Grows Even as Agency Gets Fewer Filings - American Immigration CouncilCurrent Status
NoneOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: ReportedTrump Administration Actions: Change in Practice Data and ReportsSubject Matter: Immigrant Visas Non-Immigrant VisasAgencies Affected: USCIS
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
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