Introduction to the SIJ Petition Backlog
USCIS has released its I-360 Special Immigrant Juvenile performance data through the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2026. It covers the period ending June 30, 2026. The data, published by the agency’s Chief Data and Analytics Office, shows that approximately 33,643 Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions remained pending at the end of Q3. That figure has held very steady across all three quarters of the fiscal year so far. For advocates, families, and lawyers handling SIJ petitions, this picture of the SIJ petition backlog offers meaningful context. It helps clarify current processing conditions and what applicants can fairly expect.
Background
The Immigration and Nationality Act creates the Special Immigrant Juvenile classification. It provides a pathway to lawful permanent residence for children in the United States whom someone has abused, abandoned, or neglected, and whom a qualifying state court order has addressed. The process begins with an I-360 petition filed with USCIS, which checks whether the child meets the statutory definition. Approval of the I-360 does not automatically confer a green card. It establishes the classification and allows the child to pursue adjustment of status or consular processing, subject to visa access.
Filings have grown dramatically over the past decade. From fewer than 2,000 petitions received in 2010, annual receipts climbed to more than 78,000 in Fiscal Year 2025. USCIS processing capacity has not always kept pace with that growth, leading to periods of significant backlog. This was most notable in Fiscal Year 2018 and 2019, when pending cases passed 29,000 and 33,000 respectively, before a surge in approvals in 2020 drew that number down sharply.
FY2026 Q3 Data on the SIJ Petition Backlog
The new data reveals a consistent pending volume across the first three quarters of Fiscal Year 2026. At the close of Q1 (December 2025), 34,446 petitions were pending. That number declined slightly to 33,270 at the end of Q2 (March 2026). It edged back up to 33,643 at the end of Q3 (June 2026). Through the first three quarters of the fiscal year, USCIS received 43,963 petitions, approved 42,649, and denied 1,692. This suggests that approvals are running roughly in step with new filings, but not at a pace that significantly reduces the built-up backlog.
The agency’s data notes that one cannot figure pending totals by simply adding or removing prior-period data. That’s because these figures do not reflect some case actions, including administrative closures and inter-office transfers. The total pending count represents cases actively awaiting a decision as of the end of each reporting period. It is not a raw arithmetic remainder.
Who Is Affected
The most directly affected individuals are the children who have filed or will file I-360 petitions under the SIJ classification. These are young people who have already gone through state court dependency or guardianship proceedings and are now awaiting federal adjudication of their immigration status. Many of these individuals are teenagers or young adults for whom timing has significant legal consequences. Aging out of juvenile court jurisdiction or reaching age 21 can affect eligibility.
Case volume and pending counts also directly affect attorneys and nonprofit legal service providers who represent SIJ petitioners. This shapes how they advise clients on timelines and planning. Pending immigration status indirectly affects employers, sponsors, and foster care systems that have responsibilities toward these young people. It affects work authorization, benefits eligibility, and long-term stability. The data does not specify approval rates by nationality, office, or age group. Those aspects remain unclear from this release alone.
Practical Implications of the SIJ Petition Backlog
A pending count that has remained in the 33,000 to 34,000 range across three consecutive quarters suggests that USCIS is processing SIJ petitions at roughly the rate applicants file them. But USCIS is not clearing the SIJ petition backlog built up from prior years. For a petitioner filing today, this means joining a queue. That queue has been at this approximate size for the better part of a year. Actual adjudication timelines vary by field office and individual case circumstances. USCIS does not publish office-specific SIJ processing time data in this release.
One dimension that warrants close attention is the relationship between I-360 approval and visa availability. Even after USCIS approves an I-360, many SIJ beneficiaries must wait for an immigrant visa number before they can adjust status to lawful permanent resident. This is particularly true for those from countries with high demand, such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. That I-360 approval itself is only one step in a longer process. The backlog data here does not capture the downstream waiting periods those applicants face.
Denial rates also reflect some year-over-year volatility. Denials peaked at 2,545 in Fiscal Year 2019 and have fluctuated since, with FY2025 recording 1,798 denials against 78,156 receipts. Through Q3 of FY2026, USCIS has already recorded 1,692 denials on 43,963 filings. Whether this reflects shifting adjudication standards, petition quality, or changes in the underlying population of filers is not discernible from the aggregate data alone. Still, it underscores that approval is not automatic and that petition preparation remains consequential.
What to Watch For Next
USCIS will release Q4 FY2026 data — covering July through September 2026 — in a subsequent update. That release will complete the full fiscal year picture and allow comparison against FY2025’s record-high receipt volume. Stakeholders should monitor whether the pending count remains stable, increases, or begins to decline as Q4 data becomes available. Any significant change in receipts, approvals, or processing capacity in the final quarter could shift the trajectory. This trajectory heads into Fiscal Year 2027.
This data release does not reflect further guidance from USCIS on processing times, prioritization policies, or staffing changes at offices with heavy SIJ caseloads. The source material does not reference any such announcements. Practitioners and advocates should continue monitoring official USCIS channels for updates specific to SIJ adjudication policy.
How Immigration Professional Association Can Help With the SIJ Petition Backlog
Immigration Professional Association has worked with families, advocates, and young people handling the Special Immigrant Juvenile process. It is a pathway that is both technically demanding and personally high-stakes. The SIJ classification requires careful coordination between state court proceedings and federal immigration filings. The petition itself must satisfy specific eligibility criteria that can be difficult to document without experienced legal support.
Our team understands the importance of getting the I-360 right the first time. This matters especially given the SIJ petition backlog data showing that USCIS denies well over a thousand petitions each fiscal year. We also help clients think through the full pathway, from I-360 filing through adjustment of status. This includes the visa availability considerations that affect how long the process ultimately takes after approval.
If you are supporting a child or young person who may qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile status, we can help. If you have questions about where a pending petition stands and what comes next, Immigration Professional Association is ready to work through the specifics with you. Reach out to our team to discuss how we can assist with SIJ petitions. We can also help with the broader green card process that follows.
