USCIS Releases February 2026 Congressional Processing Data Showing Significant Backlogs Across Core Benefit Categories
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published its February 2026 application processing data pursuant to congressional appropriations reporting requirements. The dataset provides a detailed snapshot of receipts, completions, pending inventory, and processing times across major immigration benefit forms.
The latest figures reveal continued strain across several high-impact categories. Particularly, this includes family-based immigrant petitions (Form I-130), employment authorization applications (Form I-765), and adjustment of status applications for refugees (Form I-485). Moreover, the data illustrates both the scale of pending inventories and disparities in processing time between classification types.
I-130 Family Petition Backlog Remains the Largest in the System
Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, now has 2,357,158 cases pending. Of those, approximately 2,020,098 have been pending for more than six months. This indicates that roughly 86 percent of the total inventory is outside the six-month timeframe.
The I-130 category represents the largest pending caseload among all tracked forms. Furthermore, it accounts for a significant share of the agency’s overall backlog. Because approval of an I-130 is a foundational step in most family-based immigration processes, delays at this stage extend the timeline for consular processing abroad. Additionally, it extends adjustment of status applications inside the United States.
For U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents petitioning for spouses, children, or other qualifying relatives, sustained backlogs may directly affect family reunification timelines. For practitioners and case managers, the data underscores the systemic pressure within family-based adjudications. It highlights the importance of tracking processing fluctuations across service centers.
Refugee-Based I-485 Processing Time Exceeds Seven Years on Average
Among all major benefit categories, the refugee-based Form I-485 adjustment of status shows the most prolonged average processing time at 87.6 months, or more than seven years. This figure significantly exceeds the average processing time for asylum-based I-485 filings, which stands at 26.1 months. In contrast, employment-based I-485 filings average approximately nine months.
The February data reflects 7,729 new receipts in the refugee I-485 category. Meanwhile, only two approvals were recorded during the same period. This imbalance indicates a severe slowdown in adjudicative throughput relative to incoming volume.
For refugees seeking lawful permanent residence after meeting statutory eligibility requirements, extended processing timelines can create prolonged uncertainty affecting stability, mobility, and long-term planning. For benefits eligibility and compliance planning, the sharp disparity between refugee-based and other I-485 categories highlights significant operational differences within adjustment workflows.
Employment Authorization Applications Continue to Dominate Monthly Filing Volume
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, recorded 209,279 new receipts in February alone. This is the highest intake volume among all tracked benefit types. The total pending inventory stands at approximately 1.775 million cases, with 1,175,147 pending for more than six months. Therefore, roughly 66 percent of the queue exceeds the six-month mark.
Given that employment authorization documents (EADs) are critical for maintaining lawful work authorization across a wide range of categories, delays have direct implications for both noncitizen applicants and U.S. employers. Applicants relying on timely initial or renewal EAD adjudications may face interruptions in income continuity. Meanwhile, employers must closely monitor work authorization validity and compliance with Form I-9 employment verification requirements.
The high monthly intake volume suggests that even modest shifts in adjudication capacity can materially influence pending totals. For organizations managing large numbers of foreign national employees, these figures provide insight into the scale of agency workload affecting employment continuity.
Why the Appropriations Report Matters for Stakeholders
The February 2026 report was released pursuant to congressional reporting requirements. These requirements are designed to enhance transparency regarding USCIS workload, processing times, receipts, and completions. Such reporting offers stakeholders a standardized dataset. It allows them to evaluate operational trends over time.
For immigrants and petitioners, the data provides context for understanding broader system-wide delays beyond individual case status inquiries. Employers and HR compliance teams, sustained EAD backlogs may require advance workforce planning and diligent work authorization monitoring. For attorneys and institutional sponsors, variations across I-485 categories and the concentration of I-130 inventory point to structural pressures within specific adjudication streams.
Monitoring congressional processing data can help identify emerging trends, measure agency throughput against intake levels, and anticipate potential operational impacts. As USCIS continues to update these reports, stakeholders across the immigration system may use the information. It helps them better understand the evolving administrative landscape.
