I-140 Processing Time (Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers)

Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers): At a typical office, half of I-140 cases finish within about 20 months and 8 in 10 within about 21.4 months. The full range across case types and offices runs from 2.5 months to 2.9 years (USCIS data, August 17, 2026).

Trend: a year ago, a typical office's median for I-140 was 14 months; today it is 19.8 months — about 5.8 months slower than last year.

Advanced degree or exceptional ability (E21)

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	2.5 months	7.5 months

Advanced degree or exceptional ability requesting a National Interest Waiver (NIW)

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	about 2.4 years	about 2.7 years

Extraordinary ability (E11)

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	about 2.6 years	about 2.9 years

Multinational executive or manager (E13)

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	about 2.3 years	about 2.4 years

Outstanding professor or researcher (E12)

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	15.5 months	19 months

Schedule A Nurses

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	about 2 years	about 2.2 years

Skilled worker or professional (E31; E32)

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	4 months	8.5 months

Unskilled worker (EW3)

Office	Half of cases within	Nearly all (93%) within
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)	7.5 months	12.5 months

Use the Processing Times tool to add your filing date and see a personalized estimate for your pending case, or explore the Department of Labor queues and the Visa Bulletin waiting line on the same page.