USCIS processing times

USCIS processing times are easy to find out. They differ from place to place throughout the country.

USCIS processing times

USCIS on its website provides a useful tool to determine USCIS processing times. The website doesn’t get updated frequently. It provides an approximation only. To start with, select the USCIS office adjudicating your application. Next to it you will find a button taking the user to USCIS processing times for the selected office.

Below we are providing the legend of USCIS offices and their abbreviations. 

Refresh the page. It will take you to the chart in yellow and green colors. It will list various kinds of petitions that the selected office processes. You will find USCIS processing times right next to it.

If your case is not within normal USCIS processing times, submit an e-request

USCIS processing times is a good tool to find out whether your petition is pending for too long. If processing goes for longer than the USCIS processing times that are normal, submit an e-request. Please use the next window below to submit your request. 

Please contact us if you want an immigration lawyer to submit an erequest for you.

USCIS mails receipt notices with unique receipt numbers. They start with a combination of 3 letters. These combinations show what USCIS office adjudicates your petition. The legend follows below:

first three letters on receipt:

VSC – Vermont;

WAC – same as CSC;

CSC – California;

EAC – same as VSC;

LIN – Nebraska;

NSC – same as LIN;

SRC – Texas;

TSC – same as SRC;

MSC – National Benefits Center;

IOE – ELIS;

NBC – same as MSC;

YSC – Potomac;

Asylum office abbreviations

Asylum receipts begin with 3 letters noting the city where asylum office is located. Below is the legend for these abbreviations:

ZSF – San Francisco;

ZLA – Los Angeles;

ZCH – Chicago;

ZAR – Arlington;

ZHN – Houston;

ZMI – Miami;

ZNK – Newark;

ZNY – New York;

You can inquire at the asylum office about the status of your case. Now you can also check status online at this link.

You can find which asylum office adjudicates your application here. Follow the link to get some info about the office. They usually have inquiry hours on their web pages. 

USCIS processing times — start the inquiry with the number of your receipt

USCIS issues a receipt in all cases. 

Below is a copy of a sample notice. Case number is marked by the red box. 

USCIS has taken some measures to process cases faster

Recently in 2019 USCIS decided to better utilize its field offices and service centers. USCIS used to schedule interviews in adjustment and naturalization cases strictly based on their jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence. Now they schedule interviews outside of the field office’s primary service area.

While this strategy may help free resources and process cases faster, this can be a major inconvenience for applicants and their immigration lawyers. For example, we recently had a resident of Bay Point, in the San Francisco, Bay Area, scheduled for an adjustment interview in Sacramento. His first interview was in San Francisco before the new policy kicked in.