The Scale of the U.S. Immigration Backlog
Figures reflect the total number of pending immigration applications handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as of mid-2025. “Net backlog” refers to cases that have exceeded USCIS’s internal processing time goals, while “frontlog” represents applications received but not yet opened or entered into the adjudication pipeline. Estimated wait times are based on weighted averages across major visa categories.