I-765 processing times: every category and processing location
Last updated 2026-10-02 · General information, not legal advice
USCIS processing times for I-765 as published on 2026-09-17, this site's 2026-10-02 snapshot: 15 categories at 2 processing locations. The slowest line is 147-A3 at Service Center Operations (SCOPS), 18.5 months; the fastest is 147-C8I at Service Center Operations (SCOPS), 1 month. Each row gives the 80% line, the 93% line date that opens a case inquiry, and the change against a year ago. The figures refresh every week; how long before you can sue is in the I-765 work permit guide.
Every I-765 category and processing location
147-539C26: Based on being an H-4 spouse of an H-1B nonimmigrant (filed with I-539 H4) [(c)(26)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 6.5 months | 10 months receipt date before | — |
147-A18: Based on being an L-2 spouse of an L-1 nonimmigrant [(a)(18)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 18 months | 28 months receipt date before | — |
147-A3: Based on being admitted as a Refugee [(a)(3)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 18.5 months | 21.5 months receipt date before | — |
147-A5: Based on an approved asylum application [(a)(5)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 2.5 months | 17 months receipt date before | — |
147-C10: Application for Suspension of Deportation/Sec.244/NACARA/Cancel of Removal [(c)(10)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Benefits Center | 10 months | 24 months receipt date before | faster by 3 months |
147-C11: Based on parole
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Benefits Center | 13.5 months | 18 months receipt date before | slower by 9 months |
147-C18: Alien with Final Order of Deportation Under an OSUP [(c)(18)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Benefits Center | 16.5 months | 18.5 months receipt date before | slower by 13 months |
147-C26: Based on being an H-4 spouse of an H-1B nonimmigrant (Standalone; not filed with I-539 H4) [(c)(26)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 17.5 months | 19 months receipt date before | — |
147-C3: Based on a request by a qualified F-1 academic student [(c)(3)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 5 months | 6.5 months receipt date before | — |
147-C33: Based on an approved, concurrently filed, I-821D [(c)(33)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | see USCIS note | see USCIS note | — |
147-C8: Based on a pending asylum application [(c)(8)] -renewal/replacement
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 18.5 months | 21.5 months receipt date before | slower by 11.5 months |
147-C8I: Based on a pending asylum application [(c)(8)] – Initial Application
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 1 month | 4 weeks receipt date before | slower by 0.8 months |
147-C9: Based on a pending I-485 adjustment application [(c)(9)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 12.5 months | 16 months receipt date before | — |
| National Benefits Center | 12 months | 16.5 months receipt date before | slower by 8.5 months |
147-ELSAL: Based on TPS for El Salvador [(c)(19), (a)(12)]
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 18.5 months | 19.5 months receipt date before | — |
147-OTH: All other applications for employment authorization
| Office | 80% line | Case inquiry opens (93% line) | Versus a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCOPS) | 16 months | 19 months receipt date before | — |
| National Benefits Center | 10.5 months | 14.5 months receipt date before | slower by 7 months |
I-765 since 2022
Representative line: 147-C10 · National Benefits Center; the 80% line from the last snapshot of each quarter.
| Quarter | 80% line |
|---|---|
| 2022-Q1 | 5.5 months |
| 2022-Q2 | 8 months |
| 2022-Q3 | 9 months |
| 2022-Q4 | 9.5 months |
| 2023-Q1 | 11 months |
| 2023-Q2 | 12.5 months |
| 2023-Q3 | 14.5 months |
| 2023-Q4 | 16.5 months |
| 2024-Q1 | 16.5 months |
| 2024-Q2 | 16.5 months |
| 2024-Q3 | 17 months |
| 2024-Q4 | 18.5 months |
| 2025-Q1 | 18 months |
| 2025-Q2 | 14.5 months |
| 2025-Q3 | 13 months |
| 2025-Q4 | 5.5 months |
| 2026-Q1 | 7.5 months |
| 2026-Q2 | 9.5 months |
| 2026-Q3 | 10 months |
| 2026-Q4 | 10 months |
How to read the two columns
The 80% line is the time within which 80% of the cases completed in the previous six months were decided; USCIS calls it the "normal range". The 93% line is the case-inquiry gate: only a receipt date earlier than it lets you file an "outside normal processing time" inquiry. Neither is the court's test: a court weighs the six TRAC factors on your case, see when you can sue. This site's threshold for each form is in its guide.
Questions about the I-765 data
Why does the I-765 table show only 2 locations?
USCIS publishes I-765 per processing center, with no office-by-office breakdown. USCIS decides where the file is handled; the figure for your category is the one shown.
My category is past the 80% line. Can I sue?
The 80% line describes the agency's own output, and no statute makes it the threshold for a suit. This site's threshold for I-765 and the reasoning are in the I-765 work permit guide; past the 93% line, file a case inquiry first.
How often is this updated, and where is the history?
Source: the USCIS processing-times page, snapshot 2026-10-02 (USCIS publication date 2026-09-17), fetched and archived by this site every week; raw data and every past snapshot are on the USCIS data page. The "receipt date before" cutoff moves forward one day per day under the USCIS rule (today minus a fixed number of days); the page computes it for the day you open it, and without scripts it shows the snapshot-day date.