USCIS Processing Times for New York ApplicantsIs Your Case on Track, or Overdue?

It depends on the form and the office. Family petitions (I-130) and green card applications (I-485) commonly take about a year, work permits a few months, naturalization under a year at many offices, and affirmative asylum years. The tracker shows the typical range for each form and the official page shows the figure for your specific office.

Submit an e-Request through your USCIS account, ask your congressional representative's office to open a liaison inquiry, contact the CIS Ombudsman, and, for long delays, file a writ of mandamus in federal court to compel a decision. We handle mandamus cases nationwide.

No, but it adds time: a Request for Evidence commonly adds four to eight months. A complete, well-organized initial filing is the best way to avoid one.

A lawyer cannot skip the line, but can file an expedite request where criteria are met, fix a filing that is stuck on a solvable problem, and file mandamus when the delay is unreasonable. In many districts mandamus filings are resolved within 60 to 90 days.

Interviews for New York residents are scheduled at the field offices in New York City (Manhattan), Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island (Holtsville), Buffalo, Albany. The petition itself is usually adjudicated at a service center or the National Benefits Center, so check the processing time for the office named on your receipt notice, not just your nearest field office.

Enter the receipt number from your I-797C notice on the USCIS Case Status page, or create a USCIS online account to see updates and send inquiries. The tracker above tells you whether the time elapsed is normal for your form.