The I-360 processing time runs from about six months for the fastest categories to more than two years for the slowest, with an overall median of 5.9 months across all categories through the first part of fiscal year 2026. That median hides a lot. Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions tend to move on the quicker end, VAWA self-petitions sit at the far slow end, and religious worker and widow cases fall between them. Your category, your evidence, and whether USCIS asks for more documents will decide where your case actually lands.
Wait Times by I-360 Category
USCIS uses one form for several very different humanitarian and special immigrant petitions, and each category has its own rhythm.
Special Immigrant Juvenile. USCIS aims to decide SIJ petitions within 180 days of filing.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Special Immigrant Juveniles This is the target the agency publicly commits to, and SIJ cases generally move faster than other I-360 types.
VAWA self-petitions. Petitions filed by survivors of domestic abuse consistently take the longest. The evidence review is heavy, credibility assessments are part of the process, and waits beyond two years are common. The Vermont Service Center handles most VAWA filings, and volume there contributes to the backlog.
Widow or widower petitions. Surviving spouses of deceased U.S. citizens generally see shorter windows than VAWA petitioners, though the timeline moves with USCIS caseload.
Religious worker petitions. These can require a pre-adjudication compliance site visit, and USCIS will not process the petition until that visit is completed successfully.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Special Immigrant Religious Workers Whether a site visit is scheduled, and how quickly, can meaningfully shift the total wait.
How to Check Your Own Estimate
Published processing times move as caseloads and staffing change, so the current estimate for your category is only a click away. Use the USCIS processing times tool at egov.uscis.gov/processing-times, select I-360 as the form, and choose your category. The tool shows the range within which USCIS is completing cases. USCIS has also adjusted how it reports these metrics, so some categories no longer tie to a specific service center.
To track your individual petition, use Case Status Online.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online You will need your receipt number, the 13-character identifier (three letters followed by 10 numbers) that appears on any Notice of Action USCIS has sent you.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case Status Online The status page shows the most recent action: receipt, biometrics scheduling, a Request for Evidence, a transfer, or a decision. Check it regularly. A missed Request for Evidence can end in a denial if you do not respond by the deadline.
What Slows a Case Down
Every I-360 petitioner is subject to background checks. USCIS may require biometrics (fingerprints, photograph, and signature) at any point to verify identity and run FBI criminal history checks.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-360 Instructions If biometrics are needed, you will receive an appointment notice. USCIS does not publish a fixed timeline for when those notices go out.
The single biggest source of delay is a Request for Evidence. If an officer decides the record does not establish eligibility, the officer can deny outright or issue an RFE giving you a set deadline to respond. That deadline cannot exceed 12 weeks for a Request for Evidence, or 30 days for a Notice of Intent to Deny.6eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests No extensions are granted.
Here is the part that catches people off guard. When USCIS issues an RFE because required initial evidence was missing, the processing clock does not pause. It restarts from zero once the agency receives your response.6eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests A petition already eight months into the queue effectively returns to the starting line. That is the practical reason a thorough initial filing matters so much: a thin application does not just risk a delay, it can add months or years to your total wait.
Two other factors sit in the background. Mailing your petition to the wrong filing address causes its own delay.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-360 And USCIS periodically shifts internal priorities, which can lengthen or shorten windows for a given category without warning.
The Prima Facie Notice for VAWA Petitioners
VAWA self-petitioners get an early milestone that other I-360 categories do not. After USCIS receives the petition, it performs a preliminary review to check whether the filing contains enough evidence on its face to support the claim. This is not a full credibility or merits review. It is a threshold check.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 3 Part D Chapter 5 – Adjudication
If the petition clears that bar, USCIS issues a Notice of Prima Facie Case. The notice lets the petitioner and any derivative beneficiaries qualify as “qualified aliens” eligible for certain public benefits while the full adjudication continues. With VAWA waits running into years, benefits access during that stretch can matter a great deal.
The initial notice is valid for one year. If USCIS has not decided the petition by then, the agency automatically sends a renewal within 60 days of the expiration date, and each renewal lasts 180 days. Renewals continue in 180-day cycles until adjudication is finished.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 3 Part D Chapter 5 – Adjudication Two limits to know: if your I-360 is denied, USCIS will not reissue or extend the notice, and filing an appeal of a denial does not extend an existing notice’s validity.
What to Do When Your Case Is Delayed
If your case has been pending longer than the posted processing time for your category, submit an inquiry through the USCIS e-Request system. The tool checks your filing date against the published range and lets you flag a case that has fallen outside it. There is one catch: if USCIS has taken any action on your case in the past 60 days (a notice, an evidence request, or an online status update), the agency treats the case as active and will not accept an inquiry.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Check Case Processing If your form type is not listed in the processing time table at all, USCIS’s stated goal is a six-month decision, and it asks you to wait that long before filing an inquiry.
VAWA, T-visa, and U-visa petitioners have a dedicated line at the USCIS Contact Center that routes calls to representatives trained on humanitarian cases and heightened privacy protections. The general USCIS number is 1-800-375-5283.
If inquiries and calls do not move the case, you can escalate to the CIS Ombudsman, an independent office within the Department of Homeland Security that investigates persistent processing problems. Before filing a request for assistance, you must have contacted USCIS in the last 90 days and given the agency at least 60 days to try to resolve the issue.10Department of Homeland Security. How to Submit a Case Assistance Request Because the Ombudsman sits outside USCIS, it can push back on stalled files.11Department of Homeland Security. DHS Form 7001 – Request for Case Assistance
Expedite Requests
In genuinely urgent situations, you can ask USCIS to speed up your petition. The agency decides these case by case and keeps sole discretion. Recognized grounds include:12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Expedite Requests
- Severe financial loss to a company or person, with compelling factors beyond the need for work authorization on its own.
- Urgent humanitarian situations, such as serious illness, disability, death in the family, or extreme conditions caused by natural disasters or armed conflict.
- Nonprofit interests, where an IRS-designated nonprofit’s request furthers U.S. cultural or social interests.
- Government interests involving public safety, national interest, or national security.
- A clear USCIS error that caused the delay.
Filing a humanitarian petition alone, without documented time-sensitive factors, generally will not qualify. You need evidence that your specific circumstances demand faster action. For religious worker cases, USCIS will not process an expedite request until any required compliance site visit is completed successfully.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Special Immigrant Religious Workers
If Your Petition Is Denied
A denial changes the timeline but does not always end the case. In most I-360 categories, you have 30 calendar days from the date USCIS issues its decision to file an appeal or motion using Form I-290B. If the decision was mailed, you get 33 calendar days, counted from the mailing date rather than the date you received it.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion For appeals of a decision revoking an already-approved petition, the deadline is 15 calendar days (18 if mailed).
Widow and widower petitioners are the exception. A denial in that category is appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals on Form EOIR-29, not I-290B.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion Your denial notice will tell you which form and which appellate body has jurisdiction.
Appeals of I-360 denials go to the Administrative Appeals Office, which targets completion within 180 days of receiving the complete case file. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, the AAO completed 100% of I-360 VAWA appeals (37 cases), 100% of SIJ appeals (31), and 100% of religious worker appeals (5) within that 180-day goal.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AAO Processing Times Unusually complex cases, or cases where the AAO needs more documentation, can run longer.
After Approval, the Timeline Is Not Over
An approved I-360 is not a green card. It establishes your eligibility for immigrant status, and one more step still stands between approval and permanent residence. If you are in the United States and eligible, you file Form I-485 to adjust status.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status If you are abroad, you go through consular processing. Most categories require the I-360 to be approved before you can file the I-485, though some allow concurrent filing depending on visa availability.
For SIJ petitioners whose immigrant visa number is not immediately available, the wait between I-360 approval and being able to file for adjustment can stretch for years depending on the visa bulletin. USCIS has been automatically considering approved SIJ beneficiaries in that situation for deferred action, which can open a path to work authorization while they wait.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Special Immigrant Juvenile SIJ Frequently Asked Questions That policy has been subject to litigation, so check the USCIS SIJ page for the current status.
For VAWA self-petitioners, an approved I-360 opens the door to applying for an Employment Authorization Document. A pending I-360 alone does not give you the right to work, and VAWA petitioners cannot file Form I-765 until the I-360 is approved unless they also have a pending I-485 adjustment application.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. VAWA Authorized EADs With multi-year waits common in this category, the gap in work authorization is a real practical burden that ends only when the petition is approved.