USCIS Calendar: Holidays, Visa Bulletin, and Processing Times

The USCIS calendar for 2026 has three moving parts you need to track together: the 11 federal holidays when USCIS offices and Application Support Centers are closed, the monthly Visa Bulletin that controls when green card applicants can move forward, and the processing time ranges that tell you when your case is running late. Knowing how these interact prevents missed appointments, blown deadlines, and unnecessary waiting.

2026 Federal Holidays When USCIS Is Closed

USCIS field offices, Application Support Centers, and the USCIS Contact Center all close on the 11 federal holidays. When a holiday falls on Saturday, the preceding Friday is treated as the holiday; when it falls on Sunday, the following Monday is observed.¹

New Year’s Day: Thursday, January 1
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Monday, January 19
Washington’s Birthday: Monday, February 16
Memorial Day: Monday, May 25
Juneteenth National Independence Day: Friday, June 19
Independence Day: Friday, July 3 (observed; the actual date is Saturday, July 4)
Labor Day: Monday, September 7
Columbus Day: Monday, October 12
Veterans Day: Wednesday, November 11
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 26
Christmas Day: Friday, December 25

You cannot schedule biometrics or interview appointments on any of these dates. Severe weather and other emergencies can also force unscheduled closures, which USCIS posts on its office closings page. Check the morning of your appointment if conditions look questionable.²

How Holidays Shift Filing Deadlines

If the last day to submit a paper filing or respond to a USCIS notice falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline extends to the next business day. A paper filing received by the end of that next business day is timely.³ The rule applies to initial applications and to responses to Requests for Evidence or notices of intent to deny.

Electronic filings do not get this extension. USCIS considers an online submission received the moment you hit send, regardless of whether it lands on a holiday or weekend.⁴ For paper filings, the receipt date still reflects the day USCIS physically received the package, even when the extension applies.

Two dates on the 2026 calendar are worth flagging because they compress a workweek: Independence Day falls on Saturday, July 4, so Friday, July 3 is closed, and Christmas Day falls on Friday, December 25. Paper deadlines landing in those windows roll to the next business day.

Appointments, Rescheduling, and Missed Notices

After USCIS accepts your application, you may be scheduled for a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center and, later, an interview at a field office. Each appointment is communicated through a Form I-797C (Notice of Action) mailed to the address on file, listing date, time, and location.⁵

If USCIS closes an office on your scheduled date, the agency will automatically reschedule and send a new notice. If bad weather prevents you from attending even though the office stayed open, USCIS may still reschedule if you can show the weather made it impossible to get there.²

If you cannot attend a biometrics appointment for any other reason, you must request a reschedule before the scheduled date and show good cause. Acceptable reasons include illness, previously planned travel, a family event like a wedding or funeral, inability to get transportation, or a late-delivered notice. Requests go through your myUSCIS online account or the USCIS Contact Center. USCIS does not accept rescheduling requests by mail or in person.⁶

If you simply do not appear and have not requested a reschedule, USCIS may treat the entire application as abandoned and deny it.⁵ The agency does have discretion to consider a late reschedule request after the date has passed, weighing how much time elapsed, whether you had a sufficient reason, and whether denial would cause serious hardship.⁶ The safer course is to request the change before the appointment.

The Monthly Visa Bulletin Cycle

The Department of State publishes a Visa Bulletin each month that controls when green card applicants in limited preference categories can move forward. This is a separate calendar from USCIS processing times. Even if USCIS finishes reviewing your petition quickly, you cannot receive a green card until the Bulletin says a visa number is available for your category and country of birth.⁷

Your place in line depends on your priority date. For family-sponsored cases, the priority date is typically the date USCIS received your I-130 petition. For employment-based cases, it is usually the date the Department of Labor accepted the labor certification application, or if no labor certification is required, the date USCIS accepted the I-140.⁷

Reading the Two Charts

The Bulletin has two charts. Chart A (Final Action Dates) shows when a visa number is actually available for issuance. Your I-485 adjustment of status application can only be approved once your priority date falls on or before the date in Chart A. Chart B (Dates for Filing) is more permissive. It shows when you can submit your I-485, even though a final visa number may not be available yet.⁸ Filing early under Chart B puts your I-485 in the queue and can secure work authorization and travel documents while you wait.

Each month, USCIS announces which chart applicants should use. If enough visas are available, filing under Chart B is allowed. Otherwise, applicants must use Chart A. A “C” next to your preference category means visas are current and immediately available. A “U” means visas are temporarily unavailable.⁷

Categories, Cross-Chargeability, and the CSPA Clock

Family-sponsored preference categories run from F1 (unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) through F4 (brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens), with F2A covering spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents. Employment-based categories run from EB-1 through EB-5, and wait times vary dramatically by country. Indian and Chinese nationals in EB-2 and EB-3 routinely face backlogs measured in years, while applicants from most other countries may find their dates current.⁷

If your country of birth has a long backlog but your spouse’s does not, cross-chargeability may let you use your spouse’s country for visa allocation. A principal applicant can charge to a derivative spouse’s country, and vice versa. Derivative children can use either parent’s more favorable country. A parent cannot use a child’s country of birth.⁹ Both applicants must be eligible to adjust status.

Children who turn 21 while waiting could lose eligibility as derivatives. The Child Status Protection Act freezes the child’s age in many cases using a formula: biological age on the date a visa becomes available, minus the number of days the underlying petition was pending. USCIS uses the Final Action Dates chart to determine visa availability for this purpose. To preserve the benefit, the child must seek to adjust status within one year of the date the visa becomes available. Missing that one-year window can forfeit CSPA protection entirely.¹⁰

Processing Time Ranges and When You Can Inquire

USCIS publishes estimated processing times for every major form at egov.uscis.gov. Select your form, the category, and the service center or field office handling your case, and the tool displays a time range based on recently completed cases.¹¹

The two numbers mean different things. The lower number is the median: half of all cases finished within that period. The higher number is the point at which about 93% of cases were completed. Ranges include all delays within a case. If USCIS sends a Request for Evidence, the weeks or months you spend gathering documents and responding count toward the total. The clock does not pause while you prepare your response.¹²

To track your specific case, you need the 13-character receipt number on your Form I-797 Notice of Action. It starts with three letters (like EAC, WAC, or IOE) followed by ten digits, and it goes into the USCIS case status page.¹³

If your case has been pending past the upper end of the published range, the processing times tool generates a case inquiry date for your form and office. Once you pass that date, you can submit a case inquiry through the e-Request tool online.¹⁴ For forms not listed in the processing times dropdown, USCIS allows an inquiry after six months from your receipt date.¹⁵ The inquiry date can shift month to month as USCIS updates its data, so check back if you are approaching that threshold.

Faster-Track Options: Premium Processing, Expedites, and Emergency Travel

Premium processing guarantees USCIS will take action within a set number of business days or refund the fee. It is only available for certain forms:¹⁶

Form I-129 (nonimmigrant worker petitions): 15 business days for most categories
Form I-140 (immigrant worker petitions): 15 business days for most categories; 45 business days for multinational executives and managers (E13) and national interest waivers (E21)
Form I-765 (employment authorization): 30 business days for eligible categories
Form I-539 (extension or change of nonimmigrant status): 30 business days for certain classifications

Fees vary. Most I-140 and I-129 petitions are $2,965. H-2B and R-1 petitions filed on Form I-129 are $1,780, and I-539 applications are $2,075.¹⁷ You request it by filing Form I-907 alongside the underlying petition. Family-based petitions like the I-130 and adjustment of status applications like the I-485 are not eligible.

For cases without a premium processing option, an expedite request is the alternative. USCIS evaluates these based on specific criteria, including severe financial loss to a person or company and emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations like serious illness, disability, or the death of a family member.¹⁸ Needing work authorization by itself is not enough. You must document the situation with a doctor’s letter, death certificate, evidence of impending business failure, or similar proof.

If you are in the United States and have a critical need to travel abroad within the next 15 days, USCIS may issue an emergency advance parole document. Call the Contact Center at 800-375-5283 or request an appointment through the My Appointment tool. If USCIS determines your situation qualifies, it will schedule a field office appointment where you file a new Form I-131 with supporting evidence. Even if you already have a pending I-131, the emergency appointment requires a new filing with its own fee.¹⁹

The 10-Day Address Change Deadline

Every noncitizen in the United States, with narrow exceptions for certain diplomats and visa waiver visitors, must report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving. This is a legal requirement regardless of whether you have a pending application.²⁰ The fastest route is the online Change of Address tool on uscis.gov. Paper submissions by mail take longer and increase the risk of notices going to your old address.²¹

Failure to report is a misdemeanor that can result in a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in jail, or both. Regardless of conviction, the government can place you in removal proceedings for this violation unless you can show the failure was reasonably excusable or not willful.²² The more common everyday harm is a missed appointment notice or Request for Evidence that leads to denial or abandonment of your case.

If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who filed an affidavit of support (Form I-864) for someone, you have a separate obligation to file Form I-865 within 30 days of moving.²⁰

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