- The office ranked 90th of 90, with first place representing the fastest processing.
- Yakima posted 21 months, while Spokane recorded 22 months.
USCIS data updated October 19, 2026, puts the time for deciding 80% of family-based I-485 cases at the Seattle, Washington field office at 36 months. The figure applies to that application category and office.
The agency’s 93% measure is 56.5 months. Applicants can ask about a delayed case when their receipt date falls before the inquiry cutoff displayed for their category and office.
Both percentages reflect cases the agency completed during the preceding six months. They describe past decisions, not a schedule for an individual application.
Form I-485, the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, covers applications to adjust status to permanent residence. Family-based cases are the only category for which the agency publishes separate I-485 figures by field office.
Employment-based cases are reported as a combined figure for all field offices. In that category, 80% were decided within 9.5 months and 93% within 19 months.
The 93% figure, rather than the 80% statistic, determines when a case falls outside normal processing time for an inquiry. The cutoff is a receipt-date threshold, and applicants need to check the current date for their case.
The field office sits last among 90
The office ranked 90th of 90, with first place representing the fastest processing. The median field-office time for deciding 80% of family-based cases was 16 months.
These comparisons use the same 80% measure. The gap between offices is wide.
| Office or comparison | 80% measure |
|---|---|
| Seattle field office | 36 months |
| San Jose, California | 32.5 months |
| Spokane, Washington | 22 months |
| Yakima, Washington | 21 months |
| Median field office | 16 months |
| Burlington, Vermont, and Tucson, Arizona | 8.5 months |
The Washington offices outside the Seattle area also recorded longer waits than the national median. Burlington and Tucson shared the shortest figure in this comparison.
One Tacoma family has waited through an interview
Abanub Gorgye and his U.S. citizen wife filed his green card application in October 2025. After an interview, they were still waiting in November 2026 to learn whether the application would be approved. The agency told them the process could take three years.
The couple also filed for his work authorization in October 2025. A year later, he still had not received authorization to work. Gorgye described how the wait affected the family:
“This is affecting our life every day. We can't travel. We can't see our family. We can't have jobs. We can't be normal functioning human beings.”
Karol Brown, an immigration lawyer who leads the World One Law group in Bellevue, said delays had worsened. She pointed to the region’s history as a hub for immigrant workers and suggested that changes in which kinds of work receive priority could be one possible factor.
“The backlog and delays are much worse now than at any other time in my 25 years as an immigration lawyer. Processes that used to take three or four months are now taking a year. Other case types that were decided in six to nine months are now taking years,” Brown said.
The displayed receipt-date cutoff controls inquiries
Applicants should check the current processing-time tool for the correct form, case category and field office. If their receipt date is earlier than the displayed cutoff, they can submit an inquiry through e-Request.
An inquiry may not resolve a case immediately. If there is no result 60 days later, applicants can contact the CIS Ombudsman or ask a member of Congress to inquire.
The address on an application helps determine which field office handles it. If an applicant moves, the case may transfer to the office serving the new address, so the relevant processing figure can change.
Use the current cutoff shown for the case before submitting an inquiry. The displayed threshold, not the 80% statistic, determines whether the receipt date qualifies.
