US immigration cases top 10M; backlog cut first time in decade

Taylor Delandro

9 months ago

UTQIAGVIK, ALASKA - AUGUST 10: A new American citizen hlds an envelope with her U.S. citizenship certificate following a naturalization ceremony on August 10, 2023 in Utqiagvik, Alaska. Located along the Arctic Ocean, Utqiagvik is the northernmost settlement in the United States. Formerly known as Barrow, the town of nearly 5,000 people is mostly populated by indigenous Iñupiat, but also with a growing immigrant population. This year U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), who held the ceremony, launched a nationwide effort to bring immigration services to remote locations to help legal immigrants, often green card holders, to become American citizens. In the case of Utqiagvik, petitioners would have normally needed to take the two-hour flight to Anchorage, often multiple times, for citizenship appointments. The USCIS effort puts into effect the Biden Administration's Executive Order 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans. The order, issued on February 2, 2021, instructs U.S. government agencies to promote citizenship through naturalization, improve the naturalization process overall and reduce wait times for applicants. It also revoked a Trump-era memorandum designed to slow and ultimately restrict legal immigration. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — After completing an unprecedented 10 million immigration cases, the United States has reduced its backlog for the first time in over a decade, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

USCIS reports in fiscal year 2023, it received 10.9 million filings and completed more than 10 million pending cases — both breaking numbers in the agency’s history. This reduced overall backlogs by 15%.

“We’ve completed a record number of cases, responded to emerging crises around the globe with essential humanitarian relief, and applied innovative solutions to improve customer experience and reduce backlogs,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou.

The agency processed more than 878,500 citizenship applications, including 12,000 for military members, effectively eliminating the naturalization application backlog.

The median processing time for naturalization applicants decreased from 10.5 to 6.1 months, the agency said.

Additionally, USCIS introduced technology solutions to improve customer service experience. Its new online rescheduling of biometrics appointments was used to reschedule over 33,000 appointments in fiscal year 2023.

The agency issued more than 192,000 employment-based immigrant visas, supporting workers and employers, far above the pre-pandemic number, and, for the second year running ensured that no available visas went unused.