Nearly 12 million applications for immigration benefits were awaiting action at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by the end of September 2025, including 11.6 million in USCIS’ backlog and 247,974 unopened filings in a separate “frontlog,” according to an NPR review of USCIS data. NPR reported the backlog grew by about 2 million in the first year of President Trump’s second term, a faster rise than during his entire first term, leaving more applicants without timely proof their filings were received.
The Department of Homeland Security has taken longer to process applications for immigration benefits — including naturalization, green cards, work authorization and asylum — since the start of 2025, according to NPR’s analysis of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data.
Immigration policy analysts say the growing pileup has increased the number of immigrants who remain in legal limbo and, in some cases, can become more vulnerable to enforcement if they cannot quickly show proof that an application is pending.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, told NPR that the slowdown reflects an enforcement-first approach. “Throttle everything, focus entirely on deportations and arrests as your measure of success,” Bier said.
USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser defended the slower pace, telling NPR the agency has expanded “screening and vetting processes” that he said were reduced under the previous administration. In a statement, Tragesser cited steps such as a tougher naturalization test, social media screening and neighborhood visits intended to assess applicants’ “good moral character” and “attachment to the Constitution,” adding: “USCIS will not take shortcuts in the adjudications process.”
A backlog — and a growing “frontlog”
NPR reported that USCIS had nearly 12 million pending applications awaiting a decision. The agency’s “backlog” totaled about 11.6 million cases. Separately, USCIS reported 247,974 cases in what it calls the “frontlog” — filings that have been received, often by mail, but have not yet been opened and categorized.
NPR’s review found the number of pending cases has climbed steadily over the past decade. NPR also reported that the backlog increased by about 2 million in the first year of President Trump’s second term — more than the increase during his entire first term.
Pauses to some reviews
In the second half of 2025, the Trump administration paused many application reviews, including reviews of asylum applications, NPR reported. Those reviews resumed in late March 2026.
NPR also reported that the administration paused reviews of immigration applications for people from 39 countries covered by a travel ban list, which the administration said reflects heightened security risks.
Attorneys describe long waits for receipts
Immigration attorneys told NPR that mailed filings can go months without acknowledgement from the agency, complicating cases for clients who need receipts to prove an application is pending.
Luis Cortes Romero, a Seattle-based immigration attorney, told NPR that one of his clients was denied a green-card interview in January because of a paperwork delay after waiting a year, and the interview had not been rescheduled.
Renata Castro, an immigration attorney with clients nationwide, told NPR that some applicants can wait up to eight months before USCIS issues a receipt notice. Castro said delays can be especially acute for clients placed in removal proceedings, where judges may press attorneys to provide proof of pending filings.
Differing views on causes and solutions
Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors lower levels of immigration, told NPR the early surge in pending cases may be partly tied to the administration cutting off other programs that had offered legal status outside USCIS processes, such as some humanitarian parole pathways. Jacobs said large backlogs pose problems for both applicants and the government.
Brandy Perez Carbaugh, a former research associate at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told NPR the scale of the pending caseload underscores a need for tighter scrutiny. She urged pausing the intake of new applications until backlogs fall, and said the agency should focus more on fraud detection.
