How long is my form taking?
USCIS publishes a range per form and per office. Both matter — the same form can differ by months depending on where it is being handled.
Forms decided centrally, at the National Benefits Center or Service Center Operations. Here the category of work is what changes the answer, not the office.
I-765 — Application for Employment Authorization
1 to 0.9 months
Based on a pending asylum application [(c)(8)] – Initial Application · Service Center Operations (SCOPS)
Estimated median
1 months
The published range is the slow tail, not the middle: USCIS's low figure is where about 80% of cases have finished and the high figure about 93%. So half of cases finish sooner than 1 months — three in four by 1, nine in ten by 0.9. An estimate from those two published anchors, not a figure USCIS publishes.
Based on a pending asylum application [(c)(8)] – Initial Application
1–0.9 mo
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)
Median about 1 mo · 75% by 1 mo · 90% by 0.9 mo
Based on a request by a qualified F-1 academic student [(c)(3)]
4–6 mo
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)
Median about 3.3 mo · 75% by 3.9 mo · 90% by 5.8 mo
Based on being an H-4 spouse of an H-1B nonimmigrant (filed with I-539 H4) [(c)(26)]
6.5–10 mo
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)
Median about 5.3 mo · 75% by 6.3 mo · 90% by 9.7 mo
Based on an approved asylum application [(a)(5)]
3.5–17 mo
Service Center Operations (SCOPS)
All other applications for employment authorization
9.5–13 mo
National Benefits Center
Median about 8.3 mo · 75% by 9.3 mo · 90% by 12.7 mo
Based on a pending I-485 adjustment application [(c)(9)]
11–15 mo
National Benefits Center
Median about 9.6 mo · 75% by 10.8 mo · 90% by 14.6 mo
Across 17 categories
- Fastest
- Based on a pending asylum application [(c)(8)] – Initial Application1–0.9 mo
- Slowest
- Based on an approved, concurrently filed, I-821D [(c)(33)]0–0 mo
Ranges are as published by USCIS: the low figure is where about 80% of cases have finished and the high figure about 93%. Confirm on Check on USCIS's processing times page.