The path to U.S. citizenship got faster, then hit a speed bump. Government processing data shows the N-400 naturalization median processing time fell to about 5.7 months in fiscal year 2025 — the fastest since 2016. It was a notable turnaround for a benefit that had suffered long delays in prior years, and it briefly made naturalization one of the quickest-moving USCIS processes.
That momentum has since collided with demand. A large filing surge in the fall of 2025 drove the N-400 backlog from roughly 537,000 pending cases in September to about 647,000 by February 2026. As the queue grew, the average processing time climbed from 6.7 to 7.9 months, and the number of cases pending longer than six months nearly doubled — from about 118,000 to 235,000.
Current 2026 timelines vary widely by field office. National medians are often cited in the 7-to-8-month range, but recent data shows USCIS taking roughly 8 to 13 months to complete 80% of N-400 cases, meaning many applicants — especially in high-volume offices — should plan for close to a year or more from filing to oath.
For green card holders considering naturalization, the practical takeaways are straightforward. File as early as you are eligible, since the queue tends to lengthen with demand. Submit a complete, accurate application to avoid Requests for Evidence that reset your place in line. And track your local field office’s posted times rather than relying solely on the national median, because office-level variation is substantial.
While naturalization is the final step for those already holding a green card, most of the delay pressure across USCIS still sits earlier in the process — at the petition and adjustment stages — which is where careful preparation makes the biggest difference.
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Source: USCIS processing-time data — reported via Manifest Law