USCIS has released its March 2026 employment-based adjustment-of-status inventory report, giving employment-based green card applicants their clearest official look yet at how large the Form I-485 backlog has grown and where the pending cases sit. The release was highlighted by immigration analysts on X, who flagged several key takeaways for EB-2, EB-3, and NIW applicants tracking their place in line.
The inventory report breaks down the universe of pending employment-based I-485 adjustment-of-status applications — the final step in the green card process for applicants already in the United States. Because these reports detail how many cases are waiting and, in many breakdowns, how they distribute across preference categories and countries of chargeability, they are one of the most reliable tools applicants have for estimating realistic wait times beyond what the monthly Visa Bulletin shows.
For applicants, the headline question is always the size of the total pending inventory backlog and how it is trending relative to the available annual visa numbers. A large and growing inventory signals continued pressure on processing timelines, particularly for high-demand chargeability areas, and helps explain why priority-date movement in the Visa Bulletin can stall even when categories appear current for some applicants. Pairing the inventory data with the bulletin gives a fuller picture than either source alone.
Applicants who want to understand their own timeline should look at three things together: their preference category, their country of chargeability, and their priority date relative to the inventory ahead of them. The March 2026 report is a snapshot — inventories shift month to month as USCIS adjudicates cases and new filings arrive — but it remains an authoritative data point for setting expectations in 2026.
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Source: X (Twitter) @VISAINAMERICA