Monthly report
State of the queues: July 2026
Published Jul 19, 2026.
Written and checked by the QueueCheck editorial team. Last checked September 2, 2026. How we verify information
This is the July 2026 edition of the QueueCheck monthly report. Every month we compare the official processing windows that government agencies publish against what they published at the start of the month, list which services moved faster or slower, and put the month's policy changes in one place. The numbers on this page update automatically as new official figures are captured, so what you see reflects the latest data, not the day the report was written.
One reading note before the tables. An official window moving is a statement about the whole queue, not about any single application. A service that got two weeks slower this month has not delayed your case by two weeks; it means the agency now describes its overall workload differently. Use the per-service tracker pages linked in the table to compare your own dates against the current window.
July 2026 at a glance
OfficialOfficial baselines for July 2026 are still being captured, so the tables below show the current published windows.
Reader timelines are being collected across all tracked services.
The Visa Bulletin cycle in July 2026
For US Green Card applicants the most important monthly document is the State Department Visa Bulletin, and the July 2026 bulletin was the operative edition when this report was written. The bulletin controls when family-sponsored and employment-based applicants can move forward, sorted by preference category and country of chargeability. It publishes two charts: final action dates, which control when a case can be approved, and dates for filing, which control when adjustment-of-status paperwork can be submitted if USCIS accepts that chart for the month.
Two practical steps every bulletin reader should repeat monthly. First, read your own preference category and country line in both charts rather than the headline summaries, because movement is uneven across categories. Second, if you are adjusting status inside the United States, check the USCIS adjustment-of-status filing chart page for the month, because USCIS decides separately which chart it will accept. The current published edition is September 2026. USCIS accepts family-sponsored adjustment filings under the Dates for Filing chart and employment-based filings under the Final Action Dates chart, verified 2026-08-29. Confirm the chart named for your own category before you file.
What changed in July 2026
The August 2026 Visa Bulletin was released with the USCIS filing-chart decision
For August adjustment of status, USCIS accepts employment-based filings on the final action dates chart and family-sponsored filings on the dates for filing chart. Match your preference category to the chart USCIS named before you file.
Which chart to use in AugustThe July 2026 Visa Bulletin set this month's Green Card lines
Family-sponsored and employment-based cut-off dates for July come from the current bulletin. If your priority date became current, your next step depends on whether you are consular processing or adjusting status inside the United States.
How to read the July 2026 bulletinTPS work permits for six countries expired on July 17, 2026
Employment authorization tied to several Temporary Protected Status designations reached its end date mid-month, which affects both workers and employers running reverification.
Which countries and what to do nowEAD renewals no longer get the automatic extension
USCIS ended the automatic extension of employment authorization for renewal applications, which makes the current I-765 processing window the number that decides whether a worker faces a gap.
What the end of auto-extension meansThe FY2027 H-1B cap was reached
USCIS announced it has received enough registrations for the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap, which closes the main route for new lottery hopefuls until next spring.
What cap-reached means for registrantsYour dates make next month's report better
Official numbers cannot show what applicants actually experience month by month. Sharing your application and decision dates on the service page you are waiting on helps the next reader see the real pace. Under a minute, dates only, nothing personal.
Find your serviceQuestions this monthly wait report answers
Where do the numbers in this report come from?
Every figure in the official tables is captured from a government source: USCIS processing times, the HM Passport Office, UK Visas and Immigration, IRCC, the Australian Department of Home Affairs, and the trusted traveler program pages. Each row links to the tracker page where the citation for the current figure is shown.
Why does a service show as newly tracked instead of showing a change?
A month-over-month comparison needs a figure from before the month started. Services QueueCheck began tracking during the month show the current official window without a comparison, and they join the delta table in the next edition.
Can this report predict when my own application will be decided?
No. Official windows describe agency workload across many applications, and waits shared by readers describe individual experiences. Use both as broad wait-time information. Your own decision depends on your case, and official notices about your application always outrank anything here.
When does the next edition come out?
A new edition is published in the first week of each month covering the month that just ended. The tables on the current edition keep updating with the latest official figures until then.