New USCIS Report Provides Insights & Valuable Data

For the first time in almost a decade, USCIS has published an annual report.

“The 2018 USCIS Statistical Annual Report represents a key piece in our continued commitment to provide improved awareness of the nature and scope of work accomplished by the dedicated men and women of USCIS,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “Following a long absence, we are again publishing an annual report, emphasizing our promise of full transparency and accountability to the American people.”

The following points highlight the most notable takeaways from the report.

H-1B

• In FY 2018, 396,300 H1B beneficiary petitions were processed (13% increase over five fiscal years)
  • Approval Rate: H-1B Beneficiaries (including initial filings and renewals)
    • FY 2017: 93%
    • FY 2018: 85%

LPR (Green Card)

• In FY 2018, nearly 1.1 million people were granted LPR status
  • In FY 2018, USCIS adjudicated more than 630,000 I-485 applications (10% increase from 2014)
    • Approval Rate: Family-Based LPR applications
      • 2017: 88%
      • 2018: 87%
    • Approval Rate: Employment-Based LPR applications
      • 2017: 94%
      • 2018: 91%

Employment Authorization Document

• USCIS processed more than 1.7 million I-765 applications in FY 2018. The I-765 is the highest volume form
• From FY 2017 to FY 2018, the number of I-765 applications adjudicated decreased by 21%

DACA

• In September 2017, the termination of the DACA program was announced however court injunctions prohibiting ending DACA remain in place, pending further litigation. As such, USCIS continues to adjudicate certain requests for DACA
• The number of I-821D requests processed in FY 2018 decreased by 30 percent from FY 2017

Citizenship

• In FY 2018, there were approximately 850,000 applications for naturalization (a 5-year high)
• Approximately 757,000 individuals took the oath of citizenship (16% increase since FY 2014)

Budget

• 97% of the USCIS budget comes from immigration and naturalization benefit fees and in FY 2018, the budget was more than $4.4 billion

The above data can be used to inform future policy and applications. Silver Immigration will continue to keep you updated as USCIS provides more information and guidance.