I-129 (H-1B / L-1) Processing Times
Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
9.2 mo – 12.6 mo
avg. across filing categories
Current I-129 Processing Time
As of , USCIS I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) processing times average 9.2 mo to 12.6 mo across all filing categories, with full range < 1 mo to 33.0 mo across all filing categories. Processing is handled at Service Center Operations. Processing times have been increasing over the past three months. Data is checked daily from official USCIS estimates.
Processing Time by Subtype
| Subtype | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|
| H-2A - Temporary agricultural workers - Named Beneficiary (137-H2AN) | < 1 mo | 4.0 mo |
| H-2A - Temporary agricultural workers - Unnamed Beneficiary (137-H2AU) | < 1 mo | 4.0 mo |
| E3 - Specialty occupation workers from Australia (137-E3) | 4.0 mo | 7.0 mo |
| TN - United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, formerly NAFTA) professional (137-TN) | 4.0 mo | 7.0 mo |
| H-2B - Temporary nonagricultural workers (137-H2B) | 5.0 mo | 8.0 mo |
| H-1B - Specialty occupation - Visa to be issued abroad (137-H1B1) | 9.5 mo | 10.5 mo |
| H-1B - Specialty occupation - Change of status in the U.S. (137-H1B2) | 9.5 mo | 10.5 mo |
| Intracompany transferees and blanket L (137-L) | 7.0 mo | 10.5 mo |
| H-1B - Specialty occupation - Extension of stay in the U.S. (137-H1B3) | 10.5 mo | 11.5 mo |
| R - Religious occupation (137-R) | 8.5 mo | 11.5 mo |
| P - Athletes, artists, and entertainers (137-P) | 12.0 mo | 14.0 mo |
| O - Extraordinary ability (137-O) | 13.0 mo | 17.0 mo |
| H-3 - Temporary trainees (137-H3) | 16.5 mo | 19.0 mo |
| E - Treaty traders and investors (137-E) | 18.5 mo | 21.5 mo |
| Q - Cultural exchange visitors (137-Q) | 19.5 mo | 33.0 mo |
Processing Time Trend
Upper bound of processing time range shown. Source: USCIS Processing Times.
The chart includes historical office series (California Service Center, Vermont Service Center, and Nebraska Service Center and 1 other office) from offices that previously reported this form. The current table below lists only offices with current USCIS estimates.
Dashed lines are offices that no longer report this form; each ends at its last published date.
Chart series show upper-bound processing times for H-1B, one of 15 current filing categories with a published range. The filing-category table below lists each current USCIS category.
Trend Summary
Over the past year, the upper end of I-129's average range edged higher, from 11.8 to 12.6 months. Those two figures rest on different reporting bases: 4 offices no longer report I-129. Service Center Operations reports at both ends, but the I-129 categories it reports changed between them, so no directly comparable figure is available. The current average sits near the form's record high of 13.8 months, reported in July 2025. That record spans the same change, across 3 different office sets — the earlier figures and the current one are not measured the same way.
<iframe src="https://immigrationtimes.org/embed/i-129.html" width="600" height="400" style="width:100%;max-width:600px;border:0;" frameborder="0" title="I-129 Processing Times"></iframe> <p>Source: <a href="https://immigrationtimes.org/forms/i-129/">I-129 Processing Times — ImmigrationTimes.org</a></p>
USCIS Service Center Consolidation
As of , USCIS publishes I-129 processing times at 1 reporting level (Service Center Operations), down from 5 as recently as July 2025 — when reporting included individual service centers (e.g., California and Nebraska) that now roll up to the divisional level. Source: USCIS published processing times.
I-129 Processing Times by Service Center
1 service center| Service Center | Min | Max | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Center Operations (SCD) Only reporting locationOnly location | 9.2 mo | 12.6 mo | Slow |
Cite This Data
Citation
As of Jul 15, 2026, USCIS processing times for I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) range from < 1 mo to 33.0 mo across all filing categories (full range; average 9.2 mo–12.6 mo across categories). Source: https://immigrationtimes.org/forms/i-129/. Dataset version DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21311840
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<iframe src="https://immigrationtimes.org/embed/i-129.html" width="600" height="400" style="width:100%;max-width:600px;border:0;" frameborder="0" title="I-129 Processing Times"></iframe> <p>Source: <a href="https://immigrationtimes.org/forms/i-129/">I-129 Processing Times — ImmigrationTimes.org</a></p>
Frequently Asked Questions
Current USCIS I-129 processing times range from < 1 mo to 33.0 mo across all filing categories (full range; average 9.2 mo–12.6 mo across categories). This data is updated daily from USCIS official processing time estimates.
H-1B and L-1 petitions are filed using USCIS Form I-129. Current published processing times for the selected H-1B and L-1 filing categories range from 7.0 mo to 11.5 mo. The form-wide range elsewhere on this page includes other I-129 filing categories.
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Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Data aggregated from daily USCIS processing time snapshots. Data last updated . See our data sources and methodology. Permanent link.