I-129 (H-1B / L-1) Processing Times
Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
9.0 mo – 12.3 mo
avg. across filing categories
Current I-129 Processing Time
As of , USCIS I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) processing times average 9.0 mo to 12.3 mo across all filing categories, with full range < 1 mo to 22.5 mo across all filing categories. Processing is handled at Service Center Operations. Processing times have been relatively stable over the past three months. Source data is checked daily; USCIS publishes new estimates about monthly.
Category-specific source pages report the exact USCIS source row and history for a single I-129 eligibility category:
- E - Treaty traders and investors
- E3 - Specialty occupation workers from Australia
- H-1B - Specialty occupation - Visa to be issued abroad
- H-1B - Specialty occupation - Change of status in the U.S.
- H-1B - Specialty occupation - Extension of stay in the U.S.
- H-2A - Temporary agricultural workers - Named Beneficiary
- H-2A - Temporary agricultural workers - Unnamed Beneficiary
- H-2B - Temporary nonagricultural workers
- H-3 - Temporary trainees
- Intracompany transferees and blanket L
- O - Extraordinary ability
- P - Athletes, artists, and entertainers
- Q - Cultural exchange visitors
- R - Religious occupation
- TN - United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, formerly NAFTA) professional
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 |
| TN - United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, formerly NAFTA) professional (137-TN) | 4.5 mo | 7.0 mo |
| E3 - Specialty occupation workers from Australia (137-E3) | 5.0 mo | 7.5 mo |
| H-2B - Temporary nonagricultural workers (137-H2B) | 4.0 mo | 8.0 mo |
| Intracompany transferees and blanket L (137-L) | 6.5 mo | 10.5 mo |
| H-1B - Specialty occupation - Change of status in the U.S. (137-H1B2) | 10.0 mo | 11.5 mo |
| R - Religious occupation (137-R) | 9.5 mo | 12.0 mo |
| H-1B - Specialty occupation - Extension of stay in the U.S. (137-H1B3) | 11.5 mo | 12.5 mo |
| H-1B - Specialty occupation - Visa to be issued abroad (137-H1B1) | 11.0 mo | 13.0 mo |
| P - Athletes, artists, and entertainers (137-P) | 13.0 mo | 15.0 mo |
| O - Extraordinary ability (137-O) | 14.5 mo | 17.5 mo |
| H-3 - Temporary trainees (137-H3) | 17.0 mo | 19.5 mo |
| Q - Cultural exchange visitors (137-Q) | 7.0 mo | 19.5 mo |
| E - Treaty traders and investors (137-E) | 20.0 mo | 22.5 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
The upper end of I-129's average range has lengthened over the past year, from 10.3 to 12.3 months. The average peaked at 13.8 months in July 2025 and has since receded to current levels. That record spans 3 different USCIS reporting bases — 4 offices reported I-129 earlier in the series and no longer do — so figures from either side of that change 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 | 9.0 mo | 12.3 mo | Slow |
Cite This Data
Citation
As of Sep 17, 2026, USCIS processing times for I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) range from < 1 mo to 22.5 mo across all filing categories (full range; average 9.0 mo–12.3 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 22.5 mo across all filing categories (full range; average 9.0 mo–12.3 mo across categories). Figures come from USCIS official processing time estimates, which USCIS publishes about monthly; this page is rebuilt daily.
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 6.5 mo to 13.0 mo. The form-wide range elsewhere on this page includes other I-129 filing categories.
Get Alerts
Two mailings: an email when I-129 processing times change, and a monthly briefing on USCIS processing time trends.
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Data aggregated from 64 USCIS processing time publications, issued monthly. Data last updated . See our data sources and methodology. Permanent link.