Which USCIS service centers and field offices handle marriage-based green cards and what are their average backlogs in 2025?
Executive summary
USCIS processes marriage-based green cards through both service centers (which handle initial petitions like Form I-130 and supporting forms) and field offices (which conduct interviews and finalize Adjustment of Status); USCIS publishes location-by-location I‑130 case counts and backlog spreadsheets for FY2025 Q3 on its data page (see USCIS data files) [1]. Public reporting shows rising and uneven backlogs in 2025 — multiple outlets cite average processing estimates ranging from about 8 months to 15 months depending on methodology and which steps are counted, while practice changes (mandatory interviews, new forms) are cited by reporting as drivers of longer waits [2] [3] [4].
1. What USCIS units are involved — service centers vs. field offices
USCIS uses service centers to adjudicate petitions (I-130 petitions for relatives) and centralized workload, while local USCIS field offices perform in-person interviews and final Adjustment of Status steps; the agency publishes I-130 statistics “by USCIS Field Office or Service Center Location” in its FY2025 Q3 data files, indicating both kinds of locations are involved in marriage-based cases [1]. USCIS also maintains a “processing times” tool that estimates completion times by adjudication location and case subtype, underscoring the split between centralized adjudication and local interview actions [5].
2. Where to find the official, location-level backlog numbers
The authoritative source for location-level I-130 counts and backlog figures is USCIS’s “Immigration and Citizenship Data” page, which links spreadsheets including “I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, by Category, Case Status, and USCIS Field Office or Service Center Location (FY2025 Q3)” and a “Net Backlog and Frontlog (FY2025 Q3)” file — those files are what reporters and analysts cite for service-center and field-office backlogs [1]. If you need exact per-center numbers (for example, Nebraska Service Center vs. Potomac Service Center, or Los Angeles Field Office), the USCIS spreadsheets are the primary sources [1].
3. Typical reported backlog ranges in 2025 and why they differ
Media and industry trackers report varying averages because some measure only USCIS adjudication time while others combine visa-bulletin waits and consular delays. Boundless and similar sites show overall marriage-green-card timelines around 8–9 months in some summaries [3], while other reporting and guides cite averages nearer 14–15 months after policy changes that compelled mandatory interviews and stricter documentation [2]. USCIS Q2 FY2025 data and commentary note record-high backlogs and shifting workloads across categories, which contributes to divergent public estimates [4].
4. Policy changes that increased workload and backlogs in 2025
Several 2025 policy shifts are prominently reported as increasing processing time: USCIS required use of updated form editions (e.g., I-485 edition dates noted for marriage-based filings) and implemented mandatory interviews and stronger documentary requirements for marriage cases, both of which have been reported to slow adjudications and prompt more requests for evidence or deferrals [2] [6]. Reporters and practitioners also described agency hiring freezes and increased investigative steps (home visits, interviews) contributing to backlog growth [7] [4].
5. Discrepancies between sources and what they mean for applicants
Different outlets offer competing timelines because they measure different slices of the process: Boundless’s monthly tracker aggregates USCIS processing data and reports an ~8.2-month average for marriage-based green cards [3], while VisaVerge and other reporting that emphasize new interview rules and form changes cite averages around 14.8 months and warn the process is more burdensome [2]. That divergence reflects whether the visa-bulletin wait, service-center I-130 processing, field-office interview scheduling, and post-interview steps are all included [3] [1].
6. How to get precise, current backlogs for a given office or center
To obtain the precise average backlog for a particular service center or field office in 2025, download the USCIS FY2025 Q3 spreadsheets referenced on USCIS’s Immigration and Citizenship Data page — they list I-130 counts and the agency’s Net Backlog and Frontlog tables by specific adjudication location [1]. For a rolling estimate of time-to-completion at the office or center level, USCIS’s “reducing processing backlogs” / processing-times tool offers location-based completion estimates [5].
7. Bottom line for readers and applicants
Available reporting and USCIS data show that marriage-based processing in 2025 involves both centralized service centers (I-130 and initial adjudication) and local field offices (interviews/final AOS) and that backlogs increased during 2025; depending on which steps are counted, public estimates vary roughly from about 8 months to about 15 months on average [1] [3] [2]. For exact, up-to-date backlogs at named service centers or field offices, consult the USCIS FY2025 Q3 spreadsheets and the agency’s processing-times tool, since public articles use different scopes and methodologies that produce divergent timelines [1] [5].