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What are the current US citizenship application processing times by field office?
Executive summary
USCIS publishes field-office processing-time estimates for Form N‑400 on its official Case Processing Times tool; third‑party trackers in 2025 report wide variation by office with overall median naturalization timelines reported between about 5 months and a year depending on the source (examples: Boundless reports fast median times; ManifestLaw and others note variability) [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not provide a single, up‑to‑date table of every field office’s current N‑400 processing time in the set you gave — the definitive, live numbers are on USCIS’s Processing Times pages [1] [4].
1. Where to get the official, up‑to‑date numbers: USCIS’s tool
The authoritative source for current field‑office estimates is USCIS’s online Case Processing Times tool; that site lets applicants select Form N‑400 and a specific field office to see the agency’s estimated time to completion for that office and classification [1] [5]. Historic processing time series are also available on USCIS’s Historic Processing Times pages, which the agency says cover fiscal‑year ranges and include N‑400 sub‑classifications added for recent years [4].
2. What third‑party trackers report about 2025 waits — they differ
Immigration‑service blogs and law‑firm trackers in 2025 portray naturalization as comparatively fast versus some other USCIS benefits but still uneven by office. Boundless’s August 2025 summary says N‑400 processing is at its fastest since 2016 and reports median days for key forms (Boundless cites N‑400 among faster processes) [2]. ManifestLaw’s November 2025 page similarly notes that N‑400 is one of the faster processes but emphasizes that timelines “vary by field office” and that USCIS’s overall backlog remains large [3].
3. How long might you actually wait? Range across outlets
Different outlets give different headline numbers. Some consumer guides and law firms give median or average estimates in the single‑digit months: Boundless and other summaries indicate relatively quick median timelines in 2025 [2]. Other sources summarize longer overall timelines: older aggregate reporting and some law firm pages still cite averages around 8–12 months or even longer for the full naturalization journey when you include interview scheduling and oath dates [6] [7] [8] [9]. ManifestLaw also highlights a very large USCIS backlog (reported >11 million pending cases as of July 2025) that can influence local waits [3].
4. Why field offices differ — the structural drivers
Every source points to the same structural reasons for variation: local application volume and backlog, staffing and resource allocation at individual field offices, seasonal surges in filings (for example near elections or fee changes), background‑check complexity, and case issues that require additional requests or evidence [10] [11] [2]. USCIS’s own data tools implicitly reflect those patterns by publishing per‑office estimates rather than a single national number [1].
5. What you should do if you want the exact per‑office number now
To get the current processing time for your field office, use USCIS’s processing times page: choose Form N‑400 and your specific field office or the “Service Center Operations” grouping to see the estimate that USCIS is publishing for that office [1] [5]. Historic trends can be reviewed on the USCIS historic‑processing page if you want multi‑year context [4].
6. How to interpret advertised medians vs. your case
Third‑party summaries often report medians or averages; these describe typical past performance but are not promises. Sources warn that the full naturalization journey can be longer than the N‑400 adjudication alone because of biometrics, interview scheduling, potential rescheduling, and the oath ceremony timing [6] [12] [11]. If your case has complicating factors or receives Requests for Evidence, your individual timeline can exceed the published office median [2] [11].
7. Competing narratives and hidden incentives
Commercial immigration sites and law firms emphasize improvements or the “fastest since 2016” messaging [2] [3], which can serve both informational and marketing purposes; readers should note that law‑firm content often links quicker timelines to paid services that promise help avoiding avoidable delays [3] [10]. Conversely, some law‑firm guides and nonprofits emphasize longer, conservative timelines (e.g., 8–24 months) and urge applicants to plan for delays [7] [8] [9].
Limitations and final note: The materials you provided do not include a live, itemized list of current N‑400 processing times for each USCIS field office — USCIS’s online tool is the live source for that detail [1] [5]. Use the USCIS Case Processing Times page for the exact number for your field office; consult several trackers for context about trends and variability [1] [2] [3].