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I-751 processing time: removing conditions on residence

Choose the unit handling your petition and enter the receipt date from your notice to compare the case with the range USCIS publishes.

Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error

I-751 remove conditions

Within normal time

Too early for a case inquiry.

Published range, Field Office Directorate36.0 to 58.5 months
Time since your receipt date12.4 months
USCIS takes inquiries for receipts on or beforeDecember 9, 2021
National average to a decision (August 2026)21.9 months
How this was calculated
  1. USCIS published these ranges on September 17, 2026. The upper figure is the time within which USCIS completed 80% of cases; the lower one is the median.
  2. The national average is a different measure: all cases completed in the month, from receipt to decision, as reported to Congress.

Processing-time data: ImmigrationTimes.org (CC BY 4.0), from USCIS; selected and reformatted. Check your own case on egov.uscis.gov.

Estimate from public data, not legal advice. Your case may differ (cross-chargeability, CSPA, waivers). For advice, see a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative. Not affiliated with USCIS or the Department of State. Method and past error

Form I-751, the petition to remove conditions on residence, is filed by conditional residents who received a two-year green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. USCIS publishes it at two units. In the edition of September 17, 2026, the Field Office Directorate shows a range of 36 to 58.5 months and Service Center Operations 35 to 38 months; the first figure is the median case and the second the point by which 80% were decided. The report to Congress for August 2026 gives a national average of 21.9 months, shorter than either range, because it averages every I-751 decided that month, including quick approvals. Both figures are correct. The backlog is large for a form with modest intake: USCIS received 14,018 petitions in the month and had 360,671 pending, roughly 26 months of filings. The petition must be filed during the 90 days immediately before the conditional residence expires.

Two units, two clocks

The I-751 is one of the few forms that USCIS publishes at both the Field Office Directorate and Service Center Operations. The two lines start close, with medians of 36 and 35 months, but the field-office line reaches 58.5 months at the 80% mark against 38 for the service centers. Inquiries are accepted for receipts up to December 9, 2021 on the first line and August 22, 2023 on the second. USCIS does not say on its tool which petitions go where.

A long average too

The national average of 21.9 months for August 2026 is longer than the average for every one of the 5 other green card and citizenship forms in the report, including naturalization at 12.7 and family-based adjustment at 12.4. The pending caseload equals about 26 months of new filings at the latest monthly intake.

Estimating the end of the range before filing

Because the filing window is tied to the expiry of the conditional card, the receipt date is predictable: it falls within the last 90 days of the two-year residence. Add the upper bound of your unit’s range to that date and you have the point by which four in five petitions were decided. On the current figures, that point lands well after the date printed on the card for both units.

Fees and filing

The G-1055 schedule sets the fee at $750 on paper and $700 online. The Form I-751 page gives the current edition and the filing window. A petition filed online gets its receipt notice in the USCIS account, which gives the date to enter in the checker. Couples who also plan to apply for citizenship can compare this range with the N-400 processing time.

Published processing times

USCIS publication of September 17, 2026. Processing-time data: ImmigrationTimes.org (CC BY 4.0), from USCIS; selected and reformatted.
Form and categoryOfficeRange (median to 80% of cases)Inquiries for receipts up to
I-751 remove conditionsField Office Directorate36.0 to 58.5 monthsDecember 9, 2021
I-751 remove conditionsService Center Operations35.0 to 38.0 monthsAugust 22, 2023

Questions people ask

When exactly can Form I-751 be filed?

USCIS says the petition must be filed during the 90-day period immediately before your conditional residence expires, and its I-751 page links to a tool that gives the first day of that window. The processing range on this page starts counting from the receipt date of a petition filed in that window.

Does USCIS explain why the I-751 processing time is so long?

Not on its processing-times tool, which gives the median, the 80% figure and the inquiry date for each unit without comment. We report the figures as published and do not attribute a cause. The body of this page compares the I-751 with the other green card and citizenship forms in the report to Congress, so you can judge the gap yourself.

Should I make an inquiry if my I-751 is past the published range?

When the receipt date on your notice is on or before the inquiry date USCIS publishes for your unit, the case is outside normal processing time and USCIS accepts a case inquiry. The checker shows both units and their dates. For questions about status, travel or a change in the marriage, speak to an immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative.

Keep going

USCIS processing times

Every green card and citizenship form we track, with the range USCIS publishes and the national average.

I-751 fee

The fee to remove conditions on a two-year green card, joint filing or waiver, paper or online.

Marriage green card cost

I-130 and I-485 filed together for a spouse in the U.S., with or without work permit and travel document.

N-400 processing time

Naturalization times at all 90 field offices, the national average and how the wait moved since 2022.

Official sources and data

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Publisher of Visa Bulletin data, green card wait forecasts, USCIS processing times and 2026 filing fees

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Data for 2026, checked on