Chicago field office: a slower year for both queues
Chicago serves most of northern Illinois; its published times are now in the slowest fifth of the country for naturalization and for family green cards alike.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error
N-400 naturalization
Within normal time
Too early for a case inquiry.
| Published range, Chicago, IL | 13.0 to 19.5 months |
|---|---|
| Time since your receipt date | 12.4 months |
| USCIS takes inquiries for receipts on or before | March 10, 2025 |
| National average to a decision (August 2026) | 12.7 months |
How this was calculated
- 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.
- 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
Chicago is a case where both main queues have lengthened. USCIS now publishes 13 to 19.5 months for Form N-400 at the Chicago field office, which ranks 81 out of 90 from fastest to slowest, and 18.5 to 40.5 months for family-based Form I-485, rank 81. When our series begins in early 2022, the same office published 12 to 16.5 months for naturalization and 9 to 23 months for family adjustment, so the upper bounds have grown by +3 and +17.5 months. Nearby offices in the Midwest publish shorter ranges: Milwaukee shows 14 to 17.5 months for the N-400 and Indianapolis 14 to 16.5 months, but USCIS assigns the office by address, not by preference. Case inquiries are accepted at Chicago for N-400 receipts on or before March 10, 2025 and for family I-485 receipts on or before June 10, 2023, per the USCIS publication of September 17, 2026.
A slower office on both counts
Many offices are quick at one thing and slow at another. Chicago is currently slow at both: rank 81 for citizenship and rank 81 for family adjustment. The family green card range is 21 months longer than the naturalization range at the upper bound.
What the published range means
USCIS gives two numbers. The first is the median: half of recent cases were completed in that time or less. The second is the 80% mark. A Chicago naturalization filed today would, on current figures, be decided within 19.5 months in four cases out of five. Nobody can promise where a given file falls in that range.
Checking your case
Use the receipt date from your Form I-797C in the checker above. If the date is on or before the inquiry date USCIS publishes for Chicago, you can submit an outside-normal-processing-time request online. Before that point, USCIS will usually answer that the case is within normal time.
Illinois and its neighbors
Chicago is the only USCIS field office in Illinois, so there is no nearby alternative within the state. Applicants who live across a state line belong to another office: Milwaukee, at rank 69 for naturalization, or Indianapolis, at rank 58. If you moved after filing, your file may have been transferred; the office named on your most recent notice is the one whose range applies, and transfers can add weeks while the file travels.
Chicago, IL: latest published times
| Form | Range | Rank of 90 | Inquiries for receipts up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-400 | 13.0 to 19.5 months | 81 | March 10, 2025 |
| I-485 family-based | 18.5 to 40.5 months | 81 | June 10, 2023 |
Four years of published times
| Last publication of the year | N-400 | I-485 family |
|---|---|---|
| December 1, 2022 | 16.0 to 25.0 months | 17.5 to 29.5 months |
| December 27, 2023 | 8.0 to 11.0 months | 17.5 to 23.5 months |
| December 20, 2024 | 7.5 to 10.0 months | 23.0 to 38.0 months |
| December 18, 2025 | 7.5 to 10.0 months | 8.5 to 19.5 months |
| September 17, 2026 | 13.0 to 19.5 months | 18.5 to 40.5 months |