Seattle field office: a family green card queue near the top
Seattle’s naturalization line is ordinary; its family green card line is one of the longest published for any field office.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error
N-400 naturalization
Within normal time
Too early for a case inquiry.
| Published range, Seattle, WA | 13.5 to 15.5 months |
|---|---|
| Time since your receipt date | 12.4 months |
| USCIS takes inquiries for receipts on or before | July 4, 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
The Seattle field office shows the widest gap of any large office between its two main queues. USCIS publishes 13.5 to 15.5 months for Form N-400 there, rank 46 of 90, close to the national middle. For family-based Form I-485 it publishes 36 to 56.5 months, rank 88, among the longest in the country. In early 2022 the family range was 24 to 29 months, so the upper bound has moved by +27.5 months; naturalization went the other way, from 17 to 23 months to the current figure. The receipt date that opens a case inquiry for family adjustment at Seattle is February 1, 2022, years earlier than for most offices; for the N-400 it is July 4, 2025. Elsewhere in the Northwest, Portland publishes 16 to 37 months for the family I-485 and Spokane 22 to 60.5 months. Source: USCIS publication of September 17, 2026.
The widest gap among large offices
At Seattle the family green card upper bound is 41 months longer than the naturalization one. Few offices come close. For a couple where one spouse is a green card holder and the other is waiting for adjustment, the two figures describe very different experiences of the same building.
Four years of figures
The table below lists the last USCIS publication of each year since 2022. The naturalization line has shortened at the upper bound, while family adjustment has lengthened.
Your next step
If your family I-485 receipt date is on or before February 1, 2022, USCIS will accept a case inquiry for it. Enter your own date in the checker above to see where you stand.
Washington State’s two offices
Washington residents are split between Seattle, Spokane and Yakima. Spokane publishes 11.5 to 13 months for naturalization and 22 to 60.5 months for the family green card. Seattle’s family queue is the outlier: its inquiry cut-off date for the family I-485 is the oldest among the twenty largest offices on this site, a sign that some files have been waiting for years. If yours is among them, the inquiry route is already open.
Seattle, WA: latest published times
| Form | Range | Rank of 90 | Inquiries for receipts up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-400 | 13.5 to 15.5 months | 46 | July 4, 2025 |
| I-485 family-based | 36.0 to 56.5 months | 88 | February 1, 2022 |
Four years of published times
| Last publication of the year | N-400 | I-485 family |
|---|---|---|
| December 1, 2022 | 17.5 to 22.0 months | 22.5 to 32.0 months |
| December 27, 2023 | 7.5 to 11.5 months | 18.0 to 33.5 months |
| December 20, 2024 | 5.5 to 7.5 months | 15.0 to 27.0 months |
| December 18, 2025 | 6.5 to 8.5 months | 14.5 to 50.0 months |
| September 17, 2026 | 13.5 to 15.5 months | 36.0 to 56.5 months |