Data tracker
EB-2 NIW approval rates: quarterly USCIS data
Last updated: · Data through FY2025 Q4 (July to September 2025), the latest USCIS quarterly release
The EB-2 NIW approval rate was 55.2% in FY2025, down from 71.0% in FY2024 and 95.7% in FY2022, per USCIS Form I-140 performance data. In the most recent quarter on record, Q4 FY2025 (July to September 2025), the rate fell to 35.7%, the first quarter since FY2022 in which denials outnumbered approvals.
EB-2 NIW approval rate by quarter
I-140 petitions in the National Interest Waiver classification. Approval rate is approvals divided by total decisions (approvals plus denials) in each quarter. Source: USCIS Form I-140 performance data, FY2024 Q4 and FY2025 Q4 releases (FY2025 file queried by USCIS in October 2025), accessed June 10, 2026.
| Quarter | Period | Approved | Denied | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Q1 | Oct to Dec 2023 | 7,996 | 2,423 | 76.7% |
| FY2024 Q2 | Jan to Mar 2024 | 8,052 | 2,572 | 75.8% |
| FY2024 Q3 | Apr to Jun 2024 | 6,082 | 2,834 | 68.2% |
| FY2024 Q4 | Jul to Sep 2024 | 5,396 | 3,427 | 61.2% |
| FY2025 Q1 | Oct to Dec 2024 | 4,683 | 2,790 | 62.7% |
| FY2025 Q2 | Jan to Mar 2025 | 6,591 | 3,206 | 67.3% |
| FY2025 Q3 | Apr to Jun 2025 | 5,290 | 4,511 | 54.0% |
| FY2025 Q4 | Jul to Sep 2025 | 2,968 | 5,356 | 35.7% |
EB-1A approval rate by quarter
I-140 petitions in the EB-1A Extraordinary Ability classification (E11), from the same USCIS releases.
| Quarter | Period | Approved | Denied | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Q1 | Oct to Dec 2023 | 2,928 | 1,067 | 73.3% |
| FY2024 Q2 | Jan to Mar 2024 | 3,112 | 1,263 | 71.1% |
| FY2024 Q3 | Apr to Jun 2024 | 2,857 | 1,225 | 70.0% |
| FY2024 Q4 | Jul to Sep 2024 | 3,334 | 1,148 | 74.4% |
| FY2025 Q1 | Oct to Dec 2024 | 3,227 | 1,091 | 74.7% |
| FY2025 Q2 | Jan to Mar 2025 | 3,402 | 1,276 | 72.7% |
| FY2025 Q3 | Apr to Jun 2025 | 3,508 | 1,765 | 66.5% |
| FY2025 Q4 | Jul to Sep 2025 | 2,331 | 2,033 | 53.4% |
Full fiscal year comparison, FY2022 to FY2025
Annual approval rates and new petitions received (receipts) for both categories. Source: USCIS Form I-140 performance data, Q4 releases for FY2022 through FY2025, accessed June 10, 2026.
| Fiscal year | NIW approval rate | NIW receipts | EB-1A approval rate | EB-1A receipts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022 | 95.7% | 21,973 | 77.8% | 10,481 |
| FY2023 | 79.6% | 39,803 | 71.4% | 15,905 |
| FY2024 | 71.0% | 63,549 | 72.2% | 20,166 |
| FY2025 | 55.2% | 66,276 | 66.9% | 29,582 |
What the numbers show
Two things happened at once. NIW filing volume tripled, from 21,973 receipts in FY2022 to 66,276 in FY2025, and USCIS applied the national-importance test more strictly. The combination pushed the approval rate from 95.7% to 55.2% in three years, with the steepest drop in the second half of FY2025. The pending NIW queue stood at 74,392 petitions at the end of FY2025.
EB-1A declined too, but later and less sharply: 66.9% for FY2025 against 72.2% in FY2024, with Q4 FY2025 at 53.4%. That produced a reversal worth knowing about. The NIW, historically the easier of the two categories to get approved, ended FY2025 with a lower approval rate than EB-1A in both Q3 and Q4.
Quarterly rates compare decisions made in a quarter, not petitions filed in it. Most petitions decided in Q4 FY2025 were filed a year or more earlier, so these figures describe how USCIS is adjudicating now, not the odds attached to any individual filing. They also exclude withdrawals and petitions still pending.
The takeaway is about the evidence bar, not about whether to file. Petitions are being read more critically, especially on the national importance prong of the Dhanasar test, so the gap between a well-documented petition and a thin one matters more than it did in 2022. The evaluation linked below shows where a profile stands against the criteria of both categories. For legal advice on your situation, consult a qualified immigration attorney.
FY2026 data status
As of June 10, 2026, USCIS has not yet published quarterly I-140 data for FY2026 (which began October 1, 2025). Early third-party case tracking reported by Manifest Law (March 2026, based on Lawfully data) suggests NIW approval rates for regular processing recovered to roughly 44% in early 2026, but that is not official USCIS data. This page is updated when each USCIS quarterly release is published.
Sources
- USCIS, Form I-140 by Fiscal Year, Quarter, and Case Status (performance data, RADP Summary), Q4 releases for FY2022, FY2023, FY2024, and FY2025. Immigration and Citizenship Data, uscis.gov. Accessed June 10, 2026. All approval rates on this page are computed from these files as approvals divided by (approvals + denials).
- Manifest Law, “EB-2 NIW Approval Rates on the Rise: New Data from Lawfully” (March 2026), for the unofficial early FY2026 signal noted above.
Where third-party summaries and USCIS files disagree, this page follows the USCIS primary data. BaseLeaf provides document preparation assistance. This page is information, not legal advice.
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