USCIS approved more than 2.2 million cases in nine months. Here is what grew the most
The official numbers for fiscal year 2026 are out, and the results are surprising. We analyzed USCIS data from October 2025 to June 2026, category by category, and sorted what grew the most into three profiles: people pursuing a green card, people who need a work visa, and people already in the United States. And, at the end, the September 14 ruling that kept the current rules in place for students, exchange visitors and foreign journalists.
The growth ranking
How much approvals grew in each category from the first to the third quarter of the fiscal year:
I-131 Advance Parole (travel during the green card process): +152%
I-485 employment-based (green card from inside the U.S.): +91.9%
EB-2 NIW (green card without a job offer): +62.2%
H-1B (specialty occupations): +25.4%
O-1 (extraordinary ability): +23.8%
L-1A (executives and managers): +9.8%
Source: USCIS (Office of Performance and Quality), fiscal year 2026. Analysis: Piquet Law Firm.
Part 1: paths to a green card
For those who want to live in the U.S. permanently, through professional merit, a business or an investment.
EB-2 NIW: approval rate tops 50%
The rate rose from 42.5% to 55.3% in Q3, and NIW now accounts for nearly 1 in 4 EB-2 approvals. It is the path that waives the job offer when the work has national importance to the U.S.
Multinational executive? EB-1C
EB-1C approvals grew 50.6% and led the growth of EB-1, where demand has more than doubled in five years. For business owners with operations abroad and in the U.S., it may be a path worth exploring.
EB-3: the highest approval rate
Above 96% every year since 2021, the highest rate among employment-based green cards. And approvals for skilled workers rose 13.4% in 2026.
Investor? EB-5
78.4% approval rate: nearly 4 in 5 decisions were approvals, with 2,253 investors approved in nine months. Proving the lawful source of funds remains at the core of a well-structured case.
Part 2: work visas
For those who want to work in the U.S. through talent, specialized expertise or their own company.
Standout in your field? O-1
The extraordinary ability visa held a 91% approval rate in all three quarters, and approvals rose 23.8%. Well-structured cases still have room.
H-1B: 102,000 approvals in a single quarter
In the lottery quarter, filings nearly tripled, and the approval rate held at 97%.
Own a business abroad? L-1A
Approvals up 9.8%, with growth in all three quarters. The L-1A transfers executives and managers from a company abroad to an affiliate in the U.S., and can be the gateway to a U.S. operation.
Part 3: already in the U.S.
USCIS approved 654,000 work permits in nine months, the highest volume in the survey. And two green card steps stood out.
Advance Parole: the top of the ranking
Approvals up 152%. The document that allows travel during the green card process reached more than 120,000 approvals in nine months, and the approval rate rose from 53.3% to 70.6%.
The final green card step nearly doubled
Approvals up 91.9%. Employment-based adjustment of status (I-485), filed from inside the U.S., kept an approval rate above 91% in every quarter.
Breaking, September 14: a court blocked the D/S rule
One day before it was set to take effect, a federal court in Massachusetts blocked, nationwide, the DHS rule that would have ended Duration of Status (D/S) for students and exchange visitors and limited how long foreign journalists can stay. Under D/S, your stay follows your program, with no fixed departure date. The preliminary injunction was requested by universities, teachers and journalists.
Students (F-1 and F-2 dependents): your stay still follows your program
The rule would have set a fixed period of up to 4 years, required a USCIS extension for longer programs and shortened the post-completion grace period from 60 to 30 days. For now, D/S remains, as long as you maintain your status.
Exchange visitors (J-1 and J-2 dependents): D/S still applies
This covers researchers, professors, trainees, interns, physicians and other J-1 categories. The rule would have capped admission at 4 years, with a USCIS extension for longer programs. Your stay still follows the length of your program.
Journalists and foreign media (I): the 240-day cap is on hold
The rule would have limited each admission of foreign media representatives to 240 days, with a USCIS extension required to continue. Those changes are blocked as well.
This is a preliminary ruling. It puts the rule on hold while the case continues, and the government may appeal. It is worth following the next steps before changing any plans.
What about your case?
The numbers show where the growth is. Strategy shows which path is yours.
Each path has different requirements, timelines and evidence. Choosing the right one is the first step. Talk to the specialized team at Piquet Law Firm and find out which path makes sense for your case.
See also the carousel with the charts on Instagram (in Portuguese).
Alexandre Piquet, Founder and Managing Partner, Piquet Law Firm, Miami.
Informational content. Source: USCIS (Office of Performance and Quality), fiscal year 2026, October 2025 to June 2026. The 2.2 million total adds up approvals across the 14 categories in the survey. Changes compare first-quarter and third-quarter approvals. The annual EB-1 and EB-3 series come from the historical Form I-140 report, and the most recent years still have cases under review. The D/S ruling is from September 14, 2026 (Presidents' Alliance et al. v. DHS, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts). Analysis and charts: Piquet Law Firm. This is not legal advice, and each case must be evaluated individually.
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