Fiscal Year 2022 Progress Report

December 2022

December 2022
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 2

FISCAL YEAR 2022 PROGRESS REPORT 

USCIS is committed to eliminating unnecessary barriers, restoring faith in the immigration system, and 

improving transparency, efficiency, and the customer experience. This Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Progress Report 

highlights new data illustrating both progress and challenges in fulfilling the agency’s mission.

Crucial appropriations by Congress in FY 2022 supported recent progress on both backlog reduction and 

humanitarian services. Continued congressional support is critical to eliminate current net backlogs and 

achieve a robust humanitarian mission, while a new fee rule will help prevent the accumulation of additional 

backlogs in the future.

CONTENTS

I. REDUCING BACKLOGS THROUGH INNOVATION ....................................................................... 3

II. ADDRESSING LABOR SHORTAGES ........................................................................................... 7

III. FULFILLING OUR HUMANITARIAN MISSION ............................................................................ 9

IV. FROM FISCAL CRISIS TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY................................................................ 11

V. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 14
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 3

I. REDUCING BACKLOGS THROUGH INNOVATION

Although there is much work ahead to deliver timely decisions to all customers, USCIS continues to apply 

every workforce, policy, and operational tool at its disposal to reduce backlogs and processing times. 

The following examples from FY 2022 demonstrate success in reducing certain backlogs, and represent 

innovations that will help in our continued efforts to reduce backlogs in other programs.

Naturalizing New U.S. citizens

Thanks to the commitment and dedication of the USCIS workforce, as well as crucial appropriations from 

Congress, in FY 2022 the agency welcomed more than 1 million new U.S. citizens. This represents a 62 percent 

reduction in the net backlog of naturalization applications (Form N-400) from the end of FY 2021 to FY 2022, 

and the highest number of naturalized citizens in almost 15 years.

Naturalization case trends

1,200,000

1,000,000

800,000

600,000

400,000

200,000

0

2017

Backlog Completions

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Above: In FY 2022, USCIS completed 1,075,700 naturalization applications (Form N-400) and administered the Oath of Allegiance 

for 967,400 new U.S. citizens. Including derivatives (Forms N-400, N-600, N-600k, N-336, and I-551), USCIS completed 1,122,300 

naturalization cases and naturalized 1,023,200 new U.S. citizens.
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 4

Workforce: Utilizing all available employment-based immigrant visas

Together, USCIS and the Department of State issued all available employment-based immigrant visas in FY 

2022 – double the pre-pandemic number. This was an all-hands-on-deck effort across the agency given that 

any unused visas at the end of the fiscal year would become unavailable starting on Oct. 1, 2022, the start of 

FY 2023. In the final quarter, USCIS worked cases 7 days a week to effectively address pending applications. 

This surge of overtime resources was made possible by congressional appropriations specifically directed for 

backlog reduction efforts.

Total number of employment-based immigrant visas issued

Total Used

140,586

105,417

18,418

16,751

109,796

24,154

13,203

98,631

74,805

22,071

148,166

91,639

35,306

Total Used

147,153

Total Used

195,507

Total Used

275,111

India

China

Rest of the World

 Above: Total employment-based immigrant visa numbers approved by DHS and the State Dept., by country of origin and fiscal year. 

Note that the total cap in FY 2022 was over 281,000, due to unused family-sponsored visa numbers carrying over from FY 2021, and 

Congress allowed nearly 6,400 EB-5 visa numbers to carry over to FY 2023. FY 2019 represents a typical year in terms of the worldwide 

and per-country caps set by statute.
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 5

Policy: Restoring and extending work authorization

In FY 2022, a growing number of noncitizens with valid Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) faced a 

lapse in employment authorization while waiting for their renewal EAD applications to be processed. The root 

of this problem was reduced agency capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by a sudden and 

dramatic increase in EAD filings.

USCIS implemented a temporary final rule, published in May 2022, that extended the EAD validity period for 

over 400,000 noncitizens and immediately restored the ability to work for tens of thousands of noncitizens 

whose EADs had expired through no fault of their own. This innovation continues to benefit USCIS customers 

as we work to eliminate backlogs for pending EAD applications. 

Total number of expired EADs held by certain asylum applicants

May 2021 Sept 2021 Jan 2022 May 2022 Sept 2022

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

70,000

10,000

30,000

50,000

Above: Total number of expired EADs where an asylum seeker filed a renewal application (Form I-765) prior to expiration of their 

previous EAD. The EAD auto-extension rule was published on May 3, 2022. 
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 6

Operations: Reducing EAD wait times 

While extending EAD validity times creates a temporary solution, USCIS continues to focus its efforts on 

permanently eliminating the backlogs. USCIS has implemented operational improvements that increase 

efficiency, enhance system integrity, and reduce processing times. 

For immigrant visa applicants awaiting an EAD renewal, for example, the pending caseload has returned to 

a normal level. This EAD renewal category is well on track to meet USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou’s ambitious 

backlog reduction goals for the coming year. We are pursuing similar progress in other EAD categories and our 

programs generally, in further support of reducing backlogs and returning to normal inventory levels.

Total number of pending EAD renewals filed by adjustment of status applicants

150,000

125,000

100,000

75,000

50,000

25,000

0

September 2020 March 2021 September 2021 March 2022 September 2022

Above: Monthly total number of pending EAD renewal applications (Form I-765) filed by applicants for adjustment of status.
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 7

II. ADDRESSING LABOR SHORTAGES

USCIS took several actions over the past year to address U.S. labor shortages, above and beyond the agency’s 

commitment to reducing backlogs across the board. This included making more temporary visas available 

to U.S. businesses, as well as clarifying policies to ensure access and transparency for employment-based 

programs.

More temporary visas for seasonal workers at U.S. businesses 

Through joint rulemakings between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of 

Labor, USCIS is making available more supplemental H-2B nonagricultural worker visas than ever before, 

in addition to ensuring robust protections for U.S. and foreign workers alike. Furthermore, the H-2B Worker 

Protection Taskforce was created to focus on addressing possible threats to H-2B program integrity, H-2B 

workers’ fundamental vulnerabilities, and the impermissible use of the program to avoid hiring U.S. workers.

Total number of supplemental H-2B visas made available

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0

2018 2019 

30,000

2020 2021 2022 2023

15,000

2019 

0

22,000

55,000

64,716

Above: Total number of supplemental H-2B seasonal nonagricultural worker visas made available or announced by fiscal year. Note 

that this is in addition to the baseline of 66,000 H-2B visas that are normally available each fiscal year. 
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 8

New clarity and services for U.S. employers and noncitizen workers

USCIS further supported U.S. employers and noncitizen workers through key developments for employmentbased immigration in FY 2022. These policy developments ensured U.S. businesses and noncitizen workers 

could access the immigration system, while understanding program guidelines and procedures. Efforts 

include the following:

• Publishing a comprehensive menu of options for professionals in science, technology, engineering, and

math (STEM) to work in the United States, along with detailed policy guidance for those seeking O-1

status for individuals of “extraordinary ability” or EB-2 green cards with a “national interest waiver”

that allows self-petitioning by individuals of exceptional ability or holding advanced degrees.

• Authorizing spouses of E and L visa holders to work immediately, without the requirement to apply and

wait for an EAD, and applying the automatic extension of employment authorization for renewal EAD

applications filed by these E and L spouses as well as certain H-4 spouses.

• Implementing major reforms to the EB-5 immigrant investor program following bipartisan passage of

the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act.

• Establishing a process for healthcare and childcare workers to make an expedited request for

processing of initial EAD applications that have been pending for more than 90 days, or renewal

applications that would expire within 30 days or have already expired.

• Initiating the expansion of premium processing, while adhering to the congressional requirement that

such services must not cause an increase in processing times for regular immigration benefit requests.

• Issuing double the typical number of employment-based immigrant visas, as discussed above.

New commitments for FY 2023

In the coming months, USCIS is prepared to build on this progress by: 

• Implementing premium processing for all employer petitions for immigrant workers (Form I-140) and

certain EAD applications for students and exchange visitors (Form I-765).

• Removing the requirement to submit biometrics for applicants for change and extension of

nonimmigrant status (Form I-539).

• Simplifying several major forms, including the applications for EADs (Form I-765), adjustment of status

(Form I-485), and naturalization (Form N-400).
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 9

III. FULFILLING OUR HUMANITARIAN MISSION

Over the last fiscal year, USCIS has risen to meet a growing humanitarian need by those seeking assistance 

or protection from oppression, violence, and other urgent circumstances. The agency remains committed to 

pursuing critical improvements in administering these programs in FY 2023. 

• In support of vulnerable Afghans, including those who worked alongside the United States in 

Afghanistan for the past two decades, USCIS has completed over 92,000 EAD applications, almost 

2,500 Adjustment of Status applications, over 2,700 asylum applications, over 15,000 Special Immigrant 

Visa (SIV) petitions, and over 7,000 family-based immigrant petitions as of mid-November 2022. USCIS 

interviewed over 6,250 refugee applicants from Afghanistan, completing decisions for over 2,000 

applications, and adjudicated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) requests filed beginning in May, when 

the country became eligible. 

• USCIS has confirmed the financial suitability of over 177,000 supporters for the Uniting for Ukraine 

(U4U) process, and over 82,000 Ukrainians and their immediate family members have been paroled into 

the United States under the U4U process.

• USCIS has implemented several new TPS designations, redesignations, and extensions, including for 

Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen. 

In FY 2021 and FY 2022 combined, USCIS received 483,000 initial TPS applications — an extraordinary 

number of new filings, of which nearly half have been approved.

Policy Improvements

In addition to responding to immediate humanitarian needs, USCIS improved policies within many of its 

humanitarian programs. The following list highlights some of the accomplishments made in the last year. 

Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ)

• Made critical regulatory and policy updates, providing much-needed clarity to both adjudicators and 

the public and providing direct relief to approximately 55,000 SIJ classified noncitizens.

Victims of Domestic Violence, Other Serious Crime, and Trafficking 

• Published comprehensive policy guidance on T visa and VAWA self-petition adjudications, issued law 

enforcement resource guides for both the T and U visas, and introduced a process by which U visa 

applicants can more quickly access benefits to ensure their safety and stability. 

Asylum and Refugees

• DHS and DOJ published the Credible Fear and Asylum Processing interim final rule, which allows for the 

transfer of jurisdiction over some applications for asylum for individuals subject to expedited removal 

from EOIR to USCIS, and swift review of those protection claims. 

• USCIS, with interagency partners, began refugee processing of Afghan applicants at Camp As Sayliyah 

in Qatar, with the aim of completing refugee processing within 30 days. DHS and DOS announced 

exemptions to the terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds, allowing eligible Afghans to qualify for 

protection and immigration benefits on a case-by-case basis where they pose no risk to national 

security or public safety and have undergone rigorous screening and vetting.
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 10

Moving Forward in Fiscal Year 2023

Looking ahead, USCIS remains committed to continuing, and expanding, its robust public engagement 

on humanitarian immigration programs as well as exploring policy and operational measures to improve 

processing times for humanitarian benefits. This includes: 

• Improving the asylum filing process, through launching e-filing for the Form I-589 Application for

Asylum and for Withholding of Removal and transferring the paper Form I-589 filing location from

USCIS Service Centers to the Lockbox to improve intake efficiency.

• Providing refugee applicant notices and case status updates through myUSCIS, as part of an effort to

create efficiencies in refugee processing.

• Sharing notices and case status updates via myUSCIS for all Form I-131 humanitarian parole requests

submitted to the USCIS Lockbox.

• Streamlining the adjudications, and improving processing times, of Form I-131 Advance Parole

applications.

• Continuing use of the direct hiring authority in FY 2023 for officers working on protection cases.

• Adding more adjudicators and exploring policy and operational efficiencies in the VAWA/U/T portfolios

to improve processing times.

• Resuming quarterly VAWA/U/T stakeholder engagements and reinvigorating regular engagements on

the local level.

• Publishing several proposed and final rules in FY 2023 to further clarify eligibility requirements and

promote efficient and consistent adjudications of certain humanitarian benefits.

• Publishing revised forms and more clarifying policy guidance and providing additional training support

for adjudicators at applicable Service Centers on domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking to

help improve consistency in adjudications.

• Leveraging technology solutions to increase the integrity and efficiency of TPS case processing.
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 11

IV. FROM FISCAL CRISIS TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Fiscal Crisis in 2020

As a predominantly (96%) fee-funded agency, USCIS keeps a cash reserve to cover the agency’s expenses 

over the coming months. Although USCIS had long targeted $1 billion as a safe cash reserve level, due to 

high spending in FY 2019 that continued into FY 2020, actual cash reserves decreased to only $176 million by 

February 2020.

Monthly USCIS revenue, expenses, and cash reserves in FY 2020

Above: Monthly USCIS revenue, expenses, and cash reserves (carryover balance) throughout FY 2020, in $ millions. The COVID-19 

pandemic began in the United States in March 2020. Cash reserves subsequently increased in part due to USCIS closing out prior-year 

obligations.

In April and May of 2020, receipts decreased dramatically due to the pandemic, and revenue dropped by 40 

percent. Facing low cash reserves and a possible inability to make payroll, the agency initiated a hiring freeze 

and issued furlough notices to 70 percent of its workforce.

Fortunately, revenue began to rebound by June 2020. Furlough notices were revoked, but adjudication 

capacity was severely impaired by the continued hiring freeze, workforce attrition, and $500 million in budget 

cuts that included reducing contract worker staffing at the National Benefits Center by over 1,000 positions. 

These contract workers play a critical role in preparing cases for adjudication by our USCIS workforce. 
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 12

Returning to Fiscal Strength

During the first year of the Biden-Harris Administration, USCIS was able to lift the hiring freeze and began the 

lengthy process of recruiting and hiring back to authorized levels. USCIS has returned to firmer fiscal footing, 

with cash reserves well on their way to the designated target level, to ensure the agency avoids another fiscal 

crisis. Effective management of current reserves, combined with implementation of an upcoming new fee rule, 

will allow USCIS to continue the hiring surge, enhance technology investments, and seek further operational 

improvements to achieve greater efficiency and improve customer service throughout the agency.

Monthly USCIS revenue, expenses, and cash reserves in FY 2022

Above: Monthly USCIS revenue, expenses, and cash reserves (carryover balance) throughout FY 2022, in $ millions.
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 13

Turning the Tide on Backlogs

The hiring freeze, which ran from May 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021, led to an immediate and steep 

reduction in the number of USCIS adjudicators, as employees who left the agency could not be replaced, 

including the 1,000 contract support staff. At the same time, COVID-19 caused USCIS to close in-person work 

for three months, followed by many more months of adjustments to respond to new COVID safety protocols, 

sending the agency scrambling for solutions to meet its mission to adjudicate millions of requests each year. 

As a result, the total USCIS net backlog—that is, the number of cases pending longer than agency processing 

time goals—doubled by December 2021.

In early 2022, USCIS stopped the growth of the backlog through an ongoing hiring surge and drive to find new 

efficiencies in case processing. The dedicated workforce of USCIS is turning the tide on its pending caseload, 

even while bolstering government-wide efforts such as Operation Allies Welcome and Uniting for Ukraine.

USCIS pending caseload and total number of immigration officers

Congressional Funding Began

Oct-17

Dec-17

Feb-18

Apr-18

Jun-18

Aug-18

Oct-18

Dec-18

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

Dec-19

Feb-20

Apr-20

Jun-20

Aug-20

Oct-20

Dec-20

Feb-21

Apr-21

Jun-21

Aug-21

Oct-21

Dec-21

Feb-22

Apr-22

Jun-22

Aug-22

0

5,000,000

9,000,000

10,000,000

3,000,000

7,000,000

4,000,000

8,000,000

2,000,000

1,000,000

6,000,000

8,000

10,000

9,000

Hiring Freeze

COVID: Offices

Closed to Public

Net Backlog Recent Pending Number of Immigration Officers Onboard

Above: USCIS’ total pending caseload by month, consisting of net backlog (pending cases outside of target processing times) and 

recent pending (cases still within target processing times). “Number of Immigration Officers Onboard” refers to the total number of 

adjudicators (immigration service officers and asylum officers), excluding supervisors, employed by USCIS during a given month.
USCIS FY 2022 Progress Report

December 2022 14

V. CONCLUSION 

In the months ahead, USCIS plans to build on its FY 2022 progress by implementing premium processing for 

all petitions for immigrant workers (Form I-140) and certain employment authorization applications (Form 

I-765) for students and exchange visitors; establishing a permanent biometrics exemption for all applicants 

for change of nonimmigrant status and extension of nonimmigrant stay (Form I-539); and simplifying several 

common forms, including the applications for employment authorization (Form I-765), adjustment of status 

(Form I-485), and naturalization (Form N-400). 

This progress on both backlog reduction and humanitarian services was supported by crucial appropriations 

by Congress in FY 2022. Going forward, USCIS will require continued congressional support to help eliminate

its current net backlogs and meet its humanitarian mission, and plans to pursue a new fee rule to prevent the 

accumulation of new backlogs in the future.

USCIS will continue to expand its robust public engagement on humanitarian immigration programs as well as 

explore policy and operational measures to improve processing times for humanitarian benefits.

While we’ve made progress in FY 2022, we recognize there is more to do to eliminate unnecessary barriers, 

restore faith in the immigration system, and improve transparency, efficiency, and the customer experience. 

We remain committed to these goals and anticipate more progress, as outlined, in the coming year.