There were 421,358 pending interviews in April compared to 436,700 in March. This is troubling news because overall, the U.S. Department of State has yet to significantly increase the number of monthly interviews. As such, the backlog is only decreasing incrementally; this month’s decrease was a paltry 3.5%.
The total number of scheduled green card interviews increased by less than 0.4%, from 32,317 in March to 32,439 in April. That’s substantially less than the 18% increase from February to March, and far too slow to make any dent in reducing the backlog. At this rate, Boundless predicts the backlog will be a challenge indefinitely and it could take ten or more years to get back to pre-COVID levels.
The National Visa Center (NVC) — a State Department facility that processes visa applications — publishes a monthly report to update the public on changes to the immigrant visa backlog. Wait times have surged since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic led to a shutdown of U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. The pandemic continues to place strain on the number of visas the State Department is able to process.
Check back here next month for the latest backlog figures. If you recently received your interview notice, get prepared with our guide on what to expect at the green card interview.