Courts with Longest Case Backlogs

Ranked by average time to decision, in months (minimum 500 cases). Statistical data from DOJ EOIR.

This is a court-level historical average, not a prediction of how long any individual case will take. Not legal advice: actual wait times depend on case type, docket load, and continuances; consult a licensed immigration attorney or accredited representative for guidance on your situation.

According to EOIR, this ranking is drawn from the same FOIA release covering millions of cases decided since 2001 across roughly 70 immigration courts. See our methodology for detail.

#1
Los Angeles - West Immigration Court
Los Angeles, CA · 29,893 cases
47 mo
avg wait
#2
Annandale Immigration Court
Annandale, VA · 18,443 cases
42 mo
avg wait
#3
Chelmsford Immigration Court (Detained)
Chelmsford, MA · 877 cases
40 mo
avg wait
#4
Baltimore Immigration Court
Baltimore, MD · 15,876 cases
40 mo
avg wait
#5
San Francisco Immigration Court
San Francisco, CA · 47,971 cases
40 mo
avg wait
#6
Sterling Immigration Court
Sterling, VA · 9,388 cases
40 mo
avg wait
#7
Omaha Immigration Court
Omaha, NE · 4,960 cases
39 mo
avg wait
#8
New York - Federal Plaza Immigration Court
New York, NY · 77,066 cases
39 mo
avg wait
#9
Boston Immigration Court
Boston, MA · 17,743 cases
39 mo
avg wait
#10
Newark Immigration Court
Newark, NJ · 16,890 cases
39 mo
avg wait
#11
Seattle Immigration Court
Seattle, WA · 16,153 cases
38 mo
avg wait
#12
Portland Immigration Court (Detained)
Portland, OR · 4,820 cases
38 mo
avg wait
#13
Indianapolis Immigration Court
Indianapolis, IN · 1,709 cases
37 mo
avg wait
#14
Concord Immigration Court
Concord, CA · 4,827 cases
36 mo
avg wait
#15
Chelmsford Immigration Court
Chelmsford, MA · 2,160 cases
35 mo
avg wait
#16
Hyattsville Immigration Court
Hyattsville, MD · 10,598 cases
35 mo
avg wait
#17
San Antonio Immigration Court
San Antonio, TX · 10,024 cases
35 mo
avg wait
#18
Los Angeles - Van Nuys Boulevard Immigration Court
Van Nuys, CA · 6,818 cases
35 mo
avg wait
#19
Charlotte Immigration Court
Charlotte, NC · 11,503 cases
34 mo
avg wait
#20
New Orleans Immigration Court
New Orleans, LA · 8,017 cases
34 mo
avg wait

Every figure on PlainImmigration is rendered directly from federal immigration court records, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on DOJ EOIR immigration court case data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.