EB-1A and EB-2 NIW filing trends, approval and denial rates from FY2014 to 2026, and the full approved-petition backlog awaiting visa availability.
A quick reference for the subcategories referenced throughout this dashboard.
Self-petition for individuals with sustained national or international acclaim. No employer sponsor, job offer, or labor certification required.
For academics with international recognition in a specific field, generally requires a permanent job offer from a university or research institution.
For executives or managers transferring within a multinational company to a U.S. entity, requires employer sponsorship.
A self-petition path within EB-2 that waives the job offer and labor certification requirement when the work is in the national interest.
Standard EB-2 path requiring an employer sponsor, job offer, and typically a PERM labor certification.
These I-140 petitions are already approved. They are waiting only because their priority date has not yet become current under the per-country visa limits.
Approved petitions that cannot yet receive a green card because no visa number is available.
Overall denial rates rose from about 8% in 2014-2020 to nearly 14% in FY2025.
Approved counts, not filed counts. FY2026 is partial year.
| Category | Filed | Approved | Denied | Approval Rate | Pending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All I-140 | 110,471 | 57,181 | 4,190 | 93.2% | 184,209 |
| EB-1 Total | 24,734 | 7,866 | 2,902 | 73.1% | 39,415 |
| EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability) | - | 2,578 | - | - | - |
| EB-1B (Outstanding Professors) | - | 1,976 | - | - | - |
| EB-1C (Multinational Managers) | - | 3,312 | - | - | - |
| EB-2 Total | 48,398 | 22,780 | 972 | 95.9% | 91,189 |
| EB-2 Advanced Degree | - | 20,573 | - | - | - |
| EB-2 NIW | - | 2,207 | - | - | - |
| EB-3 Total | 37,339 | 26,535 | 316 | 98.8% | 44,089 |
Approval rate computed as approved over approved plus denied.
NIW approvals peaked at 29,092 in FY2023, dropped to 12,516 in FY2025. Not fewer filings, more stringent adjudication. Petition quality matters more now.
From roughly 8% in FY2014-2020 to nearly 14% in FY2025. Every petition should be built as if it could face an RFE.
10,447 in FY2023, 11,240 in FY2024, 10,758 in FY2025. For India-born applicants, EB-1A remains the strategically superior path.
Approved I-140 petitions sitting in the queue as of March 2026, not yet even I-485s. With the per-country cap near 28,862, the math is stark.