USCIS $123M Funding Alert: Green Card & EB-3 Processing Times Could Improve in 2026

The U.S. government shutdown concluded on April 30, 2026, as Congress passed the FY2026 Homeland Security funding bill. Under this legislation, USCIS is allocated $123 million, a significant injection of federal resources into the agency responsible for adjudicating immigration benefits including employment-based green cards. The funding details were outlined in high-level summaries published by both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. A more detailed conference document provides additional specifics on how the funds are to be distributed across DHS components, including USCIS operations. For EB-3 applicants — including skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers — this development is noteworthy. USCIS funding levels directly influence staffing capacity, adjudication infrastructure, and the agency's ability to reduce processing backlogs. Increased appropriations have historically correlated with improvements in case processing speeds. Applicants currently waiting on I-140 petitions, adjustment of status filings, or consular processing should monitor USCIS processing time updates, as agency resource levels are a key variable in determining how quickly cases move through the queue. While the full impact of this funding on EB-3 timelines remains to be seen, the end of the shutdown and the passage of a formal appropriations bill provides USCIS with stable, predictable funding — a positive signal for the immigration system heading into the latter half of 2026.