USCIS Processing Time Alert 2026: SCOPS Removed from Official Tracker

USCIS has made a significant change to its processing times tool by officially removing SCOPS — the Service Center Operations directorate — from the publicly accessible processing times page. This change has been noticed by applicants who filed through a consulate, as their case types no longer appear in the tracker. SCOPS handles a wide range of immigration benefit applications processed at USCIS service centers, including many employment-based categories such as EB-3. Its removal from the processing times tool means that applicants in these pipelines no longer have an official benchmark for how long their cases should take. For EB-3 applicants and others in employment-based categories, this represents a reduction in transparency at a time when processing predictability is already a major concern. Without published processing time data, it becomes harder to determine whether a case is outside normal processing time or eligible for an expedite request. Applicants are advised to monitor their case status through the USCIS online account portal and consider contacting USCIS via the Contact Center if their case exceeds what was previously a published processing timeframe. Immigration attorneys may also be consulted regarding whether an inquiry or mandamus action is appropriate.