Citizenship Clinic Update: October 2026

Twenty-seven months after its start, the clinic has handled 496 requests for help, served 447 people, and secured 100 new citizenship certificates for clients, among other developments.

Requests for Assistance | Charts | Active Cases | Completed Cases | Countries Represented

A note on the numbers: data is from July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2026. We count each legal matter separately, so a few people appear twice (for example, an N-600 followed by a U.S. passport application—or both at the same time). Requests where we provided no service are reported separately and not counted as cases. With some exceptions, these are almost always because the person never responded after completing an intake. Numbers change frequently as new matters come in.

• 330 matters involved legal representation, described below;
• 104 matters involved advice only, including 76 general consultations (usually confirming someone’s citizenship or immigration status), 11 related to international travel, 12 for advice on specific immigration applications (N-600, N-565, and N-400), and a handful on passports, appeals, and FOIA requests;
• 13 matters are still awaiting a decision from the client on whether to move forward with representation.

Another 49 requests did not result in any service. In 46 of those, the person never responded after we followed up at least twice about the intake. Two involved minor adoptees under 16 years of age, which we referred to other counsel.

The 330 pro bono cases include:

• 1 renewal of Temporary Protected Status (TPS);
• 3 appeals or motions to reopen previously denied cases (I-290B);
• 4 applications to adjust status through a US citizen spouse (I-485);
• 5 US passport applications (this is a new clinic direction, given the length of time currently to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship);
• 7 matters still being investigated to determine options and strategy;
• 15 green card renewals (I-90);
• 17 applications for naturalization (N-400);
• 32 requests solely for USCIS records through a FOIA request;
• 62 applications for a replacement citizenship certificate (N-565);
• 184 applications for a Certificate of Citizenship (N-600).

Twenty-seven people came to the clinic with a case that they had already filed on their own. In those cases, we offer to sign on as their attorney so we can monitor the case and/or address issues that may arise. Not all take up us on that offer, and in such cases we advise them on what to expect as their case moves forward

• 1 case involving representation after termination of a client’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS);
• 2 appeals/motions (I-290B), both pending;
• 2 US passport matters;
• 4 applications for adjustment of status (I-485), all filed;
• 4 cases that only involve a FOIA request for USCIS records;
• 5 green card renewals (I-90);
• 6 applications for naturalization (N-400), four of them waiting for the interview;
• 7 cases still being investigated to determine next steps;
• 22 applications for a replacement certificate (N-565), with 8 pending with USCIS and 2 certificates issued but not yet confirmed as received;
• 110 applications for a Certificate of Citizenship (N-600). Sixty-five are pending with USCIS, 5 are approved and waiting on the oath ceremony, and about 30 are being drafted or in the document-gathering stage.

Another 13 people are deciding whether to move forward with representation. A further 29 matters are on hold while the client decides next steps or works to gather documents; those are not counted above.

• 100 citizenship certificates total, including 63 Certificates of Citizenship (up from 42 in January), 31 replacement certificates (up from 8), and 4 Certificates of Naturalization. Two more certificates were issued to people who filed on their own after obtaining advice from the clinic;
• 13 US passport books and/or cards;
• 11 renewed green cards (up from 2).

Another five N-600 applications have been approved and are waiting on the oath ceremony.

Completed or closed matters also include:

• 25 cases that only involved a request for USCIS records (FOIA);
• 101 advice-only matters;
• 46 requests closed after no response from the person following an intake;
• 2 minor adoptees (under age 16) referred to outside counsel;
• 2 USCIS applications withdrawn at the client’s request.

For the N-600 applications we filed, the time from filing to the Certificate of Citizenship averages 173 days, or just under six months. That is a little slower than the 164 days we reported in January. The fastest took 43 days (issued in July 2026). The slowest took 533 days, filed in February 2025 and issued in July 2026.

Current statistics, however, hide cases that have not yet been completed. Of the N-600s we filed in 2025, 42 have been decided, but 17 of 59 (29%) have now waited more than a year with no decision. Across all our filed cases, 18 have been pending more than a year, including two naturalization applications and an adjustment of status case that has waited over two and a half years (and still counting).

Replacement certificate cases (N-565) are processed at a national center and have consistently taken approximately 9 months from date of filing to approval.

Of note: biometrics appointments for N-600s arrive about a month later than for every other application we’ve filed, consistently across more than 100 cases. These figures cover only applications the clinic filed, not those clients who filed on their own (one client who filed on their own has now waited nearly three years since filing, though the clinic has now taken the person on as a client to determine why it has been so delayed—and to fix it if possible).

Countries with more than one client include Albania (2); Bulgaria (2); Jamaica (2); Panama (2); Paraguay (2); Taiwan (2); Brazil (3); Canada (3); Chile (3); Costa Rica (3); Honduras (3); El Salvador (4); Peru (4); Romania (4); Thailand (4); Kazakhstan (5); Ethiopia (7); Haiti (9); Ukraine (9); Mexico (10); the Philippines (10); Vietnam (15); Colombia (19); Guatemala (19); and India (22).

World Map of Clients

Note: Map is updated periodically and may reflect new countries added since the last update. Some countries may also appear on the map initially but are changed or removed after more information becomes available.

Client Residence

The average client is 34 years old (median age 30), ranging from 17 to 77. Age tracks the type of case fairly closely. People applying for a Certificate of Citizenship average 29 years of age, while those applying for naturalization average 43 and those renewing a green card average 49. The older groups are largely adoptees who were too old to benefit from the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

At least 54 of the people we have helped are not US citizens: 39 green card holders, 11 with no known lawful immigration status, 2 who have been deported (plus another 2 who are currently in ongoing removal proceedings), 1 US national non-citizen, and 1 whose Temporary Protected Status has been terminated. Each of them was adopted by U.S. citizen parents, though the two previously deported clients were not specifically intercountry adoptee cases but were step-parent adoptions.

Additional Charts and Data

Illustrative explanations of issues we are now seeing with clinic cases.

Redaction and Removal of “A File” Records

As explained in more detail here, USCIS has been heavily redacting and removing records from client “A Files” (the immigration files for intercountry adoptees/immigrants). Since approximately mid-April 2025, the vast majority of records are now being redacted or removed entirely from the file. Beginning in about September 2026, at least in new clinic cases, we are starting to see less redaction of records.

Note: Adoptee Rights Law Center, which operates the clinic, has filed a lawsuit against USCIS related to the increase of redactions and withholding of records.

Overall Processing Times for N-600 and N-400 Applications

In all 89 USCIS Field Offices, processing times for completion of N-600 applications have increased by about two months since May 2026, and some offices (Minneapolis-St. Paul) have reported up to 30 months to process and complete applications (though that number recently decreased to 22 months). Adoptee Rights Law Center has been tracking these statistics, which are preliminarily published here, for both N-600 and N-400 applications.