Foreign nationals seeking legal permanent residency in the United States face an increasingly strict adjudication landscape, as official data from U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reveals a dramatic spike in work permit rejections in the third quarter of 2026.
Between April and June 2026 (Q3 of Fiscal Year 2026), U.S immigration authorities turned down 35,767 employment authorization applications filed by Green Card hopefuls under the Adjustment of Status process, pushing the quarter’s rejection rate to a record 44%.
The sharp uptick in the third quarter of 2026 marks a noticeable departure from prior trends in work permit rejections in the U.S.
In the first two quarters of FY 2026, work permit rejections in the U.S among Adjustment of Status applicants hovered around 25%.
The single third quarter alone saw more rejections than the preceding six months combined (34,472).
Out of 153,039 applications submitted via Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) for adjustment applicants during Q3, USCIS approved 46,405 cases while rejecting 35,767, with hundreds of thousands remaining in processing.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that Form I-765 allows eligible foreign nationals to obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which permits them to work legally in the United States.
Pending applications in this category reached 671,362, with a median processing time of 6.4 months.
Form I-129, used for temporary foreign workers including H-1B applicants, recorded 39,560 denials against 143,748 approvals, pushing its rejection rate to approximately 22%.
Family-based immigration petitions filed through Form I-130 recorded 16,661 denials, representing about 17% of decisions.
Immigrant worker petitions under Form I-140 recorded 7,069 denials and 37,975 approvals, with a rejection rate of approximately 16%.
However, employment-based Green Card applications filed through Form I-485 maintained a relatively stable denial rate of 7%, despite increased rejection rates across other immigration categories.
The figures also showed a rise in citizenship application denials during the period. USCIS received 140,179 Form N-400 naturalisation applications, approving 54,974 and rejecting 12,591.
This pushed the citizenship rejection rate to approximately 19%, compared with 13% during the preceding two quarters.
Pending naturalisation applications reached 727,371, while the median processing time stood at 9.5 months.
The rising rejection rates come amid broader changes to U.S. immigration policies affecting foreign workers, international students and permanent residency applicants.
Recall that in August 2026, the U.S government unveiled stricter financial assessments for certain Green Card applicants, with immigration authorities considering factors such as income, assets, health and reliance on public benefits when determining eligibility.
The administration has also moved to increase immigration-related costs. Effective October 16, USCIS will implement higher fees for asylum applications, employment authorisation, and Temporary Protected Status, as part of annual inflation adjustments.
More recently, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a $70,000 fee for universities recommending international students for Optional Practical Training (OPT), alongside a $30,000 fee for programme extensions.
