Question about the USCIS slowdown (I-130 processing times)

Hi everyone,

I have a question that has been on my mind for a while.

I see a lot of discussion about the 75-country pause and the progress of the CLINIC v. Rubio lawsuit. However, I hardly see anyone talking about another major issue: USCIS I-130 approvals seem to have slowed down dramatically.

The posted processing time has gone from 17 months to 19 months, then 20 months, and now 21.5 months. If cases continue to move this slowly, it seems like the processing time will keep increasing.

Does anyone know what is causing this slowdown? Is it related to staffing, policy changes, workload, or something else? Has anyone seen any official explanation or reliable information about when things might improve?

The wait was already incredibly difficult, and now it feels even more discouraging. I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts or any information you've come across.

Thank you!