U.S. immigration courts completed nearly 974,000 cases during fiscal year 2026, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced on October 29. The Board of Immigration Appeals separately completed nearly 46,400 cases. EOIR described both totals as records: an all-time high for immigration courts and a 20-year high for the Board.
The agency also reported reducing its case backlog by more than 678,000 since January 2025 and hiring more than 300 permanent immigration judges during FY 2026, another single-year record. These figures come from EOIR's own announcement; they are not an independent audit of case outcomes.
What does “completed” mean?
A case completion is not the same thing as an asylum approval, a deportation order or a decision after a full evidentiary hearing. Immigration proceedings can end in different ways. The headline total does not disclose the number of people granted protection, ordered removed or whose cases ended for procedural reasons. Those outcomes require separate data.
The immigration court and Board of Immigration Appeals totals also measure different stages of adjudication. Adding them together would not produce a reliable count of distinct people whose cases ended.
Did the backlog disappear?
No. EOIR reported a substantial reduction in pending cases, not the elimination of the backlog. Its statement did not establish that hearing dates have moved forward in every immigration court. Timing depends on the particular court, assigned judge, case type, new filings and procedural developments.
The numbers likewise do not show whether individual decisions became more accurate, whether access to lawyers improved or whether the rate of asylum grants changed. A higher completion count alone cannot answer those questions.
What should someone with a pending case do?
Continue following the hearing notices and filing deadlines that apply to your case. National productivity statistics do not change an individual hearing date or suspend an appeal deadline. EOIR's Automated Case Information system can provide case information, but parties must rely on official notices and applicable court instructions.
For people awaiting decisions, the key distinction is between a record-setting administrative total and an actual change in their own case. The October 29 announcement confirms the former, not necessarily the latter.