When discussing President Donald Trump's immigration policies, many people immediately think of stricter enforcement against illegal immigration. However, newly released statistics reveal another significant trend: the number of legal immigration applications approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also declined substantially during the first year of Trump's second term.
This suggests that recent policy changes have affected not only illegal immigration but also the adjudication of lawful immigration applications.
USCIS Approvals Declined by 27%
According to official statistics, USCIS approved approximately 8.3 million applications in 2025, down from 11.4 million approvals in 2024.
This represents a decline of about 3.1 million approvals, or approximately 27% within a single year.
The significant decrease reflects a broader trend toward stricter immigration adjudication.
Humanitarian Programs Experienced the Largest Decline
The humanitarian immigration category saw the most dramatic reduction.
Approvals for refugee, humanitarian parole, and other humanitarian programs dropped from approximately 1.31 million approvals in 2024 to roughly 410,000 in 2025, representing a decline of about 69%.
According to immigration experts, this decrease reflects the Trump administration's efforts to reduce refugee admissions and tighten oversight of humanitarian immigration programs.
Employment-Based Immigration Also Declined
Employment-based immigration programs were also affected.
Applications related to employment visas, Form I-140, and employment-based adjustment of status applications (Form I-485) decreased from approximately 5.45 million to 4.04 million, representing a decline of nearly 26%.
Notably:
- Approved Form I-140 petitions declined from approximately 160,000 to 152,000.
- Approved employment-based Green Cards decreased from approximately 119,000 to 108,000.
Although U.S. immigration law authorizes approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas each year, the actual number of approved cases remained below that level.
This suggests that the adjudication process has become more rigorous, with more Requests for Evidence (RFEs), additional security screening, and longer processing times.
Family-Based Immigration Remained Stable
Unlike other categories, family-based immigration remained relatively stable.
The number of approved Form I-130 petitions increased by more than 10% compared with the previous year, while approvals for Green Cards issued to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens also recorded a modest increase.
This indicates that family-based immigration continues to be one of the priorities of the U.S. immigration system.
