How long does a immigration lawsuit take?

Immigration litigationimmigration-related federal suits — take a median of 86 days from filing to resolution, based on 102,310 real cases in the public federal court record. Most resolve between 47 days and 314 days — here's the full picture.

Median
86d
Faster 25%
47d
Slower 25%
170d
Slowest 10%
314d

Filing to termination · 102,310 cases · median 86 days

How immigration lawsuit cases end

Of 27,576 resolved cases — the observed record, not a prediction of any one case.

62%are dismissed· typically 102d
23%reach judgment· typically 147d
7%settle· typically 114d
5%transfer or stay (incl. MDL)· typically 64d
2%are remanded· typically 81d

Immigration litigation duration by court

Median time to resolution in the districts with the most immigration lawsuit cases.

DistrictCasesMedianSlowest 10%
E.D.N.Y.10,63364d215d
C.D. Cal.9,924107d1.1 yr
S.D. Tex.4,163124d1.5 yr
N.D. Cal.4,061138d359d
W.D. Tex.4,05362d321d
N.D. Ill.3,72591d241d
D.N.J.3,64693d312d
S.D.N.Y.3,58979d276d
E.D. Cal.3,568107d342d
E.D. Va.3,03295d256d
D. Mass.2,71769d282d
S.D. Fla.2,59370d288d
D. Minn.2,57056d248d
W.D. Wash.2,54095d277d
D. Md.2,475107d287d

Have a specific immigration lawsuit?

These are averages across every immigration lawsuit. For a forecast tuned to your case — your court, your amount, your posture — get a free estimate, or the full report built from your complaint.

Other case types

Source: data/fjc/civil.parquet (Federal Judicial Center), cleaned by Tertius · model tertius-acta-3. Durations are filing to termination for U.S. federal civil cases. This is observed historical data, not a prediction of any specific case, and not legal advice. Tertius forecasts timing and disposition, never merits or damages.