Alabama’s immigration backlog reached a decade high and thousands of families are still waiting, report finds

Pending family-based green card applications in Alabama have climbed 75% since the state’s only immigration office opened in Montgomery in 2017, according to a report from Manifest Law.

Alabama ended the 2025 fiscal year with 3,930 cases compared to 2,245 nine years ago.

Family-based green cards allow immigrants with immediate relatives who are U.S. citizens to become a lawful permanent resident.

Montgomery’s field office received nearly 1,100 family-based applications in FY 2025. That’s about half of the 2,151 applications received in 2017. Just 1,260 family-sponsored applications were approved here in 2025, down 35% from 2017’s 1,880.

The state also denied fewer applications, refusing just 30 family-based applicants in 2025 compared to 138 back in 2017.

Family-based applications were the most common type received in Alabama last year.

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