US Denies 44% of Green Card Work Permits: What It Means If You Are Weighing the US or the UK

The United States denied 35,767 work permit applications from Green Card applicants between April and June 2026. That is about 44% of all the decisions it made in that category, up from about 5% a year and a half earlier.

If you are an international professional deciding where to build your career, this matters. Here is what the numbers say, why they are rising, and how the UK's sponsored work route compares.

The key numbers

• 35,767 work permits denied to people waiting on a Green Card, in one quarter (April to June 2026).
• 46,405 approved in the same quarter. Denials were 43.5% of all decisions, often rounded to 44%.
• The rate was about 25% from October 2025 to March 2026, and about 5% at the end of 2024.
• 671,362 applications are still waiting for a decision.
• The median wait is 6.4 months.

What is being denied

When someone applies for a US Green Card from inside the country, the process is called adjustment of status. It can take many months. While they wait, most applicants also apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), the US work permit, on Form I-765. Without it, many cannot legally work until the Green Card is decided.

These figures cover that work permit only. They are not Green Card refusals. But the two are linked: if the Green Card application is refused, the work permit that depends on it usually fails too.

Why denials are rising

USCIS has not given a single reason, and part of the rise comes from fewer approvals rather than only more refusals. But several things are happening at once.

• Stricter Green Card decisions. On 21 May 2026, USCIS issued a policy memo (PM-602-0199) telling officers that adjustment of status is a matter of discretion. Immigration lawyers report that officers can now refuse applicants who meet the technical requirements, with closer review of past status problems, unauthorised work and overstays.
• More requests for evidence. Lawyers report more requests for evidence and notices of intent to deny. A missed deadline or a missed biometrics appointment can lead to a refusal.
• A growing backlog. Hundreds of thousands of applications are waiting, so even approved applicants can spend months unable to work.

Denials are up across other US forms too. In the same quarter, citizenship refusals rose to about 19%, from about 13% in the previous six months.

A denial rate here means denials as a share of decisions made in the quarter. It does not mean 44% of everyone who applied was refused, because hundreds of thousands of cases are still pending.

What this means if you are weighing the US or the UK

The US is not closed. But a longer, less predictable route to working legally changes the maths for many people, especially those relying on a spouse's or their own pending Green Card to keep earning.

The UK's Skilled Worker route works differently:

• Your right to work comes with the visa. A licensed employer sponsors you for a specific job, and your visa gives you permission to work in that job. You do not file a separate work permit and wait for it.
• Published decision times. The Home Office aims to decide most Skilled Worker applications within 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside it.
• Families can usually work. Most Skilled Workers can bring a partner and children, and partners can generally work in the UK.
• A clear route to settlement. Time on the Skilled Worker visa can count towards settlement in the UK. Settlement rules are under review, so check the current position on GOV.UK.

The UK route is not easy either. Since 22 July 2025, most new Skilled Worker jobs must be at graduate level (RQF level 6 or above) and pay at least £41,700 a year, or the going rate for the job if higher. Some lower-skilled roles are allowed only through the Temporary Shortage List, and the overseas care worker route is closed to new applicants. The hardest part for most people is finding an employer that can sponsor them.

How to find a UK sponsor

1. Only apply to licensed sponsors. There are over 127,000 licensed employers in the UK. Search any employer by name in our UK sponsor list before you apply.
2. Check the route and rating. For most jobs you need an employer licensed for the Skilled Worker route with an A rating.
3. Check the role. Make sure the job meets the skill level and salary rules above.
4. Search faster. Our free Chrome extension marks licensed sponsors as you browse Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Totaljobs, so you only spend time on jobs that can lead to a visa.
5. Browse sponsored jobs. See current listings from licensed sponsors on our jobs board.

If you already have a US application pending

Do not abandon a pending case because of headlines. Respond to every request for evidence in full and on time, attend every biometrics and interview appointment, and keep copies of everything. If you receive a denial or a notice of intent to deny, speak to a qualified US immigration attorney quickly, as deadlines are short.

Start your UK search

Search all licensed UK sponsors by name, sector or city, and browse sponsored job listings, free at workvisasponsors.co.uk.

About the data: US figures are from USCIS quarterly data for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 (April to June 2026), as reported by Nairametrics on 13 October 2026, with earlier quarters from USCIS service-wide data summarised by Immiva. The denial rate is denials divided by approvals plus denials in the quarter. UK rules are from GOV.UK and can change. This article is general information, not legal advice.