amended return sent 3 months ago holding up parents filing

Your parents do not have to wait for your amended return to be processed before they file their tax return. If you amended your return to indicate that your parents can claim you as a dependent, they will not be able to e-file even after your amended return has been processed. They will have to print their tax return, sign it, and file it by mail. They might as well go ahead and do that now.

It normally takes the IRS up to 16 weeks to process an amended return. However, the IRS processing centers were closed for the last three months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and they did not process any mailed tax returns, including amended returns. They are just now starting to process them again, but they have reduced staff and a huge backlog, so it will be a long time before your amended return is processed.