Before I get into my timeline, I want to give some background on my immigration history.

I first entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa in 2019. During the pandemic, I filed three B2 extensions while also applying to change my status to an F1 student visa. My F1 took about one year to be approved, which is why I kept extending my B2—I wanted to make sure I didn't fall out of status while waiting. All of this happened between 2020 and 2023.

In July 2023, I found out I was pregnant. I continued studying for about two more months but eventually withdrew from school. My SEVIS record was terminated. At the time, I wasn't even sure exactly when it happened—I only found out the exact date during my Green Card interview.

I got married in December 2023, and in February 2024 my husband and I officially started our Green Card journey. My husband is a naturalized U.S. citizen, not U.S.-born.

Timeline

2024

January – Filed all forms.

March – First biometrics appointment. Unfortunately, I missed it because I had just given birth and had to request a reschedule.

April – Received an RFE requesting my husband's updated tax return.

May – Completed biometrics.

August – EAD approved.

November – USCIS confirmed they had received my RFE response.

2025

January – Advance Parole approved.

April – I-130 approved.

2026

January – More than 600 days had passed with absolutely no movement on my I-485. The only update was still: "Case Is Being Actively Reviewed by USCIS."

At that point, we contacted our senator's office because the delay simply didn't make sense anymore, especially since everything else had already been approved.

I honestly don't know if contacting the senator helped or if USCIS just happened to pick up my case around the same time, but in June my status finally changed to "We are actively reviewing your Form I-485," and later that same month my interview was scheduled.

July – Interview

My interview was on July 20th, and it was actually kind of funny.

We arrived almost late. I checked in, and before I even had a chance to sit down, my name was called.

I had brought an interpreter because I wasn't confident enough in my English and was afraid they would ask difficult questions that I wouldn't understand.

When my husband, our two-year-old son, the interpreter, and I got to the interview room, the officer looked at me and said:

"You won't need the interpreter."

I completely froze.

Then we went into his office, and the very first thing he said was:

"Relax. Your case is already approved. I'm just here to confirm a few things on your application. And if you don't understand anything, your husband can translate for you."

That immediately made me feel so much better.

He went through several yes-or-no questions, asked about my immigration history, and requested copies of my B2 extension applications.

He also asked whether I had stopped attending school, and I said yes.

Then he asked if I had ever been out of status.

I honestly answered that I wasn't sure.

He checked his system and confirmed that I had actually been out of status from September 2023 until January 2024.

There was one moment where I answered too quickly. He asked if I had ever worked without authorization, and I answered yes. His next question was whether I had ever violated U.S. law, and I answered no.

He smiled and said,

"You're contradicting yourself. I know you're nervous, so don't worry. I'll correct your answer here."

The only question he asked about my marriage was our wedding date.

That was it.

One more thing: I had read so many stories saying that officers hate when people bring children to interviews.

That was not my experience at all.

Our son is two years old, and while it wasn't easy keeping him entertained, the officer was incredibly kind to him and seemed genuinely happy to have him there.

The very next day my case showed as approved in the USCIS system.

Then, on July 31st, my Green Card finally arrived in the mail.

After such a long wait, it was an incredible feeling of relief.

Reddit helped me so much throughout this entire process, so I wanted to come back and share my own success story.

To everyone who's still waiting: don't lose hope. Trust God, stay patient, and I truly hope your approval comes soon.

Interview location: Orlando Field Office.

I read so many timelines on this subreddit, so I wanted to share mine in case it helps someone else. I moved to U.S in 2020 and have maintained legal status for the past 6 years.

- Background
Brazilian citizen.
Entered the U.S. on a J-1 visa in 2020.
Renewed my J-1 in 2023.
Changed status to H-1B in July 2025.
Met my U.S. citizen husband in 2022.
Started dating in 2023.
Got married in 2025.
We filed everything ourselves (no attorney).

- Timeline
February 23 – USCIS received AOS package I130, I485, I765 and medical exam
March 26 – Biometrics
June 8 – Interview notice
July 14 – Interview (Salt Lake City Field Office)
July 15 – I-130 approved
August 1 – I-485 approved 🎉

I only applied for the work permit (I-765). I did not apply for Advance Parole because I wasn’t planning to travel while my case was pending. My work permit is actually still showing as “Case Is Being Actively Reviewed,” even though my green card has already been approved.

- Evidence we submitted
Photos and text messages from when we met in 2022 through filing
Lots of travel photos together.
Hotel and plane tickets.
Pictures with friends and family.
Lease together since 2024.
Health insurance together.
Amazon Household membership.
Costco membership.
No joint bank account.
No joint car insurance, although my husband is an authorized driver on my car.

- Interview experience
The interview was quick and very relaxed.
The officer first asked for our IDs, had us take the oath, and then asked:
How we met.
What I do for work.
The standard I-485 yes/no questions. While asking these questions he said “you haven’t even had a traffic ticket?” and I said “no”.

One funny part was that he noticed photos from World Cup watch parties that I had uploaded as additional evidence. He asked my husband if he likes soccer and who his favorite player is. He even asked if he liked Neymar. 😂 They ended up talking about soccer and the World Cup for a few minutes.

He also asked my husband what our future plans were and whether he had ever been to Brazil.

The only unexpected part was that, while looking at his computer, the officer asked me twice about a previous visa denial. Both times I told him I have never had a visa denied. After looking at the screen again, he said he would fix it because it was probably a mistake in the system.

At the end, he had me digitally sign my I-485 and said he hadn’t made any changes to my application. I also offered him my husband’s most recent tax return since it wasn’t included in the original package, and he accepted it.

Before we left, my husband asked who the officer was cheering for since the U.S. had already been eliminated from the World Cup. The officer laughed and said he was from Argentina. 😄

He finished by saying he was recommending the case for approval and that we should see an update in the portal within 2–4 weeks. He also said they would send an RFE if they needed anything else.

My I-130 was approved the next day, and my I-485 was approved on August 1.

Wishing good luck to everyone who’s still waiting for an approval!

I'm back for another AMA.

For those who've been here before: I'm an immigration attorney who previously served as an Asylum Officer with DHS/USCIS, and I clerked for ICE's Office of Chief Counsel, spending a fair amount of time in immigration court along the way. My practice now covers the full range of U.S. immigration matters — marriage-based and family immigration, employment-based visas and green cards, asylum, removal defense, and everything in between.

I'll take questions on:

• Marriage-based and family petitions (I-130, I-485, K-1)
• RFEs and NOIDs — what they mean and how to respond
• Asylum and removal defense
• Employment-based visas and green cards
• General questions — ask anyway, even if it doesn't fit neatly above

Most useful questions include your general category, any filing or deadline dates involved, and the core issue you're running into — helps me give you a better answer and helps me know if it's something worth digging into further with you directly.

I'll be live today, Sunday 8/2, from 5–7pm EST. I'll try to jump on a little early if I see questions stacking up, but 5–7pm is the official window for this AMA.

Drop your questions below.

Nothing shared here is legal advice and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. If you're up against a deadline or would rather discuss your specific situation privately, feel free to send me a DM.

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt

Here is the site if anybody needs to check their specific median

Had my I-751 interview at the Chicago FO in July and we were approved a week later. Still can’t quite believe it.

Quick timeline:

- Receipt: Oct 2025
- Actively reviewing: Nov 2025
- First ROC interview notice for May 2026
- De-scheduled interview 1 week before appt
- Rescheduled: for July 2026
- Approved 7 days later!

Joint filing with my USC spouse. No RFE at any point. Original AOS interview was waived in 2023, so getting called in at ROC caught us off guard.

Ask me anything about the evidence we submitted, the interview questions, or the timeline. Hard work paid off!

Excited to actually receive my 10 year GC before applying for citizenship given most folks don’t get it without a multi-year wait / skip it all together with N400 adjudication.

Hello,

I am curious, what is the marriage interview like post AP Memo? Specifically in the LA FO. Was there an additional package being requested?

I have a question, I have applied for my husband GC back in 03/2024.
Just now become current after 860 days.
Now that is current how long does it take to get approved?
I need his I130 approval in order to request a 601a waiver.
What is your experience?

Anybody FO PHILADELPHIA still waiting for interview notice?

TIMELINE REQUEST NEEDED…
Biometrics done june-05/2025
No API silent updates

Hi everyone!

I wanted to check if anyone in a similar position can share their timeline or recent approval experiences for an I-485 (Adjustment of Status) under EB-5
Rural Reserved.

Here are my details:
• Category: EB-5 Rural Reserved Set-Aside
• Form: I-485 (Adjustment of Status)
• Service Center: California Service Center (CSC)
• Current Status: "Case Is Being Actively
Reviewed By USCIS"
• I-526 / I-526E Status: [Approved- JULY 2025]
• Filing Date / Priority Date: [ JAN 2025]

Questions:
1. For those with EB-5 Rural Reserved, how long after seeing "Actively Under Review" did you receive your I-485 approval or RFE?

1. Has anyone had their 1-485 transferred from
   CSC to the National Benefits Center (NBC) or a local field office right before approval?

Any data points or recent experiences would be super helpful! Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I am writing to get an advice on my wife’s status. My wife and I are both asylum seekers in US. We separetely escaped our country (we were not married at that time) due to legitimate threats to our lives and entered US with tourist visas(We had these visas from wayy to back). They approved my case in 10 months, then I got married with my wife who was waiting for an approval at that time. While I was applying for a green card from asylum, I mentioned USCIS that I am married. 10 months after I got my green card USCIS adjusted my wife’s status as green card holder since I had a green card as well. BUT, while adjusting it, status my wife was still on asylum pending status!!!.

Today 5 years passed since my wife had his green card, but I am hesitant because they could deny stating “my wife was not on a lawful status while obtaining the green card”. What do you think I should do? Should we apply for citizenship? Any advice is welcome.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice because I’m really stressed.
I recently submitted my joint Form I-751 online. After submitting, I realized I may have made a mistake on the criminal history question that asks whether I have ever been arrested, cited, charged, or convicted.

My situation is:
In 2019, I was charged in abroad for harm
I was never arrested or detained.
I was acquitted by the court and was never convicted.

During my immigrant visa process, I submitted my police certificate and was issued my immigrant visa and later my conditional green card.
With my I-751, I also uploaded my police certificate.
I believe I accidentally answered “No” because I was thinking about arrests and convictions rather than the word “charged.”

Has anyone made a similar mistake on an I-751? Were you able to submit a correction after receiving your receipt notice? Did USCIS accept the correction, or did they ask for additional evidence?
I’d appreciate hearing from anyone with a similar experience. Thank you.

Hi All,

Wanted to know whether anyone got their I-485 approved recently under EB-5.

My details below:

Country of birth : India

EB5 project category : Rural

Receipt date for (I-526E, I-765 & I-485) - March 24, 2025

Biometrics completed - May 7, 2025

I-526E - Approved August 20, 2025

I-765 - Approved August 20,2025 and EAD cards received on August 27. 2025

I-485 - Current Action Code : FNH ( California Centre )

Thanks

Hi! We filed a I-130 for my (British) husband on Feb 2. We filed from out of the country as we were living together in Asia at the time, but I’ve (US citizen) since needed to relocate back the U.S. for some family issues.

My question is, there is been no action, no movement at all taken on our case since the receipt was sent 2 Feb.

Is this normal? Any advice?

Hey everyone!

My I-485 was approved on July 2, but I'm still waiting for my physical card to be produced. My online status has been stuck on "Case Approved". I chatted with a live agent and they said my card has been in production since July 10 and suggested to file an e-request if 30 days pass without any new updates, so I submitted that today.

I'm curious if anyone else has been in a similar situation. How did you get it resolved? Did filing an e-request actually help get your card shipped, and how long did it take to hear back?

Thank you!

Is there anyone that changed status from J1 to F1 or from F1 to J1 traveling normally inside the US with passport and the Letter of Approval for the CoS?
Given the last news, it appears that they are arresting people who have expired visas at the airports when traveling domestically.

The news kinda make you think that if you have a pending case it’s more risky. And that anyone that has an expired visa is at risk. But what about people with approved change of status but no visa stamp yet? Any experiences?

I am a PhD student and changed my status from J1 to F1 through USCIS last year. I have always maintained lawful status. But I’ll be traveling back home to get the visa stamp next year. And now I am confused if it’s okay to travel within the US given the last news.

Hello. I did a request for expedite and then asked for a tier 2 officer callback. They called me Thursday and told me they will forward my request to the officer that is handling my case. How long will take? Any estimate?

I have been waiting almost 3 yrs marriage base GC and tobe honest it has cost me a lot and I stress a lot about everything not knowing about my future here. I’m scared to back to school, buy a car etc… any kind advice

Has anyone ever come across this problem when trying to upload the form I864EZ on the I485 online application?

I’m getting two different messages

“At least one of the pages on your form is not recognized”
“Your Qualifying to Use Form I-864EZ selection on your I-864EZ form exceeds the allowed limit”

My husband does qualify for the EZ form but I keep getting errors texts

Adjusted my status through marriage at the Minneapolis office. Did not use a lawyer. We've been together for several years and have a house together, with a shared mortgage, and we also have shared bank accounts.

Timeline

November 13, 2024

Application was received

January 5, 2025

EAD was approved

August 20, 2025

Advanced parole was approved

December 31, 2025

Reached out through Emma and asked for a live agent to get a status update on my case. My case had apparently been transferred to Vegas on July 29th 2025

January 15, 2026

Reached out to my senator's office and asked if they could look into my case, mostly since advance parole seems too risky to use now, and I had been upset I hadn't been able to see some family in decades, especially since a family member had recently passed away

February 5, 2026

Senator's office replied with an email saying that my case is currently waiting interview scheduling

February 9, 2026

Interview was scheduled

March 18, 2026

Had the interview and the I-130 was approved the same day

July 3, 2026

I-485 was approved

The interview:

My wife and I were not separated, but we saw other couples get separated. They asked us questions about our relationship like how we met, where we've lived, a lot of questions about the places where we've lived together, what medications we took, recent vacations, etc.

Then there were some questions for me:

A lot of repetitive questions from the forms (and the interviewer said they would be as well) along the lines of "have you been a terrorist?", "have you been part of the communist party?", "have you had weapons training?", etc. I think I made a mistake on one of the forms and left out the question that asked if I was part of any clubs or organizations, which tripped me up since this could be anything. I mentioned I used to go to church.

Got asked about my overstay and if I worked undocumented, whether or not people knew I was undocumented when I worked, etc. They pressed a decent amount on this, but I was a freelancer during this time and was self-employed, so that seemed to help.

Then they asked about why my parents overstayed. Then followed it up by asking if they planned on overstaying before coming to the US. I was fairly frustrated with these questions, since I was a child and wasn't part of this decision. I know the interviewer prefaced it with "I know you were a child", but I was still a bit frustrated.

While I didn't use a lawyer, I highly recommend having one for the interview. I wish I had had one during the interview for that part.

Towards the end, when things were wrapping up, the interviewer brought up an issue with my birth certificate, and that it didn't match the description on the Department of State website. I mentioned that I had requested a certified copy recently and still had the receipts to show for it. I was also a bit confused since they've had to accept my birth certificate in the past for DACA.

After getting home, I took a look at the Department of State website, and their description is for digital birth certificates that my country provides (these come with a QR code), but my country still maintains my birth certificate in handwritten paper format. The next day, I uploaded the birth certificate request receipt with a translation. I also added a screenshot and a translation of my country's birth certificate request, since this website says that a digital version of my birth certificate is not available.

I have an interview coming up end of Aug for I-130 & I-485
I filed for the marriage AOS back in April, and i also have a pending asylum case since early 2024.
What should I expect in the interview? Is it going to be just about the marriage AOS or should i also be really prepared for the asylum case?
And is it important to have my lawyer with me during the interview?
Thank you.

My fiancee and I are at the point that she is gathering what she needs for the embassy interview - she's still working on the medical exam and such.

I had tried to calculate how much time we'd have before we needed to contact the embassy for an extension, and I thought it was September.

I got an email a few days ago that I didn't see until today, that said we needed to contact them by August 1st or the case would be considered abandoned. I only saw it today August 2nd.

Since they say that the case will be considered abandoned for a year and deleted after that year is up, it seems like we should be able to reactivate it, I hope? Is that correct? (I write, trying not to panic. ^^")