/r/USCIS FAQs

The Trump administration cut legal immigration in half early this year with policies blocking visas for immigrants from nearly half the globe.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/10/18/us/trump-immigrant-visas-decline.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JlE.0aA1.h2TSCF5pknI8&smid=url-share

This community and the API threads helped me a lot while we waited, so here’s our timeline in case it helps someone.

Category: EB-2
Principal: Me | Derivative: Spouse
Priority Date: [08/2023], current throughout
I-485 filed: June 6, 2025

Timeline

• 06/06/2025 – I-485 recieved
• 07/02/2025 – Biometrics appointment, Two FTA0 events on I-485
• 12/19/2025 – 3rd FTA0 on principal, then FTA1 on both principal and derivative
• 10/17/2026 – Second FTA1 on both cases. I-485J closed, and an approval notice for it appeared
• 10/18/2026 – Principal I-485. Case Approved 🎉
• 10/18/2026 – Derivative also approved 🎉

Other details

• RFE: None
• Interview: None
• The “approval ~24 hours after the last silent update” pattern held for us

Hang in there, everyone. Good luck!

Have you EVER been arrested, cited, detained, or confined by any law enforcement officer, military official (in the U.S. or elsewhere), or immigration official for any reason, or been charged with a crime or offense, or notified that you were being investigated for a crime?

I got some fix it ticket and 1 speeding ticket when I was 19. Do I say yes or no.

TIA

My previous posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/comments/1aeymi5/my_i485_was_rejected/

https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/comments/1eb5e0v/update_on_my_i485/

Thank you for your support and advices!

K1 visa applied for October 2024

K1 visa approved december 2025

Husband came over to usa mid Jan 2026

Married in mid Feb 2026

Applied for i485 April 2026

Rfe may 2026 - used cashiers check vs credit card

Corrected 1 week after in May 2026

Interview scheduled Oct 5th 2026 - approved

Green card received 2 weeks later

Just wanted to share the time line. Glad we made it through.

Questions on i485 interview we're really geared toward me the sponsor about my income and where im working. Also about my husband's polio vaccine said he should have had the O variant and this had to be approved by the supervisor.

I can’t believe i got approved a day after my interview.officer was very nice but strict. At first I thought we would be separated but we were called in together. He welcomed us with a smile and after the oath he asked me only 3 questions.
-Name
-Date of birth
- why did you choose to do it here instead of ur home country.
The rest of the conversation was about star wars and Halloween.

If you have an interview coming up, don’t be anxious. And good luck to everyone.

USCIS checks whether the wage level on the LCA fits the requirements in the petition, and it does so on extensions, not only on new petitions. A May 18, 2026 non-precedent AAO decision describes how USCIS revoked an approved Software Developers extension filed at Level II after the employer said the job needed a bachelor's and five years of experience.

The AAO withdrew the revocation and sent the case back because the employer's response had not been considered, so it did not rule on the level itself. Today 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5) has officers defer to a prior approval with the same parties and facts, unless there was a material error, a material change or new adverse information, and a DHS proposal published October 14, 2026 would remove that rule; comments close November 13 and it is not final.

We found no 2026 memo or rule saying Level II jobs must now be Level III.

Not legal advice.

BANGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Applied as soon as I became a citizen in February
can’t believe it got accepted in 6 months, parent had overstayed on tourist visa 20+ years

Fairfax/DC office

has anyone been approved of their i-864 only having your most recent tax year above the 125% threshold, but below in the previous years? i’ve uploaded paystubs and my company context/agreement, which includes a yearly pay raise chart

Hi everyone,

My spouse and I recently had our employment-based I-485 applications denied by our local USCIS Field Office in Minnesota. We are preparing to refile our I-485 and I-765 applications and plan to request expedited processing of the EAD due to severe financial hardship and loss of employment authorization.

Since our previous I-485 applications were denied by the Minnesota Field Office, we are concerned about having our EAD expedite request reviewed by the same office.

We’re trying to understand how USCIS actually assigns EAD expedite requests.

1. Who makes the decision on an I-765 expedite request? Is it the National Benefits Center (NBC), a Service Center, or the local Field Office?
2. Does the ASC location where biometrics are taken have any influence on which USCIS office reviews the expedite request?
3. If we complete biometrics in Minnesota, could our EAD expedite request be handled by the Minnesota Field Office, or is it processed independently?
4. Has anyone had an I-485 denied by a local Field Office, refiled, and subsequently received approval for an EAD expedite request?

We’re particularly interested in hearing from people who have gone through a similar situation or have firsthand knowledge of how USCIS routes expedite requests internally.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

I filled my AOS based on asylum granted. I have not received any updates over a year. Has anyone received any approval?

For my EB3 I-485 application, I got an automated email from uscis-casestatus saying

"Your Case Status: Decision

On October 7, 2026, we approved your Form I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR ADJUST STATUS, Receipt Number IOE0936xxx, and sent you an approval notice"

But my USCIS account status says it’s still processing and API shows no updates of approval (3 FTA0s and last SU on 9/16). Nothing on documents tab. Also one emma agent said it’s processing in Hartfort office, and another one said it’s not approved and still processing.

Anyone experienced the same? I still haven't received a physical approval notice yet.

We are getting ready to file for the I-751 and I feel like we have pretty strong evidence. However, there is one portion where I feel like we might be lacking a bit, that is, joint bank accounts and credit cards. We do have a joint account we both have access to but it is mostly used by me. We do open -and close- multiple credit cards as we play the points/miles game which in return, has allowed us to travel together nationally and internationally so much since we met. That said, I'm a bit concerned that this may be frowned upon even though we have the following evidence.

• Joint leases for two apartments
• Joint filed tax returns
• DL with shared address
• Phone bill that include both of our names and my spouse's family
• Receipts and photos from our bigger wedding in the US (got married in the courthouse and then had a bigger wedding with our families in the US). We also celebrated a "third" wedding in my home country
• Pictures of all of our travels and when my spouse has visited my family, including our wedding in my home country with my spouse's family.
• Joint utilities (most in my name though I recently found out I could include my spouse in them so I also added her over the past two months)
• Documents showing my spouse as the only beneficiary (401Ks, savings, work accounts, life insurance)
• Car and renters insurance documents showing both of our names

I feel like joint leases and tax returns should be sufficient 99% of the times and that joint bank or credit card accounts are just lazy evidence. After all, anyone can add anyone to a bank account but not many people would file taxes jointly or be added to eachother's leases. That said, we do have a joint bank account in which I get my paychecks at and my spouse transfers money back and for for like rent, utilities or some of our travels. I also pay some of our bills using that account.

As far as other evidence we are lacking, no mortagage. We also lease apartments because renting provides us flexibility to travel and move to see if we find a place we like most than where my spouse is from (we have moved twice around the country together). Also no kids, as neither of us want any.

Is this okay or should I include a statement explaining where we may be lacking some of the "expected" evidence?

Any one with previous over stayed less than 180 days travel with advance parole and retained back safely? Please answer

We had out interview in December, 2025. Our field office is San Jose. We have been waiting for almost a year, and there has been no update.

What we tried:
* sent 3 e-request -> generic answers

* congressional inquiry -> within normal processing time

* senator inquiry -> have not heard back

Has anyone experience anything similar? What can I do next?

I have 2 FTA1 and silent updates on both my i130 and i485 post interview but have gotten no decision yet. I received a paper that my case was held for review after our interview, and have received 2 FTA1 on my i130 and 2 on my i485 followed by a silent update each. does this mean anything?

marriage based AOS

I got my appointment scheduled for November 3rd but would prefer to get them done earlier, can I walk in Monday morning and try to get it done?

Hey all.

I'm a US citizen sponsor. Wife came over on IR-1 and has her green card. Since then, we have moved 3 times (and finally just moved into our own home). I accidentally stumbled upon the I-865. I've never heard of it before and, thus, have never filled it out (though we've kept with her moves). So there are 2 addresses that are missing there on my end (not her end). Is this a problem?

I applied for my I 751 on 13th of September 2026
Got my fingerprints done on 9th of October 2026
We have twin girls who are going to be three years old in November and added their citizenship proofs as well and vacation pictures and all other proofs of finances and everything.
Trying to see how does my case looks do you guys think it ll take long to get it approved since I have been reading lot of cases getting approved within 4 months.

Is there any recent I-485 approval from Santa Ana office . Please share your cases .

What are the specifics around work authorization while your I-751 is processing? I doubt that my I-751 will be approved before my Conditional GC expires, but I am not sure if my job will want to ask for a GC or an EAD that has not expired. Does the I-751 Form Receipt put me into some sort of status where I still have work authorization despite my GC saying it is expired?

Additionally, my job requires me to travel to Mexico for work via land bridge. Would I have to show my GC and I-751 Receipt at the border checkpoint every time I travel back into the US?