/r/USCIS FAQs

Our priority date is 04/24/2026

Interview was 07/16/2026

I-130 approved on the spot and I-485 stayed pending because the civil surgeon made a mistake (literally the only reason why I didn’t get approved on the spot for both a month ago) and a page from the form was missing. The officer requested a new copy to be sent directly to her office instead of a processing center which we sent by 07/28/2026 because the doctor was on vacation (how dare he delay my process even more) and they didn’t seem to receive until 09/01/2026, so about a 35 days from the moment I mailed the RFE to the moment they notified received.

On Sept, 04 I was watching a video of a girl who was telling her story about how she got kicked out of the country basically and that made me feel the urge to go check, surprise was that the I-485 was finally approved 3 days ago and I didn’t get notified lol, at first I thought it was just the I-130 that’s been approved for over a month but looked again to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me, I never planned on living here permanently but found love and now get to live a normal life with my amor.

The Trump administration is planning on doubling the fees to more than $200,000 for H-1B visa applicants from abroad.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/09/04/trump-h1b-visa-200000-fee/91571718007/

I filed my I-485 and I-130 in July 2025. I completed my biometrics and then waited, hoping that a decision would be made soon.

I did not initially apply for Advance Parole because I thought I could wait for my green card decision. However, after more than a year without a decision, I needed to travel urgently to the UK, so I decided to apply.

While reading posts on Reddit, I learned that you could request Emergency Advance Parole shortly before your intended travel date. I also came across a post from someone who had been asked why they had not first applied through the normal Advance Parole process.

Based on that person’s advice, I decided to submit a regular I-131 application before requesting emergency processing.

Here was my timeline:

July 15: I submitted Form I-131 online by myself. I uploaded all my supporting documents, including letters from the clinic in London connected to the reason for my urgent travel.
USCIS initially scheduled my biometrics appointment for approximately four weeks later. However, I went online and rescheduled it for an earlier available date.
Within one week of applying: I attended my biometrics appointment.

August 10: Ten days before my intended travel, I called USCIS to request Emergency Advance Parole. The representative asked whether I had already submitted an I-131 application. I confirmed that I had, and she told me someone would contact me within 72 hours.

August 12: Before receiving the emergency appointment call, I received a notification that my regular Advance Parole application had been approved and that the document was being mailed.

August 13: USCIS called me regarding my Emergency Advance Parole request. I explained that my regular application had already been approved, so I no longer needed the emergency appointment.

That is how my Advance Parole was approved in less than one month—from July 15 to August 12.

I understand that every USCIS case is different, so I cannot say that following these steps will produce the same result for everyone. I am simply sharing exactly what happened in my case in case it helps someone else.

I am also a Christian, and I prayed throughout the process. I do not take the speed of the approval for granted, and I give God all the glory.

I will make a separate post explaining my experience travelling with and returning to the United States using Advance Parole after the major August 13 announcement.

Hello!

sharing my timeline here to see if anyone else is in the same boat.

PD: 5/18/26 (Chicago Lockbox)
Receipt Notice: 5/20/26
Biometrics: 6/11/26
Silent Case Update: 6/16/26

Waiting ever since for scheduling of interview. Asked multiple agents and they all said that the case is at NBC and there is nothing pending / RFEs from our end.

Filed i-130 + i-765 + i-131 + i-485 concurrently.

Anyone with a similar timeline in the same boat? Is it unusual to not receive an interview notice even after almost 2 months post biometrics?

Any info would help, thank you!!

I got this email this morning, after the one I got a couple of days ago.
"https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/s/3CuKxPZ98n"

I am curious if someone got a similar response, what was the timeline for your approval (or a decision in general) ?

Moving from an ISA(analyst) position to a SISA role in a new state at a field office. What should I expect?

Just asking if anyone got any news from similar timeline? Marriage based, to me it still says USCIS is currently processing the case, they got my forms, they re used biometrics, if i move to let them know but for now they dont need anything from me... silent since filing mid august 2023, i tried asking them - whats is status of my case, no answer after 60 days, friend of mine who is in similar situation managed to have phone call roughly 6 months ago and they told her that " her batch " is starting to be examined starting april 2026 to end of summer should get 2nd GC... (she filed literally 2 months after i did) , she still didnt get it..same as me, Im EU citizen (eastern europe), conditional GC received exactly 1 year after filing, never had issues, never been arested here or abroad, never been asked to add aditional evidence... but, somehow still crickets... How about You guys with same timeline? anyone got it? also did u try any good apps on phone where u can allegedly see silent updates? Thank You for sharing your situation, and best of luck to all of US.

“USCIS can now require electronic filing form by form, but the Aug. 11 rule imposed no mandate itself. A form must have been offered electronically for at least 180 days, and USCIS must publish 60 days' notice before making it mandatory.”

Filed for an adjustment of status (marriage-based green card) through a lawyer, but a few things were missed/incorrectly filled out:

Visa denial: When I was a middle schooler, an F1 visa was denied because of school issue. The lawyer checked "No" on the application, but I'm sure I have told him about it before. Don't know why he said no but he says it will be ok if I correct it at the interview and it's no big deal. I successfully got J-1, F-1, and O-1 visas afterward and lived in the US legally for a long time.

Employment history: Left out a 6-month paid internship during OPT and only listed the 3-year job.

Name format: Husband's middle name was merged into his first name.

Can I just wait and correct all of this verbally during the interview, or is it too risky? Do I need to amend the forms beforehand, especially for the visa denial?

My interview is in 3 weeks.

Got my asylum approved about a month ago!

My lawyer is telling me we should wait another five months before applying for my green card.
Her reasoning is that if USCIS opens my file before I hit that full one-year physical presence mark, it could trigger a denial or throw me right back into a massive backlog, making the wait even longer.

I’m really torn on what to do. I know people who waited the full year, filed, and got their green cards smoothly. But I also know people who filed early or right at the mark and have been stuck waiting for over two years now.

I’m super conflicted and not sure which route is actually the safest or fastest.

Would love to hear your experiences - what did you do, and how did it turn out for you?

Mine was on March 31, 2025, and it’s been complete silence ever since.

I’ve already submitted multiple inquiries and even congressional inquiries probably a dozen times by now but still no update.

FO: MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul)

If anyone has gone through a similar long wait and eventually received an approval, please share your timeline. I’d really appreciate hearing from others in the same situation.

Hey fam what I see or read we wil get idea or clarification when interviews gona start again coz dos is giving sworn statement on when and how they gona implement ruling.signs it might start soon coz only sep interview are cancelled and sep is imp 1-DV deadline 2-today statement by dos 3- 18th new rule kick in so feel free to share coz now all is connected 75 countries n rest of us

Thanks to this community for helping us prepare the packets and interview. Sharing our SF Bay Area timeline and experience.

• Applied for green card Feb 2022. Used a lawyer for the initial packet after hearing of friends whose packets were rejected.
• RFE for tax documents + biometrics mid-2022.
• Conditional GC approved Jan 2023, no interview. An officer called from an unknown number and asked us to upload taxes. No voicemail, easy to miss.
• I-751 in 2024, self-prepared with Reddit/internet help.
• N-400 in 2025 under the 3-year rule, filed within 90 days. Also self-prepared.
• Combo interview notice ~1 month out, July 2026.
• I-751 approved 2 days after interview; physical card in a week.
• N-400 approved about a week after the card arrived and queued for oath. Status on N-400 seemed to stall until I-751 cleared.
• Oath end of Aug 2026.

Interview prep

ChatGPT + Reddit + the official civics app. Most useful tip from here: upload recent evidence to the USCIS portal. Officer only reviewed that - financials, mortgage, 3 years of photos. YouTube is full of packet-labeling videos.

Interview

Interview was casual. Interviewer asked about our weekend plans and upcoming trips. Reviewed portal uploads only and ignored our hard copies. We were asked about any plans to have kids, we said we don’t know yet. There was no follow-up to this question. Overall time spent 10 minutes.

Then N-400 part started. My partner was allowed to stay with me. The questions asked were: number of senators and states, plus a few simple ones. 6/6. For reading “Who can vote in federal elections?” and writing “Only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections.” Approved on the spot, given the approval copy. I’d forgotten a speeding ticket from over a decade ago; officer said they only look at the 3 years of marriage. No same-day oath. Supervisory review on all cases.

Overall interview time < 30 mins.

Hi.
I’m a little confused about my I-130/I-485 processing time.
My husband and I filed concurrently. I-130 was filed online on Feb 7, 2025, and I-485 was mailed on Feb 21, 2025.
My I-130 shows 24 months, while my I-485 in Jacksonville, FL shows 15.5 months. My I-485 has now been pending about 18.5 months.
Should I submit an inquiry for the I-485? And should I also do one for the I-130? Has anyone had a similar experience?

Has anyone here filed online i751 while their spouse is on active duty order but NOT ABROAD? Spouse is currently stationed in other state not too far from me.

I am trying to file online and I selected on military order or oversea option and trying to make sure I am doing this correctly because it sounds like that option is only for people deployed oversea….

So i applied for I-485 & I-130 concurrently October 2025. At that time the petitioner (my husband) was employed, but his 2024 taxes didn’t show enough to sponsor me. So i asked my mother in law to sponsor me so she signed the I-864 (affidavit of Support).

The interview got scheduled for Jan 2026, at that time my husband had just graduated college and had left his old job (he was unemployed at the time of the interview so we updated that on the USCIS portal just before the interview and let the officer know).

But shortly after the interview my husband got employed and has kept a job since.
It didn’t dawn on me that maybe we shouldve updated that after the interview to showcase that he got a job right after the interview.

So my question is: should we update the i-485 and upload unsolicited evidence updating my husband employment status to showcase that he didn’t have a job ONLY at the time of the interview?
Btw the i-130 was approved after the interview, i-485 still pending.

Hey guys! I had a question for anyone who has filed for citizenship on their own. How difficult was it to prepare and file Form N-400 without an attorney?
I’m in a bona fide marriage with a U.S. citizen, and I should be eligible to apply for naturalization under the 3-year rule this coming December.
I used an immigration attorney for both my Adjustment of Status and my I-751 Removal of Conditions. My I-751 is currently still pending. For my N-400, however, I’m considering filing on my own because my attorney is charging around $4,000, and I would rather prepare the application myself and only pay the USCIS filing fee.
My immigration history is pretty straightforward, and I already have a lot of documentation from my marriage and pending I-751, including joint tax documents, bank statements, lease, insurance, utility bills, vehicle documents, beneficiary information, photos, and other evidence of our marriage.
For those who filed N-400 on their own under the 3-year marriage rule:
• How difficult was the process?
• Did you file online or by mail?
• What supporting documents did you submit with your N-400?
• Did you have a pending I-751 when you filed?
• If so, did USCIS schedule you for a combo I-751/N-400 interview?
• Is there anything you wish you had known before filing on your own?
I know everyone’s case is different, but I’d really appreciate hearing from people who went through a similar process. Thanks!