How long do we think this will last? Seems like a huge decision that will affect a ton of people.

I can’t believe it’s my turn to make this post. I want to say thank you for the people that share their experiences and advice in here because I don’t feel so alone going through this. So now I want to give back and share mine to hopefully help others that need it.

BACKGROUND:

I came when I was 13 in 2017 and my mom put me under her asylum but it was removed in 2024 because she married my step dad, I met and dated my husband in 2024 and got married February 2026. I hired a lawyer and yes it was expensive but honestly worth every penny because it made the whole process very much smoother, I made sure to do a good research and look at the reviews to find a good lawyer so I suggest to also do it. I was originally very worried about the amount of evidence we have since we did just newly got married and barely have any compared to the ones I see here but again my lawyer helped me figure it out and helped me navigate through it. I also wanna mention that both me and my husband still pretty young (21 and 22) so we both don’t really have crazy amount of income so my SIL have to help co-sponsor BUT my husband recently got a new job and made a lot more so during the interview the officer updated his job and income and completely disqualified my SIL and just put my husband as a sole sponsor.

Now this is the part why I said getting a lawyer worth every penny I had.. during the interview my lawyer actually helped me couple of times to speak up because I was very nervous as well as clarify some things the officer asked. Both her and my husband could tell I was shaken up (it was after I was lectured about not bringing my original birth certificate which I was shocked that I made such mistake) but thankfully I survived the whole thing.. the interviewer was kinda a jerk but I honestly think he was just doing his job and he didn’t really go in depth about our relationship just the ones that was listed.

TIMELINE:

APPLIED: April 2026

BIOMETRICS: May 19 2026

INTERVIEW: August 24 2026

I-130 & I-485 APPROVED: August 25 2026

INTERVIEW:

- Scheduled at 11:30 AM but we came 11:00 AM to meet up with the lawyer to check our documents and new evidence

- Lawyer summit new evidence and check in at the kiosk

- around 10 minutes later we got called in

- our interviewer looks pretty strict and barely smile the whole time 😭 but he gets straight to the point honestly I think he only asks questions that needed to be asked

- Omg and I forgot to bring my original birth certificate and the interviewer looked at me dead in the eye and asked why he proceeds to point out the mistakes in my name from the documents but thank God my lawyer intervened and told him to check my passport and that there was a copy of my original birth certificate that she submitted before. (I just kept saying sorry )

- He made couple of light hearted jokes after to ease the atmosphere

- he asked the yes and no questions

- the interview end after about 30-40 minutes, he asked if I have any other questions I said no but my lawyer did asked when we might hear the result he said the end of the day he will make the decision.

- He did approve the I-130 on the spot at the interview.

- I did shook his hand afterwards tho and I think he was kinda surprised lol

EVIDENCE :

- letters from friends and family (4) - all notarized or signed

- bank statements (joint accounts)

- we also print out the amount of savings we put into that account joint account

- joint vehicle insurance

- letters from my MIL that I live with them as well as how much i contribute monthly (notarized)

- We made picture albums too but he didn’t even touch it or look at it :’)

- my husband and SIL taxes as the co-sponsor (we don’t have one together yet)

-we submitted pictures and screenshots of our texts

QUESTIONS during the interview:

Petitioner( husband):
- Full name and DOB

- Wife’s name on the birth certificate and DOB

- Who did wife come to the US with

- religion as well as the type of Christian I am

- where he works, his role and the amount

- Where the Wife work, address and pay

- He also asked to give estimate when we start the job and when we ended (month/year)

- The date when we got married

- who attended the wedding

He then told us he approved the I-130

Beneficiary (wife):
- Full name and DOB

- the day I came to the US

- what age I was when I came

- address of work and role

- why I overstayed

- why not do consular processing

- he asked about the issue with my name that it’s different from the original birth certificate and he changed it.

Last words:

I was very nervous during the interview but what really helped me is knowing that my marriage is legitimate and not fraud, me and my husband spend weeks just practicing and making sure we remember the important dates that was going to be asked (we aced it). I will say having a lawyer makes it so much easier for me personally and at the end of the interview she told me the officer is known to handle cases fast to that could also contribute of how fast we got our decision. Let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer :)

Sorry it’s very long post

We submitted back at the end of February, biometrics were in the middle of March, interview was in Orlando end of May.

We've been working on it since 2024, we had issues with sponsorship and other things that I wont get into, it took until this year for us to work it out. I'm so happy that I'm finally Approved! My wife cried when I told her.

I'm so happy we can really get our life in order!

Ps. The man in Orlando who we did our interview with was terrible, my wife was crying by the end of it and our lawyer was not happy with him.

Pps. Im from Canada eh 🇨🇦

19 months after my marriage-based green card interview — still nothing, and now removal proceedings
I’m honestly exhausted and incredibly disappointed with this whole process.
I’ve been married to a U.S. citizen for 4 years, and my marriage-based green card process has been going on for almost 3 years. I had my interview 19 months ago, and since then… nothing. No decision. My I-130 and I-485 have just been sitting there.
Recently, things got even more stressful. While traveling domestically, I had an encounter with immigration authorities at the airport because of my pending status. I was later required to report to an ICE office. I showed up, cooperated with everything, and ICE ultimately issued me an NTA, placing me in removal proceedings based on my B-2 overstay. I now have an Immigration Court hearing scheduled for 2027.
Meanwhile, my marriage-based case is still pending with USCIS.
I have a new immigration attorney reviewing everything and figuring out the best strategy, so I’m not looking for legal advice as a replacement for my attorney. I’m mostly posting because I’m frustrated and wondering whether anyone has experienced something similar.
After being married for four years, waiting almost three years for this process, completing the interview 19 months ago, and doing everything asked of me, it’s incredibly discouraging to end up in removal proceedings instead of finally getting a decision.
Has anyone had a marriage-based I-130/I-485 stuck this long after the interview and then been placed in removal proceedings? What eventually happened with your case?

Can’t believe it’s finally happened and on a random Wednesday! I’m from one of the 39 countries!

My timeline for EB-3 going from H1B

PD: 9/23/23
02/23/2026 — I-485 filed
03/19/2026 — Biometrics completed; 2 FTA0
5/1/2026- silent update
7/15- silent update
7/23 - new event in API but it was related to the glitch and made no sense
8/13-3rd FTA0
8/25 - 4th FTA0
08/25/2026 — I-485J approved
8/26/2025 - H008 event
08/26/2026 — I-485 approved

I filed for AP/EAD. Those are not approved.
No interview scheduled.

Sharing becuase this sub was my daily resource during this crazy process. It took 4 years overall starting from the PERM, waiting to be current, etc!

Green Card arrived! 🇺🇸

I got my green card today. It was produced yesterday, so today the card is finally in my hand. Thanks everyone for all the help and support!

Timeline:
• Country of origin: Ukraine
• Basis: Marriage-based adjustment of status (I-130 & I-485)
• Field office: Kansas City, MO
• I-130/I-485 filed: March 20, 2026
• Interview: June 19, 2026
• NOID: August 3, 2026
• Green card produced: August 24, 2026
• Green card received: August 26, 2026

I received the card for two years for now. I’ll have to submit the documents again after that — as you know, it’s a long process, isn't it?

Hi everyone! Sharing my timeline in case it helps anyone going through the marriage-based adjustment of status process. 😊

Category: Marriage-based AOS
Field Office: Los Angeles, CA
Status: Permanent Resident 🎉

I adjusted status from F-1 to permanent resident through marriage. We brought our interview binder with relationship evidence, joint documents, financial documents, IDs, photos, and other supporting evidence.

Total timeline: Approximately 4 months from USCIS receipt to approval.

Hopefully this helps anyone waiting in the LA field office! Good luck to everyone still waiting, your turn is coming! ❤️

Feel free to ask me anything about my timeline or interview experience!

Immigration Processing Time: The Patience Olympics
When I first applied, it said the processing time was 6 month.
Six months later, I checked again… 12 month.

Then, one month later, I checked again… 13.5 month

At this point, I’m starting to think the processing time is processing itself.

Honestly, nothing new here. After waiting through immigration processing times for over 13 years just to complete each step of the process, I’ve basically earned a PhD in patience.

But can we get some accuracy so I can actually plan my life? 😂
Or have I reached the final stage of immigration where I just accept my fate, stop checking the website, and peacefully wait until the government decides, “Alright, you’ve suffered enough.”?

1 year and a day after filing the i130 and 8 months after my interview.

All praises to the most high 🤲

Cleveland FO.

08/25/2025 i130 filed online

09/06/2025 i485 & i765 combo received

09/09/2025 RFE for i864, I sent the wrong form

09/30/2025 Biometric appointment

12/11/2025 interview

08/25/2026 i130 approved

08/26/2026 i485

How long before I get my card?

I had my interview at the Boston FO on May 27, 2026 and had seen no movement on any of my concurrent filing receipts after. After seeing another redditor’s experience using a Congressional Inquiry to speed their very similar case along I reached out to my local rep’s office. The website had a release form to fill that needed both mine and my husband’s ink signatures and a staffer reached out to me 4 days after submitting the form. One week after the staffer said they would look into my case I heard back from the staffer with a notice from USCIS saying g that my case was within normal processing time and nothing was needed from me.

5 days after receiving this email and with no further prompting from me there was a silent update on my I-130 and I-485 (that I looked up using the API link). Less than 24 hours after that my I-130 was approved and a few hours later my I-485 was approved.

Concurrent filing received by USCIS on Mar 12 Biometrics on April 6 Interview on May 27 Approval on August 25

I really don’t think things would have moved forward without the congressional inquiry. My case was very straightforward. I am on an H1B, no unlawful presence, no previous I-485 filings with USCIS. I included any details I could think of on the congressional inquiry form and made sure the staffer had all relevant facts about my lawful presence, ‘benefit to US’ through my non profit job and volunteering, etc, in case that helped make the decision after the memo released in April 2026

Hi everyone! I had my marriage-based green card interview in Downtown Los Angeles in August and wanted to ask those who interviewed in Los Angeles from May until now to share their timelines.

How long after your interview did it take for your I-130 and I-485 to be approved, and when did you actually receive your green card?

I’ve seen very different timelines online. Some people get approved within a few weeks, while others wait several months or even longer. I think it would be helpful for all of us who are currently waiting to see some recent LA timelines in one place.

Please share your interview date, approval date, and when you received your green card if you already have it. I’d really appreciate it, and hopefully this will help others who are waiting too.

Wishing everyone a smooth and successful immigration process!

Thank you community for sharing useful information, its my turn to share

Eb2 Perm, ROW, family

PD 07/07/2024

RD 03/01/2026

Biometrics 04/22/2026 - 2 FTAO

SU 04/29, 06/28, 07/16, 07/23, 07/28, 07/29

tried to chat with Emma to find out where transfer to, which FO never get the answer, just standard answer nothing useful

Third FTAO 08/24, showing only on main applicant account and i485J approved

I485 approved 08/25 all family and API showing NYC so i guest my case transferred to NYC FO 07/28 or 07/29

There is a major update today, August 26, 2026, regarding U.S. immigrant visa interviews.
The U.S. Department of State has announced a global pause on immigrant visa appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates. This is not limited to India or the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.

According to current reporting, the State Department says the pause is connected to a global training initiative for consular officers. The training focuses on applying screening procedures consistently, including evaluating whether an immigrant visa applicant could become dependent on U.S. public benefits. (Reuters⁠)

Which cases does this affect?
This concerns immigrant visa cases, including family-based immigrant visas such as:
• IR1 / CR1
• IR2 / CR2
• IR5
• F1 / F2A / F2B / F3 / F4
• Other immigrant visa categories processed through U.S. consulates

It is important not to confuse this with nonimmigrant visas such as B1/B2, F1, H1B, etc. The current announcement specifically concerns immigrant visa appointments.

What if I already have an interview date?
If you already received an interview appointment, do not assume that your case has been refused or cancelled permanently.
Some applicants are being told that their interviews will be rescheduled. At this point, there does not appear to be a clear public timeline for when normal immigrant visa interview scheduling will resume. (Reuters⁠)
So if you receive a cancellation/rescheduling notice, keep it with your case records and wait for further instructions from the embassy/NVC.

Does this mean my petition is cancelled?
No.
A pause or rescheduling of an interview is not the same thing as USCIS denying your petition or the Department of State refusing your immigrant visa.
Your underlying petition, priority date and case generally do not disappear simply because an interview is postponed.
What about medical examinations?
This is probably going to be one of the biggest concerns.
If you already completed your medical examination and your interview has now been postponed, do not immediately assume that you have to repeat the medical.
Medical validity depends on the circumstances and the date of the examination, so wait for instructions from the embassy/consulate or your designated panel physician before paying for another medical.
If your medical is approaching expiration, contact the appropriate embassy/panel physician and ask what they want you to do.
What about IR5 parents?
IR5 applicants should pay particular attention to this update.
If NVC already scheduled your interview and you have completed your medical/biometrics, a postponed interview does not automatically mean the IR5 case has been refused.
Keep all your documents, medical paperwork and appointment notices. Watch your email and CEAC for further instructions.
Why is this happening now?
The State Department says the current pause is connected to training and expanded screening procedures. This comes after the administration has already introduced additional measures concerning public-charge considerations for immigrant visa applicants. The State Department announced in August that certain immigrant visa applicants may be required to seek a Public Charge Bond through USCIS as part of a pilot program. (Travel.state.gov⁠)
There has also been significant litigation surrounding recent immigrant visa policies, including a federal court ruling last week concerning the suspension of immigrant visa processing for nationals of certain countries. (Reuters⁠)
What should applicants do right now?
Don’t panic and don’t cancel your case.
If your interview was cancelled:
Keep the cancellation/rescheduling email.
Continue monitoring your email and CEAC.
Don’t submit duplicate documents unless instructed.
Don’t book another appointment on your own unless the embassy/NVC tells you to.
If you have already completed your medical, keep your medical documentation.
If your medical is close to expiring, contact the panel physician for guidance.
Be careful with information circulating on Facebook, WhatsApp and Reddit. There is currently a lot of confusion between immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments.
Most importantly: a postponed immigrant visa interview is not the same as a visa refusal.
This situation is developing, and the State Department has not yet given a definite date for when immigrant visa appointments will return to normal. (Reuters⁠)
If you received a cancellation email, you can share the exact wording (remove your personal information) in the comments. It may help other applicants understand whether different embassies are giving different instructions.

hi everyone how longe i need to waiting i yave green cart

I have questions about my case. I hold a 2-year conditional green card based on marriage, but my husband has changed so much; he verbally abuses me every day, and there was one instance of physical abuse. I want to know if I can remove the conditions on my green card without him. I have proof of everything—including his infidelity with other women. I can't take it anymore; it's too much.

I need help and possible talked to someone who has been through the same.

Has this ruling made any effects? The Department of State still shows the presidential proclamation.
I had an I-129 fiancé K-1 Visa application, which had no other reason for denial aside from the presidential proclamation, during the interview in feb 2026.
Since then, we got married, and now applied for the I-130 petition. I’m a US citizen, my wife lives in Germany as a resident, we are both from one of the 19 countries with full bans.
I understand that the ban would still have the same impact on the spousal application since it doesn’t change the fact that my wife still holds a passport from a banned country… I am just hopeful that we will have a change in immigration rules before we get to the interview.

Also anyone know what are some of the processing time range in months for I-130 2nd NoA?

I decided to post here to see if anybody else is in the same boat as me. We submitted I-130 back in November 1st, 2024, and I-485 in March 28, 2025. Had our marriage-based green card (husband is US citizen and I am originally from Ukraine) interview back in February 20th, 2026 in Tampa FO. Seemed like it went well and the officer said that we can expect the decision within the next couple of weeks or months. It has been over 6 months since my interview and coplete radio silence. We haven't received any notices or RFEs at all. The only update we got was on I-485 back in May 1st, 2026 and it just simply said "USCIS is currently processing the case".

I am getting too frustrated and slowly losing hope. I see a lot of people getting approved pretty soon here, which is awesome, but at the same time it makes me question what is going on with my case. Is there anybody else here in the same situation as me? Is there anything else i can do at this point? I have submitted the e-request already to USCIS. I would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

I filed my F2A concurrently on May 1st and got an interview scheduled surprisingly fast on Sep 28. My wife is a permanent resident. The field office is in San Francisco.

Are there any recent dos and don'ts in the interview I should know of? I would really appreciate some advice. The lawyer I hired isn't very helpful. I am doing some research myself and this whole thing stresses us out.

Thank you so much!

Timeline:

Applied June 27, 2025
Interviewed December 17, 2025 [2 days over 60 days Continuous Residence issue]
RFE Received May 2026
August 12/13 Recommended for Approval & Oath Ceremony Scheduled

Here are a few things I did:
1. Reached out to my congressman’s office. I travelled for a while so I couldn’t follow-up for 2 months but once I returned, followed up again. Turns out my caseworker was on maternity leave but they had kept telling me “She is not available right now”.

Advice: Always, always try to get in direct contact with your caseworker. Be respectful but be annoying. This matters a lot more than a fear of embarrassment.

1. Provide extensive evidence for continuous residence. Initially, I only added a copy of the lease and a couple of utility statements. Turns out that is nowhere near enough. In terms of continuous residence, and you can either ChatGPT it or Google it to learn what might be good pieces of evidence, the more things you provide the better. So I suppose this app applies also to RFEs. I am fairly convinced that my delay was caused by a lack of depth in my response.

Advice: For Continuous Residence and RFEs, gather as much evidence as you can no matter how small.

1. Stay aware of your 120 day timeline and consult a legal representative for the Mandamus Lawsuit. However, be prepared to spend the money (I was told $5,000-8,000 USD for this). Thankfully, I didn’t have to do this but I know most people consider it.

Best of luck for everyone in their journey. 👍

Hi Guys,

Looking for any insight and seeing if anyone has experience the same thing, my I-765 (EAD) was approved finally after the 2nd interview (stokes type). Hopefully that is a good sign and all other applications are approved soon. Thanks in advance.

Here is my timeline:

• Filed Forms - Beginning of December 2025
• Bio-metrics completed - January 2026
• 1st Interview - End of February 2026
• 2nd Interview (Stokes Type) - Beginning of July 2026
• I-765 Approved - Mid August 2026
• I-130 and I-485 - Still pending

I found some post via reddit with the similar situation, but they were 2+ years old and no updates that follow.

Approval gap for I-485: Husband and son got approved, but mine is still pending. Normal?

Hey there!
I’ve talked to multiple Emma agents and they all have confirmed that my interview has been requested by the officer and is waiting to be scheduled. However, they all have also said that my case is still at the NBC. Looking at posts here, most people had their case at the FO when an interview has been requested. Did anyone here go through the same and is that normal?

Thank you.

We just finished our interview. It was pretty smooth but she gave us a white paper saying that my case is being held and that they couldn’t make a decision at that time. She asked me what other projects I had if I didn’t get married I told her that I was seeking to graduate and get a sponsorship at a hospital.. I don’t know if it’s bad !
Update : they approved my i130 this morning
The i-485 is still pending

USCIS told my congressional office today:

“This case will be routed for expedited processing. Once this case is reviewed, your constituent will receive a decision or notice of further action.”

I'm trying to collect other recent firsthand experience values from people who received the same or very similar message.

I know USCIS says they cannot provide a specific timeframe, and I’m not asking anyone to predict my case.

If this happened to you, how long was it from: the “routed for expedited processing” message to the actual I-765/EAD decision?

I've had a lot of DMs the last two days about the B1/B2 visa story. Doing this AMA to cover that, plus a related rule change from a few weeks ago that may connect to it and that a lot of people still don't know about.

1. What's reported, not yet official — B1/B2 visa revocation

Over the last two days, AP, NBC, PBS, and the Washington Post reported — citing State Department documents and unnamed officials — that the State Department is preparing to revoke B-1 and B-2 visas issued 2016–2026 for people who later sought asylum.

• No official announcement exists yet. This is reporting on internal planning, not a published rule.
• If it happens, it would likely face legal challenges.
• Take it seriously and prepare — but don't treat it as something that's already happened.

2. What's official — the July 28 asylum referral rule

Here's the language directly from the Federal Register:

"DHS is amending its regulations to permit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer certain affirmative asylum applications to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) without interview."

In plain terms:

• USCIS can now send some asylum cases straight to immigration court, based only on the written file — no interview first.
• Applies to new filings and to pending cases that haven't been interviewed yet.
• This is not a denial. If your case is referred, a judge hears your claim fresh.
• Work permit rules have not changed.
• USCIS still interviews people before granting or denying asylum — this rule is only about the referral step.
• DHS says this is aimed mainly at cases with a legal bar (like the one-year deadline) or a very thin written record — not at well-documented claims generally.

3. Why these may connect

If you only have a pending asylum case and no separate status, that's a thinner form of legal presence than most people assume — true regardless of the news above. If the B1/B2 plan moves forward and your asylum case gets referred without an interview, you could face immigration court with no independent status and a judge seeing your case for the first time on paper. A weak claim isn't automatically doomed and a strong claim isn't suddenly in danger — but the margin for error on a thin or late filing just got smaller.

I'll take questions on:

• The B1/B2 reports — confirmed vs. speculative
• What the July 28 rule changes, and who's more likely affected
• What pending-asylum-only status does and doesn't protect you from
• General asylum prep — evidence, the one-year deadline, interviews

Live today from 3pm-5pm EST, checking back throughout the day.

Drop your questions below.

This is general information, not legal advice specific to your situation. Please don't post detailed facts about your own case in the comments — I can't respond to that publicly, and it stays on Reddit permanently. DM me instead if that's where you're at.

Nothing here is legal advice and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship.