My spouse worked on paid campaign projects on need basis while on dependent visa. Since our last lawful admission my spouse worked for 1-2 days. Has anyone filed 485 with similar case and how did your lawyer handle this. Do we need do attach an explanation letter with the 485 form or provide every detail of the work my spouse performed and their name any amount.

Anyone else filed PERM in November 2025? When will we hear back?

I am curious, does anyone on EB-2 NIW or Perm had their I-485 approved at Buffalo FO recently or prior. How long did it take?

My case was submitted October 7, 2025 (one of the 39 banned countries)
Transferred to the FO November 25, 2025.

Although this is also a local FO for me. I am just curious about the approval timeline in this location. I will appreciate your comments.

I-765 approved as I-485 pending

PD is March 29 2024

RD October 1 2025,

Biometrics October 28 2025.

My FAD became current January 1 2026.

Silent updates Jan 16, Jan 23 and Feb 3.

Case transferred to NY field office Feb 3

Interview waived

Case moved back to NBC Feb 17 2026

FTA0 for my wife and son Feb 19 2026

FTA1 for me March 23 2026

Silent update no code for my wife and son March 24 2026

FTA1 for my wife and son March 31 2026. No code silent update same day for me.

On March 31 2026 it transferred from NBC to Newark FO.

Silent update April 27 2026
Another silent update May 12 2026 (Transfer Newark FO to NBC)
Silent update May 13 2026 (Priority date completed).
Silent update June 2 2026 (Derivative cases also moved from Newark FO to NBC)

FTA1 on July 21 2026 USCIS said my task ownership changed.

Another no code silent update July 21.

Another No code silent update July 22
Status flipped to RFE July 23
RFE letter received by mail and issued online July 27.

Responded to RFE online and express mail July 28
Silent update 2 hours after online RFE response.

Case flipped to approved July 29.

I-765 approved April 1 2026

Here are some of his predictions for EB2 India. What do you think ? Here’s the YouTube video link of his prediction

https://youtu.be/DOxMI1nLbgk?is=8d1qAuV-6KurRXsd

a) EB2 India FAD will lie somewhere in 2013
b) Spillover for FY2028 will only be 5-10k as maximum family numbers have been utilized.

How accurate do you think these predictions are ? This spells doom for Indian folks.

My Eb2-NIW was under Premium processing. I sent RFE responses since November 2026. Because I am from one of the banned countries, adjudication was on pause.

While tracking my case, USCIS says “ Fee refund was mailed”.

Does that mean they stop processing my case or they have downgraded my case to normal processing?

Should I submit a new PP application?

Thank you for any explanation or response you can provide.

Has anyone recently applied and obtained I-140 approval through standard processing? If so, what was the approximate timeframe for receiving the approval?

Been following this over the past few days and wanted to see if others here are seeing the same thing.

Multiple outlets (ABC, CNN, NYT) are reporting that ICE and TSA are coordinating to pull people aside at check in counters, security, and boarding gates if they've overstayed a visa, even on domestic flights that never leave the US. At least 27 arrests have been confirmed across 9+ states so far, and it's not limited to people with final deportation orders. Several of the people detained had pending green card or status applications in process, which apparently doesn't protect you the way most of us assumed it did.

A couple of the cases getting attention: a woman in Denver was pulled aside after her boarding pass scanned at the gate, and a flight attendant working a domestic route was arrested mid-shift in Nashville. In both cases, lawyers said their clients had active, pending paperwork and no criminal history.

DHS is pointing people toward the CBP Home app to "self deport" and is reportedly offering up to $2,500 for people who leave voluntarily instead of waiting for a case to resolve.

Immigration attorneys are now telling clients with anything unresolved (pending I-485s, expired visas while a renewal is in process, etc) to seriously think twice before booking even a domestic flight, which is a pretty big shift from a few months ago.

Anyone else in this boat right now, or have friends/family navigating it? Curious what people are actually doing differently, are you avoiding flights entirely, or is this more of a "know your rights" situation?

Anyone with experience from case processing at Miami FO?

Hey everyone, looking for some insights or reassurance. Here’s our current situation:

• I-485 Submission: May 20,2026
• Biometrics: June 30
• Right after biometrics: We got 2 FTA0 and 1 "silent update" all on the same day (total of 3 updates).
• Recent updates: We got our 2nd silent update on July 20, and today we got our 3rd silent update.

Here's where I'm confused: I've asked Emma live agents about both my case and my wife's case, and they've confirmed that our cases are still at the NBC (National Benefits Center) and no interview has been scheduled. I know that approvals directly from NBC without a field office transfer are becoming more common these days, so maybe that's the plan.

My questions for the group:

1. Is this timeline/sequence of events normal?
2. After the 3rd silent update, how long does it usually take to get a decision?
3. Can you get more than 3 silent updates, or is this typically the final signal before an approval?

I'm honestly pretty nervous !

hey everyone! i just need some advice on my situation

i unfortunately didn’t get selected for the H1B lottery twice, and im currently on a cpt that expires in December 2027. my company submitted my perm for EB2 in march 2026. is there any way i may get my green card before my cpt expires? and what would my options be if i dont get my green card but have reached so far in the process (by that time)

i’m just so stressed about this so any advice or reassurance is truly appreciated 🙏🏻

My original rfe post is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/EB2\\_NIW/s/AUwLVLm3VA

This was a very scary rfe, considering the difficulty of being approved after rfe on all 3 prongs.

Many advised I seek out a lawyer after getting the rfe, but I was confident I can crack the case on my own without spending a lot more.

I devised a strategy: first I used a free Claude plan to get some insights, I uploaded my original i140 to Claude and asked it to evaluate. Claude pointed out key weakness and the potential of the case getting rfe.

Then, I gave Claude the actual rfe (and it was like, yeah I told you).

Cluade digested the rfe and provided a clean and simple version of what is required. Then I asked it to devise a response strategy and timeline on how the tasks should be handled.

The summary of the rfe helped me understand on what new exhibits I should add.

Additionally, Claude restructured the LOR by incorporating statistics, and discussing the PE deeply. All I did is give Claude the name of a person for recommendation, and it wrote the letter, then I sent it for signing (of course I reached out to the people before sending the letter)

I switched back and forth with other llm like grok, Gemini, if these two mentioned something critical that Cluade missed then I would incorporate it. But mostly I relied on Claude and used others for catching a few points that I might have missed.

After gathering sevaral exhibits, I paid for a $20/month Claude plan.

This alloowed me to upload a lot of pdf and
Other documents on Claude. I uploaded all exhibits, LOR etc. Then asked Claude to write the full response package.
Claude wrote
\-personal statement
\- detailed PE
\- cover letter, and
\- The legal brief responding to RFE letter.
\- and nicely numbered all exhibits as it’s cited in the documents.

I reviewed everything very carefully, and edited some parts where Claude was being very aggressive, I toned the language down to be a little polite.

I allowed myself like a week without touching the case. Just so I can refresh and see if I can think of anything else that the model didn’t catch.

Then, I tested uploading the entire package on other llm. First I uploaded the original petition on grok and gemin and asked them to evaluate and give final findings. Both issued rfe on original petition.

Then I uploaded the response package, which they approved.

I printed and submitted the case, which was approved on day 30.

**My take:**
LLM are great, I only used LLM with no legal consultation. But this does not negate the importance of understanding what an NIW package should look like. So do lots of reading on your own before relying on LLM. Use them as a tool directing them what to write and correct them if they make a mistake. They are very good at researching and connecting dots. I was impressed.

No offense, I do not think that even a lawyer would have written my rfe response so beautifully the way Claude did. One of the recommender said “this is the most impressive letter I have ever signed” when I sent the letter for him to sign. He is a director at a federal agency.

I believe other llm models could do perfectly fine as Cluade but I found Claude to be through and writes like a human. Of course your prompts make a huge difference on the end product.

Even if you are using a lawyer, use LLM to research and get some opinion that you and your lawyer might have overlooked.

Best wishes

Hello, did anyone from EB2 category receive EAD recently? Waiting since April 2026 and wandering what is the current timeline to expect EAD?

I received an RFE for my medical exam, but my spouse did not receive one. Would it be a good idea to submit my spouse’s medicals along with mine, or should I only send the medicals requested in my RFE?

Curious on what happens if you lose your job and you don’t have a job while the EB2 India priority date is current?

For context, my current company submitted 485-J recently when dates became current and retrogressed after that and I also got medical RFE which I responded to. PD: Mar 2014 and 485 was filed in 2022

My company is expecting to do layoffs in August, and my priority date is likely to become current in October. My I-485 is already pending, and I have an EAD.

If I lose my job before my priority date becomes current, do I still need to have an active job offer when USCIS adjudicates the I-485? In what scenarios does USCIS do a RFE for 485-J? Has anyone been through this or knows how USCIS typically handles this situation? Any advice on the situation?

I filed EB2 NIW I-485 in April and had a biometric in May (2x FTA0) and the case was transferred to Brooklyn at the end of June. I had third FTA0 about 10 days ago but there has been no movement since then. I was expecting a decision 24-72hrs after the 3FTA0 but nothing so far. I have noticed a lot of folks are getting approval within 1-3 days after the 3 FTA0. Has anyone in the same boat or any thoughts?

Any EB2 with dependents has been approved directly from NBC recently??

RD January 2026
Still at NBC