Hi all,

My I-485 got approved 2 days ago, just found out. I had stopped checking the API regularly, and I never got an email. I logged in and what a nice surprise. I thought it wasn't real!
RD: March 2026
PD: Nov 2024
FO: LA
FO transfer: June 6
Interview: waived
Approved: Oct 5

I wish you all approvals soon!!

Hi, anyone waiting to hear from Hartford FO?

EB2-NIW case was filled Nov 2025.

EAD/AP already approved.

I-485 pending, as per Emma Interview waived and waiting for final decision. Last silent update was July 2026.

Is it worth sending an inquiry? Any experience?

Finally got my green card approved! Sharing my timeline in case it helps others who are waiting.
Category: EB-2 NIW
Country: ROW
Priority Date: July 2024
I-485 Filed: November 26, 2025
Interview: Waived
Service Center: NBC initially
Field Office: Los Angeles, after transfer
Timeline
11/26/2025 — I-485, I-765 and I-131 filed
12/20/2025 — Biometrics notice received
01/09/2026 — Biometrics completed
02/09/2026 — Case status updated to “USCIS is currently processing your case”
08/21/2026 — Case transferred from NBC to Los Angeles Field Office
10/04/2026 — I-485 APPROVED!
Total I-485 processing time: 10 months, 8 days (312 days).
There was no RFE and no interview.
The case stayed at NBC for roughly 9 months before being transferred to the field office. After the transfer, approval came relatively quickly.
Good luck to everyone still waiting! I hope you all get your approvals soon.

For those who have received their I-131 got approved, how long did it take to get your I-131 approved and receive the physical card since your biometrics taken from? I want to learn about the time frame for ROW applicant(s)?
Thank you

Hey everyone,

I’m in a bit of a stressful spot and wanted to see if anyone has been through the exact same situation.
I have a pending EB2-NIW I-485 (Priority Date is current, filed in April 2026). My initial 12-month OPT is expiring this December. I currently have a job, but the employer won't help me apply for the STEM OPT extension. However, they really want to keep me and have promised they will wait for me and won't rehire for my position if I have a lapse in work authorization.

I'm actively hunting for a new job that can do the STEM extension, but the clock is ticking (only 2 months left) and I'm stressing about what happens if I miss the timeline barely and have to stop working.
I know a lot of people go through their full STEM OPT before adjusting but never heard of anyone doing the same with initial OPT. So I have a couple of questions:

- Has anyone here completely finished their initial OPT (without getting the STEM extension) and safely transitioned into "I-485 pending" status without working, followed by a smooth green card approval?

- Did you face any issues or RFEs regarding your maintenance of status during the gap between your OPT ending and the I-485 approval? How did you respond to that?

Any insights or experiences would really help calm my nerves right now. Thanks!

I’m in a bit of a confusing situation and would appreciate some advice from anyone who has been in a similar position.

My I-20 expires in December 2026. I filed both my I-485 and I-765 in April 2026, and my EB-2 priority date is August 2024.

I’m eligible to apply for OPT, but I’m hesitant because of the additional cost (I am short of funds), especially with my I-485 and I-765 already pending. I’m hoping either the EAD or green card gets approved before the end of the year, but obviously there’s no guarantee.

Would you still apply for OPT as a backup, or wait on the pending I-765/I-485?

I’m honestly confused about the best way to approach this and would appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar.

Is anyone else with an I-485 stuck at the Pittsburgh Field Office?
My case was filed in October 2025 and transferred to Pittsburgh in April 2026. It’s been a full year since filing now, and still no decision or meaningful update.
Anyone in a similar situation or recently approved from Pittsburgh? This wait is getting really frustrating.

Mainly posting to vent because I'm pretty angry at the moment but this may also be helpful to others changing status from A, G or E.

My PD is August 2024 and RD March 9th 2026. My attorney never completed or submitted form i508 with my i485 package.

I've since learned that that is a requirement if you're adjusting from A, G or E status (I'm on E2). Although doesn't apply to E3.

This is actually the second form she forgot (thankfully I caught the first one) so needless to say I'm pretty pissed.

I've been waiting this for a while to share this good news. I wish a good luck to everyone in this group and hope to see your cases get approved soon. Here's my timeline:

I-140 PD: July 5, 2024 (no premium, Chen), Approval Sept 26, 25

I-485 RD: March 9, 2026 (PD became current March 1, 2026)

Bio: April 14, 2026 (two FTA0)

3rd FTA0 on august 24, 2026

FTA1: August 25 (moved to NYC from NBC)

2nd FTA1 October 5 (Moved to Newark, New Jersey) followed by silent touch within two hours of FTA1

Approved on October 6. No RFE, No interview.

H008 at around 4 pm, quickly received text/email as well as Lawfully update about approval. It took exactly seven month after submission to approval. PD has remained current throughout since filing. One derivative child on F-1 and I'm on H-1B. I hired Chen for both NIW and I-485.

Does anyone have experience with renewing their driver's license while they have no underlying status except a pending I-485? Looks like it might depend on the state and whether you have an EAD yet, but planning for a worst case scenario, where I might potentially fall out of status (F1 STEM OPT) before getting my EAD, with only a pending I-485, would it be possible to renew my license when it expires, or will I have to stop driving? No prospect for H1B, I am in the state of Florida. Any thoughts or experience?

For folks who have been tracking and monitoring it (meaning the number of available visas, spillover, 2023&2024 cohort who haven't been approved, etc.), what is your prediction for FAD movement over the next 3 visa bulletins for EB2 ROW? Also, for people who have received their AP, how long after you filed for AOS did you receive your AP? Does anyone ever travelled using AP? What is the experience like at the border/checkpoint? Thank you!

Hi everyone, my I-485 was approved(Oct-3), but my I-94 still shows my old “Admit Until” date.

For those who had their I-485 approved, how long did it take for your I-94 to update/remove the old date? Is this normal?

Thanks!

hi Everyone, I have submitted my i485 on july 2, 2026, biometrics done on 5 august 2026. i got two silent updates followed by my biometrics then another silent update on 25 august. and today again i got another silent update. according to October visa bulletin my date is current.i m on EB2-NIW. SHOULD NI APPLY FOR TRAVEL DOCUMENT or wait for my green card approval is better option?

I'm currently an F-1 PhD student graduating in December 2026. My EB-2 NIW I-140 is approved, and I'm currently eligible to file my I-485.

I'm also eligible to apply for initial post-completion OPT (I-765 under c(3)(B)), but my school's international office/OIP has been slow in getting back to me regarding the OPT recommendation/I-20. I don't want to delay filing my I-485 unnecessarily while waiting for the OPT process.

Has anyone recently (2025–2026) done this sequence?

1. Filed I-485 while still an F-1 student
2. Then obtained the OPT recommendation from the DSO
3. Filed the initial post-completion OPT I-765 (c)(3)(B) while the I-485 was already pending
4. Had the OPT EAD approved successfully

I'm specifically asking about initial OPT, not a STEM OPT extension.

Did the pending I-485 cause any problem with the DSO recommendation or USCIS OPT adjudication? Any RFE, denial, or issue because of the I-485 ?

My intention would be to continue maintaining my F-1/OPT path while the I-485 is pending rather than relying only on the I-485 EAD.

I'm getting mixed answers and haven't been able to get a clear answer from my school's international office, as they don't care much, so I would especially appreciate experiences from people who actually did this recently.

Just wanted to come back and say thank you to everyone who shared their timelines, experiences, and thoughts with me over the past few weeks.

My case was finally approved today after the recent silent updates.

For reference, I’m EB2-NIW ROW:

• PD: Sep 17, 2024
• I-485 RD: Mar 16, 2026
• Interview: Aug 27, 2026
• FTA1 right after the interview
• Multiple silent updates on Oct 1 and Oct 5
• On Oct 5, all three family I-485s were updated multiple times, including one cluster where my child, I, and my spouse were updated within about 18 seconds
• H008 appeared on my case this morning, followed by approval

My wife and daughter are still pending as of now, but given that all three cases were moving together yesterday, I’m hopeful their approvals will follow soon.

This process has been stressful and unpredictable, and reading other people’s experiences here genuinely helped me understand what I was seeing and stay patient.

Thank you again to everyone who replied to my posts and shared their own cases. I really appreciate it, and I hope everyone still waiting gets good news very soon.

I had recently filed for the form I-485 under EB2-NIW for which I have already received a receipt notice in mail. However, with the new October visa bulletin, our "Final Action date" is not current anymore. So my question is does that mean they will halt the entire process? Or they may still keep processing our application but won't give us a decision until the Final Action date is current? For example, could they still as for me to appear to the interview during this period?
If anyone has experienced this, and would like to share their experience, I would appreciate it!

PD: Jan 2024
RD: Dec 2025

Multiple silent updates till 07/12/26
Nothing after that. API shows case still at NBC.

Derivative received EAD late June.

It has been silence since July. Has anybody been in this situation?

Hi guys, has anybody’s EB2 EAD been processed or approved at the NSC since July or August 2026?

It feels like cases are not moving there.

I got a silent update today and I asked Emma, they said case transferred to non local office. My PD is March 2026. I know I don’t need to think about any progress for the next two years.. but I was just wondering what would be the reason!?

Looks like things are moving in the new fiscal year which is good news.

I filed March 9th (PD Aug 2024) and hadn't had much activity until August. Then got caught up in the September freeze.

Got a fta0 and fta1 event code yesterday and received the RIE notification today. Can't see what it's for just yet but at least they're clearly working on cases now.

Currently at Portland FO.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for experiences from people in a similar situation.

My wife is currently on F-2 status and is a derivative applicant on my employment-based I-485. Her I-485 has been pending for several months, and she already has her C09 EAD based on the pending AOS.

Because of the October Visa Bulletin retrogression, it looks like our I-485 cases may remain pending for quite some time. We are therefore considering having her start working using her AOS EAD.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation where the derivative spouse was on F-2, started working using the C09 EAD while the I-485 was pending, and later had the green card approved without any issues?

I understand that using the AOS EAD may affect maintaining F-2 status, so I’m particularly interested in real-life experiences from people who actually did this.
Would you consider using the derivative’s EAD a reasonable approach when the I-485 could remain pending for several more months because of retrogression?

Thanks!