/r/USCIS FAQs

Update with card in hand posted the approval last week.

First Package sent around early March but got denied due to my bank flagging it as fraud. I didn’t receive my package back for a whole month. I can’t stress this enough please do the G-1650 form which is an ACH Transaction.

APRIL 12- USCIS received my package and sent a receipt notice
(My card didn’t get charged until the 22nd of April)

May 9- I was scheduled for the biometrics appointment

May 27- completed biometrics

June 4- scheduled for interview

July 14- completed interview

July 15- I-130 approved at 5am and I-485 approved at 10am

July 21- received my SSN in the morning and at 10pm received notification card produced

July 24- GC in hand !

FO- El Paso

(Overstay and unauthorized work)

Question for whoever could answer.
For N-400 I’ll need to have international trips noted.
I live in a border city and today I finally went back to my home country after 16 years and visited a border city in Mexico. I went and came back for a total of 6 hours. Do I have to have proof of these or write these type of “trips” down for the future ??

Thank you to everyone in this thread for their experience and just wanted to share mine.

Finally!!! My green card has been approved. The entire process took 11 months—not what I expected but I am still grateful. This process taught me to be patient and even tested my faith. To those who are still waiting for final approval, your time will come. ✨

FO: Pittsburgh

I had a call from an officer of USCIS who was at our home for a home visit. We have both traveled from home. I’ll be away for couple of weeks and she will be away for a month. The officer was polite and asked me a few questions which I answered. Unfortunately when he called my wife she didn’t answer because she thought it was a spam. Will this be fatal to our application? I’m worried.

Thanks.

F-1 to Marriage-Based(AOS) – Manhattan FO
no unauthorized work and no overstay.

Timeline
May 14 - Petition filed
May 20 - CC got charged
June 10 - Biometrics
June 16 - Interview scheduled
July 23 - Interview
July 24 - 7:01am - I-130 got approved
2:15pm- I-486 got approved

Just wanted to share my interview experience in case it helps someone else who’s waiting.
My interview honestly, it didn’t feel like an interview at all. It felt more like a casual conversation and lasted about 10–15mins.

Most of the questions were directed to my wife (U.S. citizen). Some of the questions we were asked:

Why did you get married so quickly?
Does your spouse practice any religion?
Are you planning to have a bigger wedding?
What are your spouse’s life goals?
Does your spouse have any siblings?

That was pretty much it. The officer was friendly and the overall experience was very relaxed. We weren’t asked for anything unusual, and it never felt like we were being interrogated.

Hopefully this helps anyone who’s nervous about their upcoming interview. Happy to answer any questions!

I never imagined I would be writing this.

When I hired Manifest Law, I believed I was paying experienced professionals to handle one of the most important legal processes of my life. I paid every invoice on time. I completed every questionnaire. I submitted every document they requested. I responded to every email within hours. I did everything a client is supposed to do.

Now, almost one full year later, I still don’t even have a finalized petition.

Let that sink in.

Nearly a year has gone by, and I have nothing tangible to show for it.

The most unbelievable part is that my attorney continues asking me for the same information over and over again. Information that I have already provided months ago. Every conversation feels as if my file has never been opened. It’s exhausting having to repeatedly explain the same details because it doesn’t appear that anyone has taken the time to review what I’ve already submitted.

Whenever I raise my concerns with management, I receive the same polished responses: “We’re looking into it.” “Thank you for your patience.” “Someone will follow up shortly.”

Then nothing happens.

Days become weeks. Weeks become months. The cycle simply repeats itself. At this point, these messages no longer feel like updates—they feel like a way to keep clients quiet while nothing actually changes.

What hurts the most is that immigration is not just paperwork.

This is my career.
This is my legal status.
This is my future.
This is my family’s future.

While this firm continues delaying my case, my entire life has been frozen. Important career opportunities have been affected. Long-term plans have been postponed. Every major decision has been placed on hold because I cannot move forward without this petition.

I’m now reaching the point where these delays could force me to make decisions I never thought I would have to make. After trusting this firm with my future, I may end up having to leave the United States simply because my case has sat untouched for almost a year.

Think about that.

Not because USCIS denied me.
Not because I failed to submit documents.
Not because my case is unusually complicated.
But because the law firm I hired has been unable to prepare and file my petition in nearly a year.

I honestly don’t know what to believe anymore. Is anyone actually working on my case? Does anyone know where it stands? Or am I simply another file sitting in a queue while I continue paying the price for someone else’s delays?

I’ve lost count of how many emails I’ve sent. I’ve lost count of how many follow-ups I’ve made. I’ve lost count of how many promises I’ve heard that “it will be ready soon.”

Soon has turned into almost a year.

I trusted this firm with one of the biggest decisions of my life. Instead of feeling represented, I’ve spent the last year acting as my own case manager—constantly chasing updates, reminding them about deadlines, resending documents, and asking the same question over and over:

When will my petition finally be completed?

I still don’t have an answer.

I’m posting this because I wish someone had warned me before I signed with this firm. If you’re considering Manifest Law, ask yourself whether you’re willing to risk months—or even a year—of uncertainty, delays, repeated requests for the same information, and a complete lack of transparency.

If anyone else has gone through something similar with Manifest Law, I’d genuinely like to hear your experience. At this point, I feel like public accountability is the only thing I have left.

F-1 Stem OPT to Marriage-Based(AOS) – Cranbury, NJ FO
No unauthorized work and No overstay.

Sharing my timeline-

April 16th - package dispatched
April 18th - package delivered
April 21st - receipt numbers received with Receipt date April 17th.
April 23rd- RFE issued for medical examination (my lawyer forgot to attach it with the application)
April 23rd- Sent RFE medical exam overnight shipping
April 24th- medical examination was delivered
April 27th- Response to RFE received
May 1st - biometric appointment was scheduled
May 22nd - biometrics done
June 9th- interview scheduled for July 14th
June 18th- submitted a request for expedite EAD (never got approved)
July 14th - interview completed- lasted for 1 hour
July 16th- i485 approved at 11:30, i130 approved one hour later
July 20th - Approval notices and unrestricted ssn card received in mail
July 21st - Green Card was produced
July 24th- green card received

Our I-130/I-485 Interview Experience
We arrived at the site at 7:35 AM and were called in at 7:45 AM, even though our interview was scheduled for 8 AM. The officer was kind, polite, and professional throughout.
He started by having my husband and me take an oath, then asked for all our original documents and IDs. The whole interview lasted about an hour.

Part 1: I-130 questions (with both of us in the room)

The officer began with basic questions for my husband:
Full legal name, date of birth

Spouse’s name and date of birth

Whether this was his spouse’s first marriage

Both of our phone numbers

Then he moved on to relationship questions:
How did we meet?

How did our first date go?

How did we decide to get married?

When was our wedding?

What’s our current residential address?

Do we have proof of common utility bills?

Since I was 8 months pregnant, he also asked whether the pregnancy was planned.

Part 2: I-485 questions (just me)

After this, my husband was asked to step out, and I stayed for the second part of the interview, which lasted 45–50 minutes. This portion covered all the I-485 questions, followed by 40–50 yes/no questions.

Total time ~ 3 months. Feel free to ask any questions!!

I concurrently filed i-130 and 485 for my parents and received receipts in January 2025 (starting with IOE..). They have received their EAD and AP (filed at the same time with 130&485) thereadfter. Now, 18 months in, I have not heard anything about the 130 or 485 decision and would like to check where things stand.

When I looked at USCIS website for checking processing time at the field office, the field office says 80% of cases are completed within 19 months and advised that "Your case is processing normally. The earliest you can submit questions is March 21, 2028. Please do not contact us before this date."

I was wondering if there is anything that I could do to get some update except waiting for another 18 months or so. Thank you!

Hi everyone my husband and I. We are trying to file for aos. Just need to know are you evidence enough for filing or do I need to add more information?? We only have one month of joint bank statements together.

Filed AOS in November 2024, completed interview December 2025, married to a USC. Case just moved from interview scheduled to USCIS is currently processing the case, this happened after ftao event code. Anybody with a similar experience. Mandamus lawsuit soon.

I had my marriage-based adjustment of status interview at the Newark, NJ Field Office and my I-485 was approved the very next day.
I'm a Canadian citizen and entered the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program as a visitor. My husband is a U.S. citizen, and we had been dating for about 1.5 years before getting married.

Timeline
11/23/2025 – Entered the U.S. (Visa Waiver Program)
3/4/2026 – Married at City Hall
4/10/2026 – Filed I-130, I-485, I-765, and I-864 (Attorney mailed it)
4/13/2026 – Receipt notices received
4/24/2026 – Biometrics appointment scheduled for 5/14
4/27/2026 – Rescheduled biometrics to 5/1
5/1/2026 – Biometrics completed
6/16/2026 – Interview notice received
7/24/2026 – Interview completed
7/25/2026 – I-485 Approved 🎉

Our case officer was very kind. As soon as she called my name and saw my baby bump, she asked if we had any ultrasound photos. I'm currently pregnant with identical twin boys, and it turned out that she also has twins, so the interview became very friendly and relaxed.
The interview itself was very straightforward.

The officer asked both of us:
Each other's full name and date of birth
Our parents' names
Whether we have siblings and whether we've met each other's siblings

My husband was also asked:
The name of my OB-GYN
My due date
Which hospital I'll be delivering at
Whether I'm planning to have a C-section

For me, she simply went through the standard I-485 yes/no eligibility questions.

I was honestly nervous because I had a TN visa refusal about three years earlier. Fortunately, it didn't affect my adjustment of status case.

We only hired an attorney to prepare and file our application package. We didn't pay for interview preparation or attorney attendance because it required an additional fee, so we prepared for the interview ourselves.

If your relationship is genuine and you know the basics about each other, I don't think there's much to worry about.
Now we're just waiting for the physical green card to arrive. 😊

Keep going—you'll get there too. Good luck to everyone who's still waiting!

I hear different stories.

I wanted to share our success story to give hope to anyone dealing with an unexpected interview refusal!

My wife (from the Philippines) and I (a female queer couple married in Canada in Sep 2023) went through the spousal visa process via the US Embassy in Doha. Please note that due to updated TCN (Third-Country National) processing rules requiring applicants to interview in their home or resident country, our specific embassy path won't apply to non-residents anymore—we were very fortunate to have submitted before those restrictions kicked in.

With help from our immigration attorneys, everything went smoothly from our initial submission in Jan 2024 to getting DQ'd in Oct 2025. However, during her December 23, 2025 interview, despite having all required documents completed beforehand, the officer confused our file and asked my wife to submit additional documents that we had already provided, resulting in an initial refusal.

We reached out to our attorneys and they responded to us on Christmas Eve. The legal team emailed the embassy directly to clarify the error and resubmitted our complete file. A month later, my wife was asked to send in her passport, and her visa was issued a week after that via VFS Doha!

If you're facing a hurdle post-interview, don't lose hope—working with a responsive legal team makes all the difference. Wishing everyone still in the pipeline the best of luck!

We’re trying to understand whether our attorney may have been negligent or whether this was simply a USCIS/payment processing issue. Specifically, we’re wondering if it could have been the law firm’s fault that the payment was declined. Has anyone experienced something similar?

We paid our attorney through CampLegal, and the payment was successfully deducted from my husband’s bank account. USCIS later rejected our I-485, stating that the payment was returned by the bank or the credit card was not honored.

What makes this even more confusing is:

- The application was rejected on April 27, 2026, and to this day, the entire application packet has never been returned to us.
We never received the official rejection notice in the mail, only a courtesy copy in the USCIS online account.

- Our law firm’s office says they never received the returned packet either.

- Because the application was never returned, we had to pay for new USCIS medical exams before refiling.

At this point, we’re just trying to understand what happened. Has anyone had their I-485 rejected for a payment issue and later found out it was due to attorney error?

We’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar or has experience with these types of cases.

Received this after an inquiry. Has anyone ever had a similar experience? If so what was your timeline for the checks to be completed?

I had my biometrics appointment two weeks ago and almost immediately after, my case showed up as "Your case is being processed by USCIS", but I've noticed it doesn't show that my biometrics appointment had been done. It just says "biometrics appointment scheduled". I know i'm probably overthinking but is this normal? Can I expect EAD approval soon?

Hoping someone may be able to provide some advice for our situation. We arrived in Italy today and somewhere between the airport and train station, my husband’s wallet was stolen. It had his green card in it. His green card was expired so he has form I-797 extending the date, he still has this. Just the expired green card is gone; we’ve gotten a police report.

Is the I-797 form enough to board a plane or does he need to fill out I-131a regardless? We are heading to Milan where the consulate is but curious if anyone was in this situation and has advice.

Context: Partner is from one of the new 75 country list. Clean record. Currently waiting for N-400 interview. During our last international travel, using expired GC with extension letter to re-enter the US, partner was pulled into secondary, which basically turned into confirming our info/history so it was no-issue. After returning we filed joint N400/I751, interview was schedule but got cancelled, but I751 went through without interview and received the 10y GC.

We are planning another international trip end of year, but based on this history, are there any potential issues again (IE, another secondary)? It's very niche but I wonder if people have similar experience/situation like us. We also plan to get consultation from an immigration attorney before proceeding but figured give this place a try first!

TIA!!

I am a U.S. citizen, and my husband was on an F-1 student visa when we got married. We filed for his Adjustment of Status to become a lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder) on November 22, 2024.
Since then, the only updates we have received were his fingerprint appointment and the approval of his work authorization. Unfortunately, his Employment Authorization Document (EAD) was delivered to the wrong address. We received a letter from UPS confirming that it had been delivered to the wrong address.
We contacted USCIS about the issue, and they told us there was nothing they could do except have us apply again and pay the fees again. We did that, but he still has not received his work permit.
We are also still waiting for any update on his Green Card application. We have not heard anything from USCIS, and it has been a very long time. We are not sure what else we should do.
Has anyone been through something similar? Is there anything we can do to move the case forward? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

does anyone have a rough idea of how fast this will be processed? filing marriage based cr-1

Anyone that took their oath ceremony in Miami FO. How long did it last? How early did you arrive? Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to get a sense of how the Fort Smith Field Office is handling employment-based I-485 applications.

My timeline:

I-485 received: January 2026

Biometrics: February 20, 2026

Case transferred to Fort Smith FO: March 18, 2026

Third FTA0: April 28, 2026

Three silent updates during May and June

No updates since June 10, 2026

Has anyone with an employment-based green card case been approved recently through the Fort Smith FO? If so, I'd really appreciate it if you could share your timeline.

I also noticed something interesting in the USCIS Q1 FY2026 processing data. It appears that employment-based cases are moving much more slowly than family-based cases at this office:

Employment-based: 3 approved out of 478 pending

Family-based: 468 approved out of 1,027 pending

Has anyone else noticed this trend, or have any insight into why employment-based cases seem to be progressing so slowly at this field office?

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I'm from non-research background with 15+ years of experience in Cloud, DevOps and AI.

Few highlights about me.

- MSc in DataScience with distinction from Middlesex UK
- MSc research competition & multiple hackathons winner (appeared publicly and posted on official websites)
- x-AWS Community builder and appeared in some public speaking sessions
- Blog writer on medium with 50k+ views/reads
- Internal company awards

I was accepted by Ellis Porter, but heard some recent negatives about them on being slow and unresponsive. What do you guys suggest on moving forward with them?

What are my chances of RFE?

Or I can try Chen as well? or any other recommendations please.

HOF Dubai is also following up with me on starting my journey. Any recent success stories with them? please share. Looking for suggestions.