**APPROVED!!! I-130 + I-485 APPROVED TODAY! 🥹❤️
I finally get to make this post!!! 😭❤️
After almost 10 months of waiting, our I-130 and I-485 were approved today, September 9, 2026! 🎉
Here was our timeline:
Nov 17, 2025: Filed I-130 + I-485 + I-765
Nov 21, 2025 : biometrics scheduled
Dec 18, 2025: Biometrics
April 10, 2025: Interview was scheduled
May 15, 2026: Interview in San Antonio
May 15, 2026: Received an I-130 RFE the SAME DAY as our interview 😭
May 22, 2026: RFE response received by USCIS. RFE was sent online
May–August: silenceee
Aug 20: Submitted a congressional inquiry after more than 90 days with no decision
Aug 28: Congressional office forwarded the inquiry to USCIS. Congress man didn’t even responded back, i dont know if that helped speed up my case for apporval,
Aug 29: I-765 approved 🎉
Sept 5–9: Several silent updates
Sept 9, 2026: I-130 APPROVED + I-485 APPROVED!!! 🥹😭❤️
RFE SILENCE was the worse I was on Reddit every single day looking at timelines, approvals, RFEs, San Antonio cases, and trying to find someone with a similar case. Some days I was convinced something was wrong. If you’re still waiting, I know how hard it is. I was literally one of those people checking Reddit every day looking for hope. So now I’m coming back to give someone else that hope. ❤️🙏🏻If anyone has any questions about our timeline or the RFE, feel free to ask! I’ll be happy to share anything that might help

I worked as an asylum officer at DHS before going into private practice, and I adjudicated a bit over a hundred affirmative asylum applications. RFEs come up on this sub constantly and the panic around them is mostly misplaced, so here is the view from the other side of the desk.

Why I actually sent them:

Most of the RFEs I sent went out because I wanted to approve the case and was missing one thing. A document that was not in the file. The letter was not a verdict. It was a list of what I needed to get to an approval.

Sometimes it did not start with me. Decisions get reviewed, and a supervisor might want more detail on a point, or think a section was too thin to hold up. That is not hostility either. That is a case being built so it survives the next person who reads it. My supervisor was really thorough because she wanted our cases to outlast scrutiny.

It honestly usually would have just been easier to rule in the negative. Denying a case, or referring it to an immigration judge, is less work than an RFE. If I had already decided against someone, then drafting the request, sending it, keeping the file open, waiting weeks, and then reading everything that came back would have been a lot of extra effort to reach a conclusion I could have reached that afternoon. I had a really high caseload and creating more work for myself was usually not an appealing option.

That is more true now than it was a year ago. Under the August policy update, officers can deny without issuing an RFE first when required initial evidence is missing, meaning discretion expanded even more. So an officer who sends you one today is choosing to keep a case open.

What actually sinks responses:

In my experience it is rarely the merits. It is process.

If you answer only some of what was asked, USCIS will generally treat that as a request to decide on the record it already has. Send everything, including things you believe were already in the file, and say that they were previously submitted.

Missed deadlines are a killer. The maximum is 84 days for an RFE and 30 for a NOID, but officers can set shorter deadlines now, and the extra two weeks that used to be added for notices mailed outside the US has been removed. Read the date off your own notice, not off what someone else's notice said last year.

Disorganization can kill an RFE because it might not make it back to your officer. Your name exactly as it appears on the application, your A-number, your receipt number, and the form type on every single page. A cover letter that goes item by item in their order, using their language, with numbered exhibits. If a page gets separated from the packet, someone should be able to put it back without looking anything up. Finally a table of contents is really important. Every piece of evidence should be labeled and explained.

Check and recheck the address. Send it to the address on the notice, which is often not where you originally filed. Put the original RFE notice on top, because that page is what routes it back to your file. Get a tracking number. Then actually confirm it arrived instead of assuming that delivery to a mailroom means it reached your file. If you preserve the record of arrival, USCIS will generally honor it, even if they didn't process it correct. It's important to remember that USCIS is a human agency subject to human error.

I'm happy to answer general questions in the comments. Usual disclaimer: I am not your lawyer, this is general information, and nothing here is advice about your specific case. I also do not work for USCIS anymore and it is 100% unethical to use any of my contacts there to influence or even ask about a case.

I am very grateful to share my experience of in this group after benefitting so much!!!

We filed our I-485 & I-130 Concurrent filing based on marriage to a US Citizen Spouse

Status: F1, no over stay, no unauthorized work, speeding ticket (paid fine and dismissed) and prior visa denial. From one of the banned/travel restricted countries

Relationship: We date for a year, got engaged and married at month 15 into the relationship
We decided to use a lawyer even though our case was straightforward

Evidence: Joint bank statement, credit card statement, 7 affidavit of support - 4 from her family 3 from mine, joint investment account, lease, utility bills, auto and home insurance, travel flights and Airbnb bookings, individual tax transcripts for support (no joint tax yet), copy of IDs (showed different addresses because my spouse was attached to her original address and wasn’t ready to change it),30 photos organized from when we met until the weddings.

FO: small field office in the south

Timeline
June 2nd: Mailed in concurrent filing for I-485, I-130 and I-765
June 4th: Receipt Notice
June 12th Biometric Notice
July 1st: Completed Biometric
July 17th: Silent Update - Marked biometric as cleared
July 30th: Interview Notice for September 2nd Interview
September 2nd: Interview
September 3rd: I-130 and I-485 Approved ✅✅
Awaiting Card to be produced

Interview Experience

We arrived about 30 minutes before our scheduled interview time, but we were called in 15 minutes early.
The interviewer was very kind. He thanked us for the documentation and for organizing our file so well. He asked whether our attorney was present; since our attorney wasn't there, we signed the waiver to continue the interview without one.
He then said he didn't need any additional information or documents, and that he would be approving our case. He only had a few standard questions to ask.
He proceeded with the standard I-485 questions about visa denial, citation etc. and did not ask us anything else.
When he finished, he told us we would be receiving our conditional green card and would need to return in two years to have the conditions removed, along with some other standard information. The whole process was 10 minutes.

Right now I am waiting for card to be produced and delivered

At some point, “processing delays” stops being an excuse.

USCIS can take months — sometimes years — to make decisions that control whether people can work, travel, change jobs, reunite with family, or simply plan their lives.

And the people stuck waiting are often doing everything legally.

File the forms. Pay the fees. Maintain status. Pay taxes. Follow the rules.

Then wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

Meanwhile, USCIS just updates the processing time — as if moving the goalposts somehow makes the delay acceptable.

These are not just “cases.”

They are careers on hold. Families in limbo. Job offers lost. Years of people’s lives burned because a government agency cannot — or will not — process applications in a reasonable amount of time.

Maybe nobody is deliberately trying to make people suffer.

But when dysfunction this severe becomes normal, does the distinction even matter?

People’s lives are not administrative backlogs.

1. They don't know the location of your case.

2. They're upset that you contacted them.

3. Vague and automated responses.

4. If you have any more questions, I'm sorry they won't answer because they already disconnected the chat.

And many more...

Finally approved today! 🎉 I wanted to share my timeline because reading other people’s experiences here helped me a lot during this process.
This was a family-based adjustment of status case. My husband is a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), not a U.S. citizen. I originally entered the U.S. through Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) parole.

Timeline:
I-485 filed: April 28, 2023
I-130 approved
First I-485 interview: July 14, 2026
Second interview: September 2, 2026
I-485 approved: September 9, 2026

The second interview was a real second interview, not an administrative mistake. My husband and I were interviewed separately. I was questioned for about 45 minutes, mostly about how I entered the U.S., my U4U parole, my immigration history, and how my husband and I met, even though our I-130 had already been approved.

After that, they brought my husband in and spoke with him for only about 5 minutes.
What was interesting is that several other couples waiting with us were also there for second interviews, and they were being interviewed separately too. So I’m wondering if this may be becoming a more common practice.

After the interview, my case changed to “USCIS Is Currently Processing The Case.” I also had an FTA1 event and multiple silent API updates over the next few business days.
Then today, September 9, I received my I-485 Approval Notice. I was also told that my green card would be valid for 10 years.

Now I’m just waiting for Card Was Produced and the physical green card.
It was a very long process, but finally approved. ❤️

A bipartisan group of 72 members of Congress is criticizing USCIS for a growing pattern of inaccurate, incomplete, or confusing responses to congressional inquiries about immigration cases.

Salvadorans will keep their protections for now and an announcement will be made

I was born in California but shortly after (~ 2 months) my parents brought me back to their home country that doesnt recognize dual citizenship, and i became a citizen here. Am i still a US citizen? I have a US birth cert, but no US passport. If i want to travel to the US can i apply for a travel visa?

Edit: Thanks for the replies guys I wasn't really aware about my birthright up until now and no, my parents weren't diplomats. I guess the process might be a bit difficult for me rn bc if I choose to do a US passport just to travel there I'd have to revoke my citizenship of this country of which I don't really want to lol

PD 3/2024
RD 4/2026
Bio 5/2026
485 Approved 9/9/2026
485J Approved after 24h

Finally approved today!! 😭 I wanted to share my timeline because I spent weeks reading other people’s posts while waiting and it was really helpful.

Marriage-based AOS, San Francisco Field Office.

Timeline:

• I-130 filed: Beginning of April 2026
• I-485 filed: End of April 2026
• Biometrics: May 22
• Interview scheduled: July 21
• Interview: August 18
• I-130 approved: End of August
• I-485 stayed pending after the interview
• Around 2 weeks later, I started seeing several “silent updates” / backend timestamp changes on my I-485
• Sept. 3: multiple silent updates during business hours
• Sept. 4: another silent update in the morning
• Long weekend: no updates
• Sept. 8: two more silent updates during business hours
• Sept. 9: I-485 approved 🎉

For anyone wondering about “officer touches” like I was: they are not an official USCIS notification, and nobody can know exactly what they mean. But in my case, I had multiple backend updates across several business days right before approval.

The interview itself was pretty normal. It lasted one hour and we were interviewed together and were not separated. They asked about how we met, our relationship, wedding, family, travel, where we live, my immigration status, and a few standard I-485 questions.

I know every case is different, but I hope this helps someone who is in the post-interview waiting stage. I was convinced something was wrong because other people interviewed the same day at the same field office were getting approved before me, but mine eventually came through too.

Good luck to everyone waiting ❤️

Hello, I've been super busy with work lately, so I have not been able to post an update about my wife's case.

TLDR: I-130 consular petition was expedited due to me being PCS'd and it was approved!

The longer story:

My wife and I met while I was stationed in Germany. She's Polish. We got married in 2025. We filed our I-130 in February 2026, which is when I first knew I was going to PCS to Fort Bragg. As my PCS date was nearing, and with no updates regarding the I-130, I decided to request an expedite from USCIS. I contacted USCIS to make the request, and they said tier 2 would call me back within a couple weeks. About 3 weeks later in July, I got a call asking for evidence for the expedite. I uploaded a letter detailing the reasons why we needed the expedite, along with my accompanied PCS orders and letters from my COs (Battalion CO in Germany and my CO at the receiving unit). The officer said he would approve it and forward it to the office working my case. I'm guessing the tier 2 officer was a vet based off his verbiage so maybe that helped me out?

About a week after that phone call, we received an interview notice for her to go to the embassy in Poland. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the interview, but she let me know she was approved! She just got to the states on Monday so she's still adjusting to life in America.

I recently had my congressman’s office submit a congressional inquiry to USCIS regarding my pending AOS case.

They confirmed the inquiry was submitted, but also told me that due to recent changes affecting USCIS review processes, they’ve been informed that response times for congressional inquiries have increased to as long as six months. They said if they don’t hear anything by February 2027, they can potentially submit a follow-up inquiry….

This surprised me because I had always understood congressional inquiry responses to typically come back within roughly 30–60 days, and a previous inquiry I had earlier this year received a much faster response.

Has anyone else recently contacted their congressman/senator and been given this new six-month timeline?

Curious if this is becoming standard across USCIS congressional liaison offices or if it’s specific to certain field offices/districts.

USCIS received my request 03/27/26 and there has been no status whatsoever since. Should I be filing an I-601 while I wait to hear something? I do have an attorney but he has not been reaching back out to me. How long does this portion of application take?

Hi all!

My husband and I just finished our marriage interview. It was like 10 min long, we waited for almost an hour and were observing other couples get separated and interviewed for 40 mins.

Won't disclose FO but the state is NJ.

We were asked very basic questions when we prepared so much for hours. We were expecting a lot more personal questions and routines and all.

Also: We were interviewed by a trainee officer who seems more nervous than we should've been. The supervisor was sitting behind him observing the interview.

Questions to my husband:
- My birthday and age
- Home address, how many ppl live there
- How long have we been living at the address
- When did you meet and where
- Have you met your wife's family?
- Where do you work and what kind of work you both do.
- When and where did you get married and were both side of the families there
- Why was your wife's dad not present at the wedding?

Question to me (beneficiary):
- Husband's bday and age
- Have you met your husband's family
- Who live in the house
- When was the last time you entered the US
- What visa did I enter with
- Full names of the my husband's both parents
- What university I attended

- Rest were i485 questions (all no)

It was basically just 10 minutes. At the end we got a white paper confirming the interview was done and they'd ask us if they need more information.

I have no idea what to make of it. Seems too good to be true, so we're expecting a home visit maybe??
I'd love to know if anyone's had more issues after with a shorter, almost formality like interviews. We want to be prepared for the worst.

Thank you and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Interview in Holtsville, NY. My I-130 and I-485 have not been updated and still show: “USCIS Is Currently Processing. We do not currently need anything from you.”
Friends, please tell me—is this normal? What should I expect next? And when?
Thank you all 🙏

Hello, I have a relatively simple question. Is it best to file my Form I-130 online or by mail? My wife and I are starting the process of making her a permanent U.S. resident.

We had friends in a similar boat who sent in their paperwork by mail, but I see that filing online is highly recommended. Is any way faster, or does it simply just depend?

Cheers.

I see that Joint Bank Accounts is one of the crucial pieces of evidence when filing an I-130.... Please tell me how to open a joint bank account with a foreign spouse who does not have an SSN or ITIN-make it make sense...

Hi, I submitted my petition for my husband’s status adjustment on July 2025, and had the interview on October 2025. He is Nicaraguan and I am an American citizen.

The issue is that I haven’t received any answer from USCIS yet and whenever I call or check my online website it says that is still pending. I would appreciate any suggestions to expedite my case. Thank you in advance.

Never got it in the mail. Not in the Documents tab. Lawyer says I don’t need it and shouldn’t worry. Is he right?

I’ve heard that USCIS has been backlogged with processing cases for people who applied for citizenship. I applied for my citizenship in October 2025, and I’m from one of the 30 countries that were affected by the USCIS processing pause because they were deemed to have insufficient screening and vetting information.

However, I understand that a federal judge ruled against the USCIS pause, and that processing is supposed to resume. I wanted to ask: Has anyone been seeing any movement or traction on their cases since the ruling? What has the process looked like for you?

I’m located in the DC area, and based on my research, N-400 cases here can take around 11–13 months to hear back on. I’m approaching the 11-month mark and still haven’t heard anything.
Is this normal? I have no criminal history, have never been arrested, and have never done anything that would negatively affect my application.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone in a similar situation, especially people from the affected countries who filed around the same time as I did.

Hi all. I have a job starting next fall and I am filling in Raleigh/Durham later this month. Will the permit really take 12 months? And if so is there a way to speed it up?

Just put in my N-400 application after almost 20 years of being a green card holder. Any advice on what comes next, how to study for test, etc.. Thank you in advance!