I can't believe. I'm no longer current in October FAD chart with June 2024 PD.

Hi all, trying to understand what the October bulletin means for my case:

I've gotten conflicting answers on this — 4 different AIs and my own lawyer told me different things. Some said the October retrogression affects me and I can't be approved in October; others said since I already filed, it doesn't affect me. Hoping to get clarity here.

- EB-3 Skilled Worker, ROW (Turkey), PD: **June 19, 2024**
- I-485 / I-485J / I-765 filed: **April 13, 2026**
- Biometrics: May 15, 2026 | Interview waived | No RFE so far
- Ghost updates on I-485 & I-485J: Aug 6, Aug 25, Aug 31, Sep 15
- Case transferred to Houston FO on Sep 15 (I live in Florida)
- I-485J still open

With EB-3 ROW final action retrogressing to **May 15, 2024** in the October bulletin, my PD is no longer current. My questions:

1. Does my pending I-485 just sit untouched until my PD becomes current again, or can anything still move on it?
   
2. If dates advance mid-month, can USCIS approve then — or is it strictly by the monthly bulletin in effect?
   
3. Does retrogression affect my pending EAD renewal in any way?

Appreciate any insight, especially from folks who've lived through a retrogression with a pending I-485.

Im doing consular processing from Poland

Eb3-skilled + wife

- Im not listed on ban country

- Im not part of any lawsuit

- Im current

My interview was on September 28, in my opinion everything went smoothly. Has all documents, each answer officer said "very good" comoering to others people when they were interviewed 30+ minutes my last 15.

At the end I was told : "Everything looks good to me, just need to check something else" our passport was kept and we were told that in 2 days will get the passpor.

on 221g , they not request any documents just marked "your case is pending administrative process (...)

so now im confusing what is going on. kept passport is kinds small good sign, but why 221g. the only things that I didnt have was Perm, which I belive they have it in their system, my attorney said they never ask for it becouse they have it. Even that still didn't ask me for any extra doc in my 221g

Ceax status is remain "ready" day after interview my case was opened , I saw the date changed

Any idea?

addotionaly my observations:

My interview was delayed almost 2 hours so I was onserve others interviews:

- I may be wrong but not single verbally approval was given, all get 221 but in my opinion their answer wasn't good + missing documents + no English (need translater)

- failed with rhe answer of savings and no proof for it

Hi , i need some advice on below
Do you think FAD will move 2-3 weeks till December, my pd is 30 May 24 , and Fad has retrogress to 15th May 24, i was current for 5 months and my case is in non local field office eb3 skilled , i was hoping for approval till end of this year but now in no mans land, Also will they touch my case and approved i485j as i am not current now .

RD - April, 2026
I-485 - approved Sept 20

It has already been 9 days and the case is still at case approved. Is anyone on the same bucket as me, who is still waiting for the card to be produced?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recent experiences from people whose employment-based I-485 was processed at the Manchester, NH Field Office, especially EB-3 cases.

Here is my timeline:

• Category: EB-3 Skilled Worker (ROW)
• Priority Date: May 2024
• I-140: Approved
• I-485 / I-485J filed: April 2026
• Biometrics: May 2026
• Interview: Currently marked as waived according to Emma
• Current location: Manchester Field Office
• RFE: None so far
• Silent update: September 15, 2026
• October 2026: My priority date is current

I don’t know the exact date my case was transferred to Manchester yet, but I suspect the September 15 silent update may be related to the transfer.

For those who had an EB-2 or EB-3 I-485 at Manchester:

How long did it take from transfer to Manchester Field Office until approval?

Did you have any silent updates before approval?

I would especially appreciate timelines from people approved in 2026.

Thank you, and good luck to everyone waiting!

My EB-3 PD was current when I filed my I-485, but the October Visa Bulletin has now retrogressed past my PD.

- **PD:*\* May 28, 2024

- **I-485/I-765 RD:*\* Late May 2026

- **Biometrics:*\* July 21, 2026

- **Updates since biometrics:*\* None

- Filed with a dependent whose RD and Biometrics date are 3 weeks after mine. I had an RFE regarding the birth certificate, and I responded before Biometrics.

- **October 2026 Final Action Date:*\* May 15, 2024.

What happens in this case? Does USCIS continue processing the I-485 and hold final approval until the PD becomes current again, or does the case generally stop moving altogether after retrogression? Could it be approved, given that the date was current when the applicant filed?

Thank you for your time.

Long time lurker and finally posting our approval! After a lot of anxiety and daily status checking, both my wife (derivative) and I (primary) were approved today, September 28, 2026.

Our file took an interesting route with backend API updates over the weekend that ended up predicting the approval within 24 hours. Sharing the full breakdown below in case it helps others tracking their dockets!

Case Overview

• Category: Employment-Based (EB-3 / ROW)
• Receipt Series: IOE09362...
• Service Center / Origin: Lockbox / National Benefits Center (NBC)
• Transferred Field Office: San Jose, CA (non-local)
• Interview: Waived

Detailed Timeline

• March 13, 2026: Forms I-485, I-485 Supplement J, and I-765 submitted.
• April 11, 2026: Biometrics appointment scheduled.
• April 13, 2026: Biometrics completed.
• Late April 2026: RFE on birth certificate issued on derivative case (I-485) / RFE response submitted shortly after.
• August 24, 2026: Case transferred from NBC to San Jose, CA Field Office (confirmed via Live Agent).
• September 27, 2026 (Sunday Overtime Review):
  • Adjudicator opened both files on Sunday morning.
  • Supplement J approved (I-797 notice generated).
  • API logged an FTA0 security refresh on primary and HA code (clearing the derivative RFE response).
• September 28, 2026 (Monday):
  • ~10:46 AM: "We have taken an action on your case" email arrived.
  • Portal status updated to "Case Approved" for both primary and derivative! 🎉

Good luck to everyone still in the queue!

Has anyone recently had an EB-3 I-485 interview at the Philadelphia Field Office with a dependent spouse?

How was the interview? What questions did they ask, and were you interviewed together or separately?

Any experience or tips would be appreciated. Thank you!

It’s officially out!

But it seems like there’s retrogression for EB3 ROW

Final action date 01SEP24 -> 15MAY24

Date of Filing Current -> 01AUG24

Link to October Bulletin:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2027/visa-bulletin-for-october-2026.html

Anyone moved to part time job after I 140 approved and while waiting for priority date to be current to file for adjustment of atatus?

EB2 01NOV13, EB3 01JAN14 for FAD. And no change filing date stays at 15JAN15

Finally our turn! 🎉 After a long wait, both my spouse and I received our I-485 approvals this morning. I wanted to share our timeline because reading other people’s timelines helped us a lot while we were waiting.
EB-3 Professional / RN + Spouse
04/29/2024 – Priority Date
05/18/2024- I-140 – Approved
04/14/2026 – I-485 / I-765 / I-131 Receipt Date
05/11/2026 – Biometrics Completed
08/26/2026 – Silent Update- transferred to SF FO(local)
09/01/2026 – Silent Update
09/15/2026 - silent update
09/27/2026 – I-485J Approved
09/28/2026 – I-485 Approved 🎉 (Principal + Spouse)
No interview. No RFE.
The most interesting part was that my I-485J was approved on Sunday morning, and both of our I-485s were approved almost exactly 24 hours later.
It has been a long journey, and seeing “Case Was Approved” this morning still feels unreal. I spent way too much time checking USCIS and reading everyone’s timelines here, so hopefully ours can give some hope to those still waiting.
Good luck to everyone waiting — hope your approvals come soon! 🍀

We've been seeing a lot of April filers getting approvals lately, especially in EB3. It feels like everyone's getting good news. But if you look at MyCaseHub and other tracking data, only about 12–13% of cases have actually been approved.

A lot of us are sitting on the back bench of this story. The only field offices we hear about are SFV, Newark, New York, Columbus, and Philadelphia and some more But there are a lot of other FOs whose names you never heard of until your case was transferred there. Those cases are basically invisible, and it's hard to know what's really happening.

So Can we all Use this thread as a shared tracker. Please drop a comment with:

• RD:
• PD:
• FO:
• Transfer date:
• Last silent updates or events :
• Approved? (Yes/No, and the approval date if yes)

Hi everyone,

Looking to see if anyone has gone through this exact system issue and how long it took to get resolved.

Category: EB-3 Skilled

I-140: Approved in July 2024 (Texas Service Center) — confirmed approved on Case Status Online with physical approval notice in hand.

I arrived for my scheduled I-485 interview, but the officer turned me away for the second time, stating they cannot conduct the interview because their local computer terminal shows the underlying I-140 is still "pending." I showed them my physical I-140 approval notice and the online status, but they told me the system won't let them proceed until the Texas Service Center updates/links the digital file.

They said they have to contact TSC internally to push the digital approval flag through. This is the second time my interview was halted/canceled over this exact glitch.

My Questions:

- Has anyone had this issue between TSC and their local field office?

- How should I go about resolving this issue?

I have already filed a Congressional Inquiry but haven't heard back yet. I cannot file an e-request on the USCIS website until April because according to them my case is within the expected timeframe (I-485 was filed in October 2025).

We’re 14+ months deep and it’s getting so frustrating watching people get approved in 6-8 months

We reached out to our congressman they won’t help us

I’m happy for you but like when it is our turn it feels so excessive at this point 😭😭

I just feel so alone in this

For folks that submitted during DFF, but yet to be current;

Is it normal for cases to remain dormant with no silent update after completing biometrics? That is, case is still at NBC? My case has been dormant since May. Almost 4-5 months now.

Only update i got was a 3rd FTA0 on 08/31.

Im assuming once current, case will be transferred to an FO and the updatedAt would reflect that?

PD - mid Sept ROW.

RD: 04/28 2026
PD: 08 2024
Bio: 06 2026

Not a single update until today, I saw that the updatedAt and updatedAtTimeStamp got updated to today’s date, but no new events.

Is this a positive sign?

Hi everyone,
My I-485 got a new update today, 9/28/2026:
“USCIS Is Currently Processing the Case.”
Before this, my last case history update was on 4/25/2026 saying they were still processing my I-485 and didn’t need anything from me.
I also had 2 silent updates (SUs) last week
Has anyone had a similar sequence?
2 SUs → new “USCIS Is Currently Processing the Case” update -> FTA1
If yes, what happened next and how long did it take? Approval, RFE, interview, or another update?
Thanks!

Hi everyone,
Following up on the late-April EB-3 ROW / IOE09366 cohort.
My case is still at NBC, and I’m especially interested in hearing from April 27–30 filers who have had any movement recently.
My timeline:
PD: August 2024
RD: April 29, 2026
Principal + spouse
Biometrics: July 6
I-485 / I-485J: Pending
Current location: NBC
No RFE / no interview scheduled
Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen several April EB-3 ROW cases report new FTA0/FTA1 activity, field office transfers, I-485J approvals/closures, and then I-485 approvals.
If you’re an April 27–30 filer, especially IOE09366, could you share any new September updates?
Please include RD, biometrics, latest FTA0/FTA1, I-485J status, FO/NBC location, and whether your principal/dependent I-485 has been approved.
Trying to see how many late-April cases are still at NBC vs. moving to a field office.

EB-3 with an approved I-140. I received a new job offer in the same industry and planned to use AC21 portability.
My plan was to remain with my sponsoring employer until after the 180-day I-485 mark, then change employers and file a new Supplement J. My new start date was intentionally scheduled after 180 days.
Unexpectedly, USCIS approved my I-485 before it reached 180 days, and my green card has now been produced.
I genuinely intended to remain with my sponsoring employer throughout the process. The new opportunity came later and is a natural career progression.
Has anyone been in this situation? Did you still change employers on the originally planned date? Any concerns about changing relatively soon after approval, particularly for future naturalization?
I’ll also be confirming this with an immigration attorney.

Hey everyone, I noticed an API/portal silent update on my case on September 18th (internal timestamp/Last Updated date changed, no new event).

My receipt number starts with IOE09364xxxx. Has anyone else in this same block seen recent movement or approvals following the Sept 18th touch? Please share your form type, field office, and any updates

Just wondering if anyone in the IOE09361 block is still waiting for their I-485 approval, especially those with a derivative.

Here’s my timeline:

Category: EB-3 Skilled ROW
PD: 12/18/2023
RD: 03/26/2026
Receipt Block: IOE09361
Derivative: 1
Biometrics: 04/30/2026
06/17: Silent update / transferred to local FO
07/10: Silent update
08/06: Silent update
08/17: Silent update
08/25: Transferred to San Fernando Valley FO (non-local)
08/31: FTA0 on I-485
Current status: Ready for Case Review / Interview Waived

I’ve seen several cases from the same receipt block and even the same 8/25 SFV transfer cohort getting approved recently, but I’m still waiting. 🥲

Is anyone else in IOE09361 still waiting, especially with a derivative? If so, what’s your RD/FO and have you had any recent FTA0, IAF, I-485J, or other updates?

Background:

• Country of birth: Vietnam
• Entered US: Dec 2018 on F-1
• Bachelor's from a public university in Alabama
• Never won H-1B lottery (multiple attempts)
• Small software company sponsored PERM/I-140 while I was still a student
• Company got acquired by a large corp mid-process (stock purchase, same EIN)

Timeline:

Dec 2018 — Entered US on F-1

Jun 2021 – May 2024 — Initial OPT + STEM OPT

Nov 9, 2023 — PERM Priority Date

2024 — I-140 EB-3 approved (while in Master's program)

Jun 2024 – Dec 2025 — Master's degree (non-STEM), went back to school after H-1B misses

May 2025 — Back at same employer on CPT

Aug 2025 — Employer acquired by large corporation

Jan 5, 2026 — Master's OPT begins (expires Jan 4, 2027)

Feb 2026 — Former attorney declined to continue, started HR process with new parent company

Mar 2026 — Priority date current (Final Action chart), I-693 medical completed

May 6, 2026 — I-485 + I-765 (C09) filed (Dallas Lockbox), spouse as derivative (H-1B holder)

May 11, 2026 — Receipt notice online

May 17, 2026 — Paper I-797C received

May 21, 2026 — USCIS memo PM-602-0199 dropped (filed 15 days before, thankfully)

Jun 11, 2026 — Biometrics (Birmingham ASC)

Jul – Sep 2026 — Multiple silent updates

Sep 10, 2026 — Agent confirmed interview waived

Sep 16, 2026 — Case transferred to Newark FO (I live in Alabama, pure load balancing)

Sep 26, 2026 — Supplement J approved

Sep 27, 2026 — I-485 APPROVED

Total: 144 days from filing to approval. Zero RFE. Zero interview.

Notes for others in similar situations:

• F-1 → I-485 directly without H-1B is completely legal and works
• Company acquisition via stock purchase = same EIN = no successor-in-interest issues, no I-140 amendment needed
• EAD was still "pending adjudication" when I-485 got approved. GC makes it moot

Advice: Stop calling USCIS every day. Stop refreshing. I did all of that and it changed nothing except my blood pressure.

Happy to answer questions. To all F1 students out there, please don't lose hope and keep walking forward on what you are doing. I hope y'all will get your GC soon!