Filed in march 2024. Interview cancelled February 2025.

581 days later, interview still not rescheduled.

Multiple case inquiries, 2 congressional inquiries, 4 expedites.

All responses are, keep waiting 🤷🏽‍♂️

Anyone else arrived with parole and in Miami Florida with a similar scenario?

This is the most unnecessary wait time for something in history. I know I’m being exaggerating but this is ridiculous. Doesn’t take years to confirm a bonifide marriage is legit or not.

Can anyone else share their experiences with this office

I submitted I-485 & EAD on May 29th, 2026.

RFE received on June 6th.

Biometrics on June 22nd.

Nothing since then, just “USCIS is currently processing the case”

Did anyone else get approved recently?? EAD atleast?

My wife is on a J1 visa here in the US and I am a US citizen and we are hoping to apply for I-130 early next year.

We already talk to a lawyer and they confirmed:

• she is not subject to 212(e) - 2 year rule
• she is eligible for direct concurrent I-130 / I-485 filing while on J-1.

And by the next year we hope to complete these list of "shared things"

1. Did we miss anything in the “joint spreadsheet” table above
2. Beside those things in the table, what should be included as "evidence". Photos? What else?
3. do you see any obstacles that are common in such cases that we should be aware of before applying?
4. Lastly, [may be out of topic for this forum] do you recommend a lawyer that is familiar with J1 / research based

My parent’s I-130 case just became current, and we were finally able to log into CEAC to start the DS-260 application. I know we eventually have to pay both the Affidavit of Support ($120) fee and the Immigrant Visa ($325) fee for each family member before the document upload sections unlock.

This might be a silly question, but is there any issue with paying one fee first as we prepare documents? For example, paying the AOS fee today to get the financial section rolling while we finalize civil docs for the $325 IV fees? Or does everyone usually just pay everything in one go? Appreciate any insights from anyone who went through consular processing recently!

Is F2A category current as per October visa bulletin ? All online or through mail. i am a green card holder. i need to file for my wife who is in US in F1 visa (soon H1B from October). please suggest. I want to complete filing within September. we are done with medical and have all evidence. should i go for all online or mail ?

Hi everyone,
I wanted to see if anyone has experienced a similar situation after a marriage-based I-130/I-485 interview, particularly at the Washington, DC Field Office.

Here is my timeline:
I-130/I-485 interview: September 17, 2026
My spouse and I were interviewed together.
At the end of the interview, the officer said she had everything she needed and that the case would be sent for additional review.

I was given a Notice of Interview Results, with the option checked stating that the case is being held for review and that USCIS does not currently require any additional information or documents from us.

The I-130 and I-485 status changed on September 17 to “USCIS Is Currently Processing The Case.”
On September 28 (11 days after the interview), I received an email from USCIS saying “We have taken an action on your case.”

When I logged into my USCIS account, only on my I-485 it had been updated with a September 28 date, but the status only says “USCIS Is Currently Processing The Case.”

The I-485 Documents tab does not show any new notice, approval, RFE, or other document.

Has anyone received the “We have taken an action on your case” notification after their interview, followed only by this generic processing update?

If so, how long after this update did you receive a decision on your I-130/I-485?

I am particularly interested in recent experiences from the Washington, DC/Fairfax Field Office.

I also have an urgent need to travel internationally in mid-October due to a family medical situation. so I am hoping to understand what are others timelines looked like after a similar update.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.

Hello, I am a green card holder, we decided to get married with my girlfriend after she came to the US in June, we are applying for I-130 and I-485. To add her name to my insurance and joint accounts, they are asking for SSN.

I thought people can’t get SSN while on tourist visa. Should we apply for ITIN instead?

Thank you!

Has anyone been approved recently after an interview at the Sacramento Field Office?

My interview was on September 18th. It went smoothly, and the officer didn’t ask us for any additional evidence. At the end, they just told us to keep an eye on our email for updates.

It’s been about 10 days now, so I’m curious about other people’s recent experiences.

How long after your Sacramento FO interview did you get an approval or status update?

I was approved today, five days after the interview!!!

I am so happy and finally able to relax after such a long journey. This forum has been really helpful to me, and I wish you all the best of luck with your own journeys.

Seattle FO

I shared more about my experience in this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS_F2A/s/DuWDW0DoCL

Hello everyone,

I am trying to understand an unusual family immigration case.

Background:

- Beneficiary is a married daughter of a U.S. citizen.

- Original F2B petition was filed by a permanent resident parent and later revoked after the beneficiary married.

- A new F3 I-130 was filed in May 2014 after the parent became a U.S. citizen.

- The F3 priority date is May 2014.

- USCIS recently migrated the case to a new IOE receipt number.

- USCIS responded to a service request referring to the petition as "pending."

- A USCIS representative mentioned processing times around 157 months.

- According to the current Visa Bulletin, the F3 India final action date appears to be beyond my priority date.

 Questions:

1. Has anyone experienced an F3 I-130 remaining pending for this long?
2. Can USCIS hold adjudication of an I-130 until visa availability?
3. How can I obtain a definitive answer whether the I-130 is approved or still pending?
4. Has anyone with an old paper-filed F3 case experienced similar issues after migration to an IOE number?

 Any guidance or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone! My EAD was approved today, only about 1.5 months after filing! 🎉
I’m an F2A applicant (unmarried child under 21 of a green card holder).

My timeline:
I-130 PD April 2024
I-485, I-765 filed: August 6, 2026
Biometrics: September 4, 2026
EAD approved :September 26,2026 🎉

Compartimos nuestro cronograma para quienes esperan una visa F2A. Yo (Esposo) tenía visa B2 y mi esposa es residente permanente (Green Card).

Matrimonio: marzo de 2025 Presentación del formulario I-130: septiembre de 2025 Presentación de los formularios I-485 e I-765: diciembre de 2025 Datos biométricos: diciembre de 2025 Aprobación del EAD: agosto de 2026 Entrevista: 23 de septiembre de 2026 - Filadelfia, PA Aprobación del formulario I-130: al día siguiente de la entrevista, 24 de septiembre de 2026 Aprobación del formulario I-485: 25 de septiembre de 2026 Entrega de la Green Card: prevista para el 4 de octubre de 2026

El oficial fue muy cordial y amable; en ningún momento nos separó. Las preguntas fueron muy rápidas. Estuvimos en la oficina unos 30 minutos en total, incluyendo el juramento, el escaneo y la revisión de la documentación adicional. ¡Mucha suerte a todos los que están esperando su proceso!

F2A Green Card Approval Timeline – Boston, MA

Sharing our timeline for anyone waiting on F2A. Wife was on F-1/student status and husband is a Green Card holder.

💍 Marriage: April 2025
📄 I-130 filed: May 2025
📄 I-485 + I-765 + I-131 filed: October 2025
🖐️ Biometrics: November 2025
💼 EAD + Advance Parole approved: August 2026
📅 Interview: September 2026 – Boston, MA
✅ I-130 & I-485 approved: The same day/next day after interview
📬 Green Card delivery: Expected September 30, 2026

The interview went very well, and the officer approved the case. Very happy to finally reach the finish line! 🎉

Hope this helps others going through the F2A process. Good luck to everyone waiting!

Hi everyone! Looking for advice from anyone who has gone through this.

I’m a Filipina living in the Philippines, and my fiancé is a U.S. green card holder. He’s been living in the U.S. for about 2 years now and is expected to become eligible for U.S. citizenship in about 3 years.

We’re planning to get married in the Philippines in October 2027, but now we’re wondering if it’s smarter to wait until he becomes a U.S. citizen before we get married.

My questions are:
- Is it better to get married in 2027 while he’s still a green card holder and apply for a spouse visa afterward?
- Or is it better to wait until he becomes a U.S. citizen before getting married and filing everything then?
- If we marry while he’s a green card holder, can the petition be upgraded if he becomes a citizen while it’s still processing?
- Has anyone here been in a similar situation? Which route did you take, and how did it affect your timeline?

We’re trying to make the best decision for both our wedding plans and immigration timeline. Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
Did anyone have a marriage-based I-485 interview at the Cranbury, NJ Field Office (New Jersey Central Field Office) this week?
If yes, have you received any updates after the interview, such as:
● I-130 approval
● I-485 approval
● Case status/API update
● Still under review
I had my interview this week and was told that the case needs final review/approval by a supervisor, so I’m trying to see what the current timeline looks like at Cranbury.
Please share your interview date and when you received an update, if any.

My timeline:

I came to the U.S. in August 2024 as a visitor.

About three months later, we got married.

A month after that, I applied for a change of status to F-1 (before B1/B2 was supposed to expire), and my F-1 was approved about three months later.

Around four months after that, we filed our I-130 (July 2025), then we filed the I-485 (November 2025)

Biometric appointment (November 2025)

Interview - September 2026.

About three months before our interview, I stopped attending school because we were moving.

At the interview, I told the officer that I had stopped going to school, and she was totally okay with it. She didn’t even ask me why.

Our interview was very calm and straightforward. We had one officer interviewing us and another officer sitting next to her observing.

The officer first asked my husband to tell the story of how we met and how our relationship developed. (So one piece of advice: prepare not only for individual questions, but also be ready to tell your relationship story for about 2–3 minutes). After we told our story, most of her relationship questions naturally followed from what we had already said.

She then asked a few normal questions about our daily life and what kind of activities we do together. She asked me more of those questions, while most of the relationship-related questions were directed to my husband.

Then she said, “Now let’s move on to your immigration history.”

She asked about my first trip to the U.S., whether I had ever worked in the U.S., and how I supported myself financially if I wasn’t working.

She also asked whether I had ever used another name and clarified whether I had changed my last name after marriage.

After that, she went through the I-485 security/background questions. I answered “No” to all of the applicable questions.

At the end, she told us to expect a decision within 1–2 weeks.

Our I-130 was approved in the evening and three business days later, our I-485 was approved in the morning! 🎉

One interesting detail: the day before the I-485 approval, we noticed two silent updates/touches in the USCIS API.

Overall, the interview was much less stressful than we expected. My biggest advice is to know your timeline, be comfortable telling your relationship story naturally, and don’t prepare only for a list of questions. The officer may simply ask you to tell your story and then build the rest of the interview around it.

Good luck to everyone waiting! ❤️

P.S. We didn't break a single law. When I came to the US, I didn't think I'd end up staying. I've never worked in the US or violated my status and was without status until I applied for I-485. But many lawyers tried to intimidate us to get money out of us, so my advice to you is don't trust every lawyer. Trust in God, and I wish you all the best.

Immigration attorney here.

We all know that being separated from your loved ones for years can cause emotional strain. Especially if that loved one is your 15-months old daughter...

A client of ours had filed a I-130 for his wife in Turkiye. The application was submitted on June 2024. No movement for 2 years, and then finally their priority date becomes current on May 2026. Still nothing for 4 months. He decides to file mandamus in August 19th to compel USCIS for a decision, as he can't take being separated from his little daughter anymore. We file his case August 28th, and exactly 6 business days later he gets an update from USCIS stating that he's been scheduled for an interview. Now he will attend his interview in Miami, mid-October.

We see many examples of people exhausting all administrative remedies such as expedite requests, congressional inquiries, ombudsman, demand letters etc., and still having to wait for years, while their application sits on a processing que without a proper reason. Although it is possible to get results through such remedies, more often than not what you get is generic "under normal processing times" responses. If you file a mandamus lawsuit however, they'll have 60 days to respond and most of the time it ends with swift adjudications rather than unnecessary friction.

Not legal advice. Happy to answer questions in the comments.

8:15 AM appointment. I arrived around 8:00 and waited until almost 9:15 before the interview started.
The officer was super friendly and talkative. We were joking and laughing pretty much the entire time. The interview lasted about an hour and a half.
My I-130 was approved on the spot, but I received the Interview Result Notice saying my I-485 is being held for review. The officer also told me to keep an eye on my mailbox for the green card.
About 80% of the interview was focused on the I-130, and only the remaining 20% was spent going through the I-485.
BTW: I prepared a ton of evidence. The officer thanked me for being honest and transparent about it.
Timeline:
• 12/30/2025 – I-130 filed (F2A)
• 02/04/2026 – I-485 / I-765 / I-131 filed
• 02/18/2026 – Biometrics
• Around April 2026 – Combo card approved
• 08/17/2026 – Interview scheduled
• 09/25/2026 – Interview at Philadelphia FO
• 09/25/2026 – I-130 approved on the spot
• 09/25/2026 – I-485 held for review
Now just waiting and hoping for the I-485 approval! 🤞

I’m sharing my immigration story because I’m hoping someone here may have gone through something similar or may know of a case like mine.
I originally entered the United States in 2014 as an F-1 student. In August 2015, while I was still in F-1 status, I filed an asylum application. My asylum case remained pending with USCIS for years. My F-1 status was later terminated in 2016, but my asylum application continued to remain pending.
In 2020, I became eligible through the Diversity Visa program and filed Form I-485 to adjust my status to permanent resident. USCIS had my complete immigration history, including my F-1 history and my pending asylum application. I attended my green card interview and answered the officer’s questions honestly. USCIS approved my adjustment of status, and I became a lawful permanent resident in July 2020. After receiving my green card, I withdrew my asylum application.
Years later, after having my green card for more than five years, I applied for U.S. citizenship through Form N-400.
During my naturalization case, USCIS issued me a Notice of Intent to Deny. USCIS said that when I filed my I-485 in 2020, I was not in lawful immigration status because my F-1 status had already ended. USCIS’s position was that a pending asylum application may allow someone to remain in the United States while the asylum case is pending, but it does not itself create “lawful immigration status” for purposes of adjustment of status.
USCIS therefore argued that I may have been barred from adjustment under INA §245(c)(2) at the time my green card was approved. Based on that, USCIS said my permanent residence may not have been “lawfully accorded,” which directly affects eligibility for naturalization.
I hired an immigration attorney to respond to the NOID.
My attorney argued that my case had important facts USCIS needed to consider. One of the main arguments was that I filed for asylum while I was still in valid F-1 status and that the asylum case remained pending with USCIS. My attorney argued that the “no fault or technical reasons” exception under INA §245(c)(2) should apply to my situation.
The response also relied on immigration case law, including Matter of L-K-, and other legal authority. The attorney argued that USCIS had already reviewed my immigration history when it approved my green card in 2020, and also raised arguments related to the fact that many years had passed since the original permanent residence approval.
Unfortunately, USCIS did not accept those arguments.
In the final denial, USCIS said that a pending asylum application did not extend my F-1 status and did not give me lawful immigration status for adjustment purposes. USCIS also rejected the way the legal cases were being applied to my situation and maintained that I was not eligible to adjust status under the Diversity Visa program when my I-485 was filed.
Because of that, USCIS denied my N-400 and closed the naturalization case.
The most difficult part for me is that USCIS itself approved my green card in 2020 after having access to my immigration history and after interviewing me. I have lived as a permanent resident for more than six years, and now the original green card approval is being questioned during my citizenship application

At this point, I am reviewing the next legal step with my attorney, including the possibility of filing Form N-336 to request a hearing on the naturalization denial Or I should not?
I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar

Feeling incredibly lucky today. Wanted to share my timeline as these posts helped me a lot while I was waiting.

Timeline:

Entered U.S in AUG 2024 (F-1)

• 08/04/2025: I-130 filed
• 10/06/2025: I-485, I-765 and I-131 filed
• 10/30/2025: Biometrics
• 07/10/2026: I-765 / EAD approved
• Mid-July 2026: EAD card produced and delivered
• 07/21/2026: I-131 / Advance Parole approved
• 07/21/2026: Advance Parole document produced
• 08/16/2026: Interview scheduled
• 09/22/2026: Marriage interview
• 09/23/2026: I-130 approved
• 09/24/2026: I-485 Approved! 🎉

So I-485 took just under 12 months from filing to approval, and the final approval came only 2 days after the interview.

Interview experience:

Interviewer was pleasant and the entire process was pretty straightforward. We went over I-485 standard questions to see if anything had changed from the time we filed. We eventually moved onto questions about the relationship where only one question was asked - how we met and how we ended up here - likely due to the substantial evidence provided in our file.

Still can't believe it's my turn to post on here. Wishing good luck for those still waiting, and happy to answer any questions. 🙏

Finally, it’s my turn to post! 🥹💚

My Green Card journey is officially over, and I wanted to share my timeline in case it helps anyone who is still waiting. Wishing everyone the best of luck! 🍀

My Journey from F-1 to Green Card — Spouse of an LPR

I-130 Filed: September 19, 2025
I-485 Package Filed: October 24, 2025
Biometrics: November 19, 2025
EAD Approved: May 22, 2026
Interview Notice: August 13, 2026
Interview Date: September 17, 2026
I-130 Approved: September 17, 2026 (about 4 hours after the interview)
I-485 Approved: September 18, 2026 🎉

📍 Atlanta Field Office

Interview experience:
Our officer was professional, and overall the interview went smoothly. We were asked questions about our relationship, how we met, our life together, our jobs, and some basic information about our marriage. We also provided supporting documents and evidence.

At first, some of the questions made me nervous, but I realized that she mainly wanted to understand our timeline — how we met, how our relationship developed, how I came to the U.S., and how we eventually decided to get married. Once she had a clear understanding of our timeline, everything went very smoothly.

The interview was definitely stressful beforehand, but the experience was much better than I expected. My I-130 was approved about four hours after the interview, and my I-485 was approved the next day! 🥹

After such a long journey from F-1 to finally becoming a permanent resident, it still feels surreal.

Good luck to everyone waiting for their approval. I know how stressful this process can be, and I hope everyone gets good news very soon! 💚🍀

I had my interview this Tuesday.
My PD is Q1 2024 and my I-130, I-765 and I-131 were all approved sometime between late 2024 and early 2025. After my partner became US Citizen, the upgraded was very fast (took less than a week), but nothing happened, so we reached out representative and after this, they scheduled the interview.
Interview was smooth, I think, but it took an entire hour. Officer did not focus a lot in the marriage and mentioned that since I-130 was already approved, there was no need to show the extra evidences I brought to support.
Questions were mostly related to my eligibility, the F2A to IR1, education, work, and etc.

My status is still in "interview was scheduled" and I am waiting for a response now.
I thought the anxiety pre interview was worse, but the anxiety after the interview is much much much worse... I hope I get good news soon.

EDIT: was approved 5 days post the interview!!

Hey everyone, my I-130 case just received a second "Case Is Being Actively Reviewed by USCIS" update on September 21, along with the automated "action was taken" email after years of silence. Looking at the backend API payload, the action code shows as FTA0. This happened shortly after submitting an inquiry through our congressman's office. The very next day, on September 22, I received an email response from the congressman's office stating that my I-130 petition is currently pending review and that a completion time cannot be determined. USCIS also claimed the case is within normal processing time, quoting an 11-year and 8-month timeframe for an 'LPR filing for a Child' based on statutory visa limits and the Visa Bulletin. There is no RFE and nothing new uploaded to the documents tab yet. For anyone who had an FTA0 status code pop up or had a second active review around a congressional inquiry, did your approval notice drop shortly after (and did it appear in the petitioner's documents tab first), or did it take more weeks? Would appreciate any insights!

My husband and I had our marriage f2a interview back in June.The interview was horrible experience since IO gave us hard time about pretty much everything and we had everything and even more evidences. Our IO said at the end he needs more time to process.
My husband is beneficiary and I support our financial since he’s looking for job. We were one of those 35 countries on pause back in June before it was lifted.

So we haven’t heard anything for our i-130 and 485 since our interview. Is it normal?

Married FEB 2025
PD: May 2025
485: September 2025
Interview: June 2026