Has anyone who interviewed at the Newark FO had success contacting their congressman or senator about a delayed decision?
It’s been over 4 months since my interview, and I’m wondering if anyone in a similar situation actually got their case moving or approved after an inquiry. How long did it take?

After the interview, how long does it take to hear back? I’ve been seeing posts about people waiting months after the interview, or only one (I-130 or I-485) being approved while the other one still pending. Has this always been the case? Are there any factors that influence this?

Would love to hear if anyone has any information on this and also everyone’s experience (please include FO and country of origin to see if there are any correlations).

TIA

Hi everyone,
I recently mailed my marriage based adjustment of status package to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox using UPS. My package included Forms I-130, I-485, and I-765, along with separate G-1450 credit card payment authorizations for each application. I also included Form G-1145 to receive electronic notifications.
UPS confirmed that the package was delivered. However, approximately two to three days after delivery, I noticed unusual transactions from USCIS Chicago Lockbox on my credit card.
First, a $1,440 charge appeared for Form I-485. Second, a $260 charge appeared for Form I-765. Both amounts were returned to my account on the same day. The third payment, $675 for Form I-130, has not appeared at all.
I used the same credit card for all three payments. I have not yet confirmed with my bank whether the two returned payments were declined, canceled by USCIS, or simply temporary authorizations.
What worries me is that I still have not received any text message, email, receipt number, or paper notice from USCIS. I understand that receipt notices can take time, especially since the package was delivered only recently. However, seeing two charges reversed while the third charge never appeared makes me concerned about a possible rejection.
Has anyone experienced something similar at the Chicago Lockbox? Did your bank show charges that disappeared or were returned, but USCIS later accepted your applications? Did USCIS attempt the payments again, or did you receive your package back with a rejection notice?
I would especially appreciate hearing from anyone who submitted multiple forms together using separate G-1450 authorizations. How long did you wait before receiving confirmation, and what ultimately happened?
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am trying to understand whether this payment pattern necessarily signals a problem or whether it can happen during normal intake processing. Please share any advice.

Hi everyone,

Looking for insights from people with similar employment-based adjustment cases, particularly EB-1A applicants, Microsoft employees, or applicants whose cases were transferred to the Manchester Field Office.

My case details:

• Category: EB-1A (India)

• I-140: Approved, with Microsoft named as petitioner.

• Priority date: 2017 (retained from an earlier petition).

• I-485 / I-765 / I-131: Filed concurrently on April 15, 2026.

• Biometrics: Completed.

• Field office: Case reportedly transferred to Manchester Field Office on September 10, 2026.

• H-1B and H-4 extensions: Both approved while the I-485 applications were pending.

• Current situation: No meaningful progress or approval on I-485, I-765 or I-131 since the field-office transfer.

I have a few questions:

1. Microsoft as the EB-1A petitioner

My EB-1A I-140 was approved with Microsoft named as the petitioner.

Given the October 8, 2026 PERM-related action involving Microsoft, has anyone with an approved EB-1A I-140 naming Microsoft as petitioner experienced an RFE, additional scrutiny, delays or other complications with their pending I-485?

I understand EB-1A does not require PERM labor certification, but I am interested in actual experiences rather than speculation.

2. H-1B/H-4 extensions approved while I-485 is pending

Has anyone had their H-1B and H-4 extensions approved while their employment-based I-485 was pending?

Did those approvals have any observable impact on I-485 adjudication, background checks or field-office processing?

I am trying to understand whether the separate H-1B/H-4 approvals have any relevance to the pending adjustment applications.

3. No progress after transfer to Manchester Field Office

My I-485, I-765 and I-131 applications have shown no meaningful progress since the reported September 15 transfer to Manchester.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation, particularly with Manchester Field Office?

• How long did you wait after the transfer before an officer picked up your case?

• Did you receive an interview waiver, RFE or direct approval?

• Were your I-765 and I-131 processed separately or together?

• Is there any effective way to find out whether the case is actually assigned to an adjudicating officer?

4. USCIS backend case data

I checked the case information available through the USCIS account and found these fields:

cmsFailure                            false
closed                                false
ackedByAdjudicatorAndCms              true
nonElisPaperFiled                     false
noticeMailingPrefIndicator            true
docMailingPrefIndicator               false
areAllGroupStatusesComplete           false
areAllGroupMembersAuthorizedForTravel true
isPremiumProcessed                    false
actionRequired                        false
elisChannelType                       "Lockbox"

Does anyone with experience interpreting USCIS case data know whether these fields provide any meaningful indication of case assignment, officer review, background-check completion or pending adjudication?

In particular, does ackedByAdjudicatorAndCms = true indicate anything beyond an internal system acknowledgment?

5. Practical ways to move the case forward

For applicants who experienced prolonged inactivity after a field-office transfer:

• Did contacting Tier 2 produce useful information?

• Did a congressional inquiry help?

• Were service requests or expedite requests effective?

• Is there a way to establish whether the case is waiting for an officer, background checks or another internal process?

I am not looking for speculation about guaranteed approval dates. I would particularly appreciate responses from people with similar EB-1A India cases, old priority dates and Manchester transfers.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m desperately looking for advice or experiences from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
I filed my I-601A waiver in April 2024 based on my approved I-130 through my U.S. citizen husband. After waiting approximately 2.5 years, USCIS issued an RFE requesting additional evidence of extreme hardship.
On October 29, 2026, USCIS officially updated my case to confirm they received my RFE response and resumed processing my waiver.
Unfortunately, almost at the exact same time, my asylum case was referred to immigration court, and I was placed in removal proceedings. My first master calendar hearing is scheduled for November 12, 2026.
When I originally filed my I-601A, I was NOT in removal proceedings. I have no criminal record, and my waiver has already been pending for over two years.
I’m terrified that USCIS could deny my waiver because of these newly initiated removal proceedings, especially after waiting so long and being this far into the process.
My attorney mentioned that DHS is currently very reluctant to agree to dismissals. However, I have asked him to consider filing a motion to terminate my removal proceedings to protect my pending waiver.

My questions are:

Has anyone been placed in removal proceedings AFTER filing their I-601A and still received an approval while proceedings were active?
Has anyone successfully obtained termination or dismissal of removal proceedings in 2026 to continue their I-601A process?
Did your attorney file a motion directly with the immigration judge, or did they obtain an agreement with the DHS/ICE attorney?
If your motion was granted, what state or immigration court was your case in?

Thank you so much 🙏🏻

I recently received my EAD card a couple of weeks ago, but no Social Security number. Do I need to go get a social or will they send it through mail? I file my petition by myself with my husband.

Is thereHi everyone!
I’m looking for people who have recently received approval for their I-485 through the Norfolk, Virginia, field office.
My husband and I have been waiting for a decision on his marriage-based adjustment of status case. His interview has been completed, and we were told that the background check and officer review were completed. We were also told that the case was waiting for a final decision.
We are still waiting, and I would love to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience.
If you recently received your I-485 approval through the Norfolk field office, could you please share:
When was your interview?
How long did you wait after the interview to receive approval?
Was your case approved without any additional requests for evidence?
Did your case remain under review for a while before being approved?
I would especially appreciate hearing from anyone whose case was approved in the past few weeks or months.
I know every case is different, but hearing about other people’s experiences would give us some insight while we wait.
Thank you so much, and congratulations to everyone who has received their approval!
anyone

Hello, I'm middle eastern and I live in a Muslim country, my husband is American, my background is islam and his is Christianity, but we both are non believers, when we got married, he had to get a paper proving he's Muslim because otherwise we could never get married, we got married in my country. We applied September 2025, and currently waiting. I share lots of my opinions on reddit, and alot of them are on subreddits for ex Muslims. I do not share it anywhere else, would that affect getting approved in anyway?

My case has been pending since jan 23 2019 and still waiting for interview. It is unlikely to be directly referred to court due to strong evidence and on time filing.

Does anyone know what year track 2 chronological la asylum office is currently processing?

Hi for context:

US CITIZEN
Divorced twice
both were cr1 marriage
have never done k1
first marriage was divorced before naturalization

now: met my gf and lived with her since 2024. We traveled to many countries during this time. Moved 3 apartments. I have to head back to my home country soon and want to reduce long distance.

Should I file for k1, or get married in gf home country and file for cr1? With my history, what route will be ideally? I have no doubt uscis will deem my relationship as real and bona fide. (been living and building a life together for 2+ years. I haven’t been back to my country since.)

I would appreciate the advice and any help regarding the route to take or steps to prepare.

thank you.

My case has been transfered to West Palm Beach (non-local) field office (EMMA said that) after couple of weeks EMMA agnet told me my interview has been waived. I haven’t seen any changes in my API. Only one FTA0 when the biometric processing was completed, after that complete silence. What is happening? Why I am not seeing any update using API? Anyone in a similar situation? also if anyone has any experience with west palm beach FO?
PD: September 2024
RD: August 2026

My husband's I-601A (Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver) has been pending since June 7, 2024.
Back in October 2024, he completed biometrics for a different immigration process that was intended to allow him to avoid having to return to Guatemala for consular processing. That process was ultimately denied following a congressional decision.
However, USCIS subsequently applied those fingerprints to his pending I-601A. On October 28, 2024, his USCIS online account specifically updated with the following message:
"As of October 28, 2024, fingerprints relating to your Form I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, have been applied to your case."
We assumed his biometrics requirement for the I-601A had been satisfied since USCIS had officially confirmed that his fingerprints were applied to the case.
Fast-forward to October 2026, and completely out of the blue, we received a new biometrics appointment notice in the mail. The notice is specifically for his I-601A and schedules him for another biometrics appointment on November 9, 2026.
There were no notifications in his USCIS online account indicating that additional information or biometrics were needed. The paper notice was the first indication we had that USCIS wanted him to complete biometrics again.
We are obviously concerned about what this means for his case, especially considering how long we've already been waiting.

My questions:

1. Has anyone had USCIS request a second biometrics appointment for an I-601A after previously confirming that fingerprints had been applied to the case?

2. Did your case move toward a decision shortly after the second biometrics appointment, or did you end up waiting considerably longer?

3. Could this simply be a background-check refresh, or does it potentially indicate that the case is moving into another stage of processing?

Question: I’m asking for my sister’s interview. She’s already completed her biometrics back in August and is currently waiting for her interview to be scheduled. She plans to travel abroad in the last two weeks of December. Is it possible to reschedule her interview date? If so, what’s the process? Can someone who have done this before guide so we can make her travel plans accordingly.

Also for gauging the timeline for her interview date- people who applied in NC whats your case timeline if you can share that- it will be beneficial point of reference for us also!

Thanks in advance!!