Hi - Has anyone applied for the newly launched E-OCI online? looking to hear from people with any experience with the new portal.
Planning to travel end of June from US, so if I apply for it now, I should be in safe window considering that the new process takes ~ 15 days?
Or just use e-visa for now as this is a newly launched program?
Hello Folks
After a long and nerve wrecking process, I'm finally writing this post to share my experience, my timeline, and all inquiries I went through during the entire process.
Priority Date: Oct'22 (Spouse was the primary)
I-140
Spouse's I-140 got approved in September 2024
Initial Submission (Nov'24)
We completed medicals following the approval and submitted our packages along with EAD/AP in last week of November'24. USICS took about a month, and then rejected our filing citing that Priority date was not current. They had not applied Cross-Chargeability on our case.
Second & Final Submission (Jan'25)
We then had to get another sealed medicals, which costed some additional $$, and were able to refile on Jan'31 2025. It took USCIS about a month to issue our receipts. We received receipts last week of February, and our biometrics were scheduled on March 20, 2025
Interview (Aug'25)
After 4 Months of Silence, first week of July, we were notified that our interview was scheduled for Aug'25. We did a lot of preparation, took a shitload of documents with us, and were asked only for Birth Certificates and US college Diplomas. Interview revolved around trying to see if there were any illegal stays in our stay in US so far. Interviewer mentioned that he would send us an RFE for medicals, since we submitted our medicals after more than 60 days of the surgeon signing it. Note that this was an old rule, which was abolished by USCIS back in 2022/2023. Nonetheless, we said "sounds good" and we left. No verbal approval
First Senator Inquiry | Post Interview Wait (the most dreadful part of the entire process) - Oct'25
We did not hear back for a lot of time after the interview. 60 days post interview, spouse sent a senator inquiry for her receipt number, to follow up on the case. We received a template response that final adjudication was pending, and that we would be notified with a notice of decision or any request for evidence if needed.
Second Senator Inquiry - Jan'26
After waiting for 60 days, we followed up with our senator again to send an inquiry on my spouse's receipt number. We received response from USCIS that an officer has been assigned to our case, and that we would hear back in 45 days with a decision. We were delighted, hoping that we would hear back in 45 days. But 45 days passed and we didn't hear anything
Third Senator Inquiry - Mar'26
45 days elapsed, and we didn't hear anything. We were disappointed, sad, frustrated, did not know what to do. So we reached out to our senator again, who was kind enough to follow up with USCIS. The response? Same. Officer has been assigned. 45 days wait.
Fourth Senator Inquiry - Apr'26
After waiting for about 30 days since the response, we decided to send an inquiry for my receipt number this time. We sent the inquiry on Tuesday, received an API Update on Wednesday for both me and my spouse, silence on Thursday, and then 3 API updates for both me and wife on Friday.
Approval
After receiving 3 Silent updates, spouse reached out to an Emma agent, who said that our case was approved. We were delighted. We jumped. We celebrated. It had been 15 long months! But we weren't 100% since the portal hadn't reflected the approval. So we reached out to another Emma agent, who said that our case was processing normally, and that we should continue to wait. Bummer! We decided to wait for 24 hours before reaching out again. Exactly 24 hours after the 3rd silent update, spouse received an email that an action had been taken on her case. Heartbeats raced, nerves tightened, we held our breaths, and opened the portal CASE WAS APPROVED! The end had finally come. We received our cards in about 10 days after approval.
Are Senator Inquiries helpful? Yes and No. That's what our experience is.
I received my EAD/AP after a senator inquiry in January'26. 365 days after applying and after sending two USCIS Requests
Wife never received her EAD/AP
Hope this gives some hope to anyone who has been stuck in the process for sometime. Hang in there, your time will come!
Sharing a detailed timeline to see if others have experienced this.
Background
- EB2 ROW (Saudi Arabia), PD Oct 2022
- I-485 filed Jan 31, 2025 (primary + dependent)
- Interview completed Aug 2025
- No RFE so far
---
Recent activity (since April 22, 2026)
April 22
- Multiple silent updates on both cases (timestamps updated, no status change) x2
- No new events or RFEs
April 24
- Morning: Primary (wife) updated (~10:36 AM ET), actionRequired: false
- Midday: My case updated (~12:02 PM ET), still actionRequired: true
- Afternoon: Multiple additional updates on our case (~2:20 PM ET, ~3:50 PM ET)
- Final update: My case flipped to actionRequired: false
At this point:
- Both cases show:
- actionRequired: false
---
Additionally
- We contacted Emma today
- Emma responded that my wife’s (primary) case is approved
BUT:
- No status change online (still “Interview was scheduled)
- No “Case Approved” or “Card Being Produced” update yet
---
Question
Has anyone seen:
- Multiple silent updates over 2–3 days
- Both cases flipping to actionRequired: false
- Emma confirming approval
- But no status change for 24–48+ hours?
Is this just lag between internal approval and status update/card production, or something else?
Trying to understand if we’re basically done and just waiting for the system to catch up.
Appreciate any similar experiences 🙏
We don’t have any FTA0 codes