r/greencard

My wife is on the NVC stage but we've decided we want to just stay in her country since the cost of living is so low. Once the whole process is complete and her visa is approved at the embassy, we'd like to then abandon the visa and apply for a tourist visa. This way she can travel to the US for my family funerals, gatherings, etc. We tried getting a tourist visa before but were rejected, but I am hoping abandoning her permanent residency will make them realize she doesn't want to illegally immigrate there. Will she need to physically go to the US first before she can abandon it? I know she isn't considered a permanent resident until the airport immigration officer waves her through. Will she need her physical green card first?

PD OCT 2023
RD 3/13/26
BIO 4/15/26
Silent update 4/22/26
Silent update 4/29/26
Silent update 5/13/26 (Emma confirmed mine and spouse cases have been transferred to Charlotte Amalie FO as of 5/12/26) Non-Local, Interview waived

Anyone similar timeline?
Does anyone know processing timeline for Charlotte Amalie, VI FO?

Thank you in advance.

Hello, I work in the U.S in oil and gas. My company is paying for me to get my green card. I was wondering if anyone from Canada has a green card and how it affected your taxes

I submitted i485 but I realized I did not disclose that I had a dismissed case of possession or delivery of drug paraphernalia back in 2022 in Texas. I was driving my friends car and the officer found a smoked marijuana blunt in the car. I panicked and said it was mine being stupid. This was less than 30g and was my first and last.

I also have 3 speeding tickets which were also dismissed after i paid the fine and completed defense driving course and was taken off the record. I thought if the case is dismissed it would not need to be reported.

I have received the disposition document from the county clerk saying that the case was dismissed after I paid the fine.

Can I write a letter to the USCIS saying i made a mistake? Has anyone faced this situation before and how was it resolved? Was the i485 approved or denied? Whats the best route to go from here?

EB1 India FAD - October 2026 prediction thread (bull/base/bear)

Crowdsourcing where EB1 India FAD lands in the Oct 2026 bulletin. Drop your guess.

WHERE WE ARE (June 2026)

• FAD: Dec 15, 2022 (retrogressed 3.5 months from Apr 1, 2023)
• DOF: Dec 1, 2023
• DOS warned more retrogression or "unavailable" possible before Sept 30
• India cap ~9,800 EB visas/yr normal, 13-18K in spillover years

LATEST I-485 INVENTORY (USCIS released Mar 24, 2026, snapshot Jan 2, 2026)

• Apr 2025 release had ~15,530 EB1 India pending through end of 2022
• DOF sat at Apr 1 / Dec 1, 2023 through late 2025-early 2026, so inventory grew into 2023 PDs
• Working estimate: ~18-22K EB1 India I-485s pending, stacked heavy in 2021-2023
• Total EB I-485 inventory: ~180K across all categories

PORTER POOL (silent demand)

• FOIA data: ~313K EB2 India + ~68K EB3 India I-140s pending historically
• Strong profiles (PhDs, principals, MNC managers) port to EB1A/EB1B
• Each port consumes an India EB1 number invisible to EB1 I-140 receipts

HISTORICAL FB-TO-EB SPILLOVER

• FY21 (COVID): ~122K spillover, EB ceiling 262K
• FY23: ~57K spillover, ceiling 197K
• FY24: ceiling 160,791
• FY25: ceiling 150,037
• Pre-pandemic: usually 0-15K

FY27 SPILLOVER ESTIMATES (PP 10998 + Jan 21 75-country pause)

• Capitol Immigration Law Group: 200K+ EB total (~60K+ spillover)
• Emily Neumann (RNB): ~50K, ceiling ~190K
• GreenCardClock revised: ~55K base (10K floor / 90K adverse) after May bulletin showed DOS rerouting numbers, not letting them evaporate

BULL CASE - FAD Apr 2024 to Aug 2024

• Spillover ~90K+, closer to COVID windfall
• EB1 ROW underuses, unused falls to India first
• Porter velocity slows
• Oct bulletin overshoots like Jan 2026 did

BASE CASE - FAD Oct 2023 to Feb 2024

• Spillover 50-65K (GCC / Neumann range)
• Clean recovery of FY26 retrogression plus a few months
• Porter demand at current pace
• DOF moves to mid-late 2024

BEAR CASE - FAD Apr 2023 to Jul 2023

• DOS keeps rerouting unused FB numbers in FY26, FY27 pool near 10K floor
• Porter pressure surges
• 2022 PD inventory wall absorbs most supply
• DOS stays on FAD chart for EB AOS

DISCUSS

1. Your Oct 2026 FAD/DOF prediction and which case
2. Which spillover model do you trust
3. How much weight on porters - anyone seeing EB1A RFE trends shift?
4. If you have the Mar 2026 USCIS inventory file, post EB1 India bucket numbers

Sources: June 2026 DOS bulletin, USCIS I-485 inventory (Jan 2 snapshot, released Mar 24), USCIS FY23/24 AOS FAQs, Capitol Immigration Law Group Feb 2026, GreenCardClock May 2026, Times of India / Neumann Jan 2026, historical FOIA I-140 data.

im a young adult, not married, my dream is to move to the US and work over there, i want to know more info about how i can get to the US from people that went through this, so if anyone can share their experience and knowledge it would mean a lot to me.

thanks!

We applied for my marriage based green card in July 2024. It was AOS (from a student visa). Immediately I got scheduled for the biometrics and the medical, but the last I heard was that they received my medical packet and that was in September 2024. Since then it’s been silence. My lawyer says this is still within the normal timeline, but some of these posts seem to be getting approved so fast?? Since we applied, we have literally had an entire pregnancy and we now have a 4 month old that we’d love to take to meet my family but I can’t leave the country. Any advice? I am in New Jersey if that matters.

I can't believe I am writing this! I have been relying on this subreddit to keep me sane throughout the wait. Here is the detailed timeline of our process, I hope it can help someone else.

Petitioner: USC

Beneficiary: not from 75 banned countries, came to the U.S. with a TD visa

Filed: I-130, I-485, I-765

PD: October 10th 2025

10/17/2025 - biometrics scheduled

11/5/2025 - biometrics appt
after appointment, status in all cases immediately changed to "case is still being processed by USCIS"

Didn't hear anything until-

3/23/2026 - interview scheduled

4/29/2026 - interview

We got there about 30 minutes before our scheduled time and made sure we brought new evidence (didn't submit it through portal before) and everything we submitted when we first filed, just in case. Our interview went very smoothly, only lasted about 15 minutes. We went in the room, got sworn in and officer asked for my husband's ID and my foreign passport. We sat down and had to sign a form (digital) that said we were okay with not having our attorney present at the interview. The officer then asked my husband when and where we got married and after my husband responded, she just asked us to just talk about our relationship, very open ended. After a little bit of back and forth of conversational questions, she said that was all and wished us the best.

5/11/2025 - status changed to "we are actively reviewing your application"

5/13/2025 - case is approved (I-130 approved at around 0800 and I-485 at around 0930)

We are still awaiting the "card was produced" update but we are so happy! We did get subtle hints from the officer that led us to believe that we were going to be approved, it was just a matter of when.

Please feel free to ask any questions!

Hello everyone just writing to see if anybody has had a gay based marriage interview or been through the process. Wanna know how it goes and if they treat you differently or look at you differently

EB2 India – Primary Approved but Derivatives Changed to “Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview” (Urgent due to June retrogression)

Looking for guidance from anyone who has seen similar cases.

My EB2 India PD is Dec 2013, current only until end of May 2026. June Visa Bulletin retrogresses to Sept 2013, so timing is making us very anxious.

Case details:

• Employment-based EB2
• I-485 filed in 2022 for entire family (Primary + spouse + son)
• Receipt starts with MSC
• Biometrics/EAD/AP completed earlier without issues
• EAD/AP renewed successfully in 2024

Recent timeline:

• 4/30/2026 – Medical RFE issued for entire family
• 5/1/2026 – I-485J approved
• 5/4/2026 – Physical medical RFE received from NJ Central Field Office
• 5/8/2026 – USCIS received medical package (all 3 RFEs and sealed medical packets were mailed together in one USPS Priority package, with each applicant’s documents separated using paper clips and sticky notes for clear identification). This delivery status is based on USPS tracking. USCIS status didn’t change to RFE received ever.
• 5/14/2026 – Primary status changed to “New Card Is Being Produced”
• 5/15/2026 – Primary status changed to “Case Approved”

Few hours after Primary status changed to Case Approved, Unexpectedly on 5/15:

• Derivative spouse + son status changed to: “Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview”

Background:

• Married 21+ years
• Living in US for ~16 years
• Same employer for primary applicant throughout
• Spouse always on dependent Visa only
• No immigration complications/issues
• Son turned 18 about 6 months ago
• Switched from H1/H4 to EAD/AP in early 2025. EAD/AP valid till 2029

Main concerns/questions:

1. Has anyone seen derivatives move to “Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview” AFTER primary approval in EB cases and later get approved without interview?
2. What could USCIS possibly want to verify for derivative spouse/son in such a straightforward employment-based case?
3. Could this simply be an automated/interim status while derivative cases are pending final approval?
4. Biggest concern: There was never any status update saying “RFE Response Received” for derivatives. Primary jumped directly from RFE to approval. Could USCIS somehow have missed derivative medicals even though all were sent together in one package?
5. If medicals were not matched properly, could this eventually become a NOID/denial issue after June retrogression?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who experienced similar derivative interview-ready statuses after primary approval.

Hello :)

I met someone 2 1/2 years ago online playing a video game and we became an official couple in 2025, I live in Canada and he in the US.

We have looked into all options since we became a couple and decided the best course of action is me to move to America and live/be with him. I love visiting America and I do not really have any family in Canada that would keep me here. I do love my job here but I can easily get the same/better paying job in America.

We have looked into the different visa options and it just feels so overwhelming to me. I think the course of action we chose/are choosing is getting married in Canada while he is here on one of his visits, because it would give me the opportunity to work right away when I come to America (if I’m remembering correctly).

Does anyone have advice on the process or which visa would be best? We have our relationship well documented and if needed our family will provide letters etc.

I guess Id just like to hear from others whom have had success with this process as sometimes it can feel like there isn’t an end in sight. Formally we have not filed anything yet btw as we are just engaged as of right now but we plan to marry before the end of this year.

Thank you :)

Will it be an issue if i travel abroad every year for 3-4 weeks when applying for a naturalization in the next 5 years? Anyone here has the same situation?

As the title says, I was going through security in Haneda airport and misplaced my passport holder which had my GC in it. I still have my passport and everything else, but just missing the most important document I need to come back😅 I’m an Indonesian citizen on the way back to the United States and would like some guidance on what to do next. I’m a student and need to head back to the states as soon as possible, but am really unsure what my time line is.
I’m currently waiting to hear back from the police as I’ve just filed a police report so I’m just hoping for the best right now. On a side note, I’ve read that I would need to get a GC foil, but am unsure how long that process would take me since it’s all happening so soon.
I just feel so lost and don’t know how to approach this situation & have no idea how to go about being stranded on the other side of the world.
Any advice is appreciated.

Title.

Filed on March 4th, 2026.
Whole process started 1092 days ago.
AOS from L-1B.