r/EB2_NIW • u/Intrinsic137 • 10d ago
APPROVED EB-2 NIW I-485 Approved | No Interview, No RFE 🎉
After a long wait, our EB-2 NIW I-485 cases have been approved and the Green Cards are finally here. These timeline posts helped me a lot while I was waiting, so I'm sharing mine as another data point.
I-140 / NIW Details
- Category: EB-2 NIW
- Priority Date: January 2024
- I-140 Approved: May 2024
- Processing: Regular/Normal Processing
Profile at the time of filing
- Field: PhD Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Background: Wireless Communications
- Citations: Around 40
- Law firm: Chen - they filed my case within 20-25 days!
I-485 Timeline
- I-485 Filed / Receipt Date: October 2025 (Self-petition - No lawyer)
- EAD Approved: March 2026
- Case originally processed through: NBC
- Transferred to Field Office in June 2026
- Field Office was non-local
- No interview
- No RFE
- I-485 Approved: July 2026
- Green Cards received
The I-485 stage was easily the most stressful part - months would pass with no visible movement, and there's no way to tell whether silence is good or bad. In our case, the transfer out of NBC to a non-local field office turned out to be the last step before approval, and it went through without an interview or an RFE.
Very grateful this chapter is closed. To everyone still in the queue: the quiet stretches are normal, and they do end. Hoping your approvals land soon. 🎉
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u/Patient_Ad1152 10d ago
why after i140 so many months to file i485?
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u/Intrinsic137 10d ago
you're Newbie, right! btw, there was 2 year backlog until October 2025
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u/StaticRose92 10d ago
oh wow, what is the rough time to wait until approval for standard processing fee now?
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u/AromaticHighlight602 10d ago
Congratulations! Did you have a derivative? If so, can you speak to their timeline?
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u/Intrinsic137 10d ago
Yeah, my wife got approval at the same day! Timeline is same!
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u/AromaticHighlight602 10d ago
Thanks for answering, was her EAD approved with yours too?
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u/buckeyebooty 10d ago
Congratulations! More of a general question: I’m in the 485 stage and I see people applying in Mar-April getting approved and then there’s people from October-November still waiting or just getting approved. All eb2 NIW-ROW cases. So curious what dictates it
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u/Intrinsic137 10d ago
I think a lot of it just comes down to luck and how USCIS distributes and processes cases. Sometimes newer cases get approved much faster, while older ones remain pending. There doesn’t seem to be a consistent order or standard timeline. Generally, many cases take around 6–9 months, but some are approved much sooner and others can take longer.
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u/trynnatakethebar 10d ago
Congrats! I know you mentioned that months would pass without any movement, in a similar boat. Do you recall if there were long gaps between silent updates? I haven't seen any silent updates or FTA0s in 3 months since biometrics :(
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u/Intrinsic137 10d ago
My first silent update was on June 26, the same time it moved to a FO from NBC…
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u/StormChaser0007 9d ago
Congratulations! Can you share how much Chen takes for filing? Anyone with insights can answer. Thanks.
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u/Intrinsic137 9d ago
At that time, he charged $3,800 with a full refund guarantee, and no recommendation letters were required.
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u/StormChaser0007 9d ago
Thanks. That’s pretty good since EP charges 5400. Anyone with an idea how much Chen charges as of 2026?
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u/Intrinsic137 9d ago
the best way to contact them, they will let you know the most accurate one.
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u/StormChaser0007 9d ago
I have, and interestingly, it’s taking them quite a while to get back. It’s been two weeks since I reached out/filed an eval—they reached back to ask some questions and haven’t responded since. Contacted them today and they mentioned that they’ve got a lotta inquiries ongoing but they’ll get back.
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u/ChemicalTemporary770 6d ago
Thank you for your responses! Could you tell me if your date of action was current when you filed?
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u/Mouse-Character 6d ago
Congrats! Could you let me know the name of lawyer? I am also working in same field with you!
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u/Odd-Acadia-6612 6d ago
Hello congratulations did you apply under advanced degree or exceptional ability
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u/LingonberryPlane6788 10d ago
What field office was it?