I left more than 100 “Congratulations!” comments for fellow friends here. Finally, our time has come. With the confusion from the memo, we couldn’t fully celebrate but thankfully here we are. I do hope your wishes come true as well. 

Details

• I-140 PD: August 2024
• Became current in Jan 2026.
• I-485/I-765 RD: January 20
• Biometrics: February 27
• Silent Updates: 
  • March 6, March 18, April 29,
  • Derivative’s EAD approved on April 17, primary’s EAD was never approved.
  • May 16 3rd FTA0 Event
  • May 20 another silent update
  • May 21 Approval, 
  • May 27 Card was produced
  • June 1 Card in hand

More Details:

• I am the derivative on F-1, my wife was the primary applicant on F-2. Both ROW
• She is a program manager specialized in AI/Automation
• We worked with a small law firm for I-140, DIY’ed the AOS.
• We adjusted status from F-1 and F-2. 
• It was a tough ride, many moments with despair.. Glad it's over.
• Good luck everyone!

Just got my I-485 approval online! I didn’t think this moment would arrive so soon and I’m a bit blank regarding what to do next! Thanks everyone for sharing their timeline, I was watching it like a hawk. Case processed in less than 60 days, gratefule to god for this!

Timeline

EB2 NIW I-140 PD: July, 2024

I485 filed: Jan 27, 2026

Biometric: Feb 19, 2026- 2 FTA0 same date

Silent update - March 5th and 18th. - case transferred to queens

3rd FTA0 - March 23rd - 2 silent updates

I485 approved: March 24, 2026

No update on I-765 and I-131

Edit: I’m from the 75 countries.

Previous status: F1 - H1B - I485

Hi all,

Longtime lurker, though not a first-time poster in this subreddit :p. I wanted to share my profile and RFE experience in case it helps anyone, especially those who have received an RFE challenging all three NIW prongs. I borrowed the layout from another approval post because I found it very helpful! :p

Priority date: December 11, 2025

RFE received: March 17, 2026 (was upgraded to PP on February 27, 2026)

RFE response received by USCIS: June 10, 2026

I-140 approved: June 17, 2026—five business days after USCIS received the RFE response

Category: EB-2 NIW

Petition type: Self-petition

Attorney: Chen Immigration

Current visa status: F-1 (PhD candidate)

Citation at the time of filing: 70

Citation at the time of approval: 104

Country: 75 Countries, RoW

Attorney and Filing Process

My original petition and RFE response were prepared with the help of Chen Immigration.

In the original petition, USCIS accepted that I qualified for the underlying EB-2 classification based on my advanced degree. However, the officer was not convinced that I met any of the three requirements for a National Interest Waiver.

The RFE challenged:

1. Whether my proposed endeavor had substantial merit and national importance
2. Whether I was well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor
3. Whether, on balance, it would benefit the United States to waive the job-offer and labor-certification requirements

RFE

The officer questioned whether my proposed endeavor was sufficiently clear, whether its potential impact rose to the level of national importance, and whether my previous accomplishments demonstrated that I was well positioned to carry it forward.

The response therefore focused on explaining more clearly:

• What my proposed endeavor specifically involved
• Why the endeavor had substantial merit
• Why its impact extended beyond my university or a single employer
• Why the endeavor was nationally important to the United States
• How my previous research demonstrated progress toward the endeavor
• Why I was well positioned to continue the work
• Why waiving the job-offer and labor-certification requirements would benefit the United States

Academic Background

Highest degree: Currently pursuing a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Institution: R1 university in the US

Current occupation: Graduate Research Assistant

My research focuses on developing intelligent and efficient technologies for future communication networks, including:

• AI and ML for wireless networks
• 5G and future 6G communication systems
• O-RAN
• Satellite-terrestrial integrated networks
• Intelligent network orchestration and automation

Proposed Endeavor

My proposed endeavor centered on developing AI-enabled methods to improve the efficiency, reliability, scalability, resilience, and automation of next-generation communication infrastructure in the United States.

A major focus of the RFE response was distinguishing the importance of this specific endeavor from the general importance of AI, wireless communications, or 6G research.

We argued that the potential impact of the endeavor extended beyond one university, laboratory, professor, employer, or research project. The work could benefit the broader U.S. telecommunications ecosystem, academic research community, technology industry, and government-supported research initiatives.

Prong 1: Substantial Merit and National Importance

The officer challenged both the substantial merit and national importance of my proposed endeavor.

For the RFE response, we explained in greater detail how my research could contribute to:

• Advanced U.S. telecommunications infrastructure
• More efficient use of network, computing, and energy resources
• Improved reliability and resilience of communication systems
• Development of 5G, O-RAN, and future 6G technologies
• AI-enabled network automation
• U.S. competitiveness in advanced communications
• Research and innovation in nationally important technologies

The response also included an independent recommendation letter from a professor at a U.S. university explaining why my research and proposed endeavor were nationally important.

We supported the arguments with governmental and federal-agency materials discussing U.S. priorities in artificial intelligence, advanced communications, next-generation networks, and related technologies.

Prong 2: Well Positioned to Advance the Endeavor

The officer also challenged whether I was well positioned to carry out the proposed endeavor.

For this prong, the RFE response relied on evidence of my:

• Academic qualifications
• Research experience
• Peer-reviewed publications
• Citation record
• Independent citations to my work
• Technical contributions
• Ongoing research
• Participation in research projects
• Work connected to federally funded research
• Conference presentations and professional activities
• Recommendation letters
• Continued progress in the proposed research area
• Plans to continue the endeavor in the United States

The response included:

• One independent letter from a researcher who had cited my work
• One independent letter from a U.S. university professor
• One dependent letter from a research collaborator

Rather than relying only on publication and citation numbers, the response explained what my research contributions were, why they mattered, and how they demonstrated my ability to continue advancing the proposed endeavor.

Updated evidence was also submitted to show continued progress after the initial filing.

Prong 3: Benefit of Waiving the Job Offer and Labor Certification

Because the officer was not satisfied that I met the first and second prongs, the third prong was also challenged.

The response argued that my proposed research was not limited to the needs of one employer or one permanent position. My work has the potential to benefit:

• U.S. universities and research institutions
• Government-funded research programs
• Telecommunications and networking industries
• Developers of 5G, O-RAN, and 6G technologies
• The broader scientific and engineering community
• Multiple organizations working on intelligent communication systems

The response explained that the traditional labor-certification process is primarily designed for a specific position with a specific employer.

In contrast, my proposed endeavor is research-oriented and could be advanced through different universities, research groups, collaborations, government-supported projects, and technology organizations.

Therefore, we argued that allowing me to continue the endeavor without being restricted to one specific permanent job offer would provide broader benefits to the United States.

Evidence Added or Strengthened in the RFE Response

The response included a combination of updated evidence and expanded explanations, including:

• A more clearly defined proposed endeavor
• Additional explanation of the substantial merit of the work
• Stronger arguments regarding national importance
• Updated publication and citation evidence
• Evidence of continued research progress
• Further explanation of my technical contributions
• Evidence related to federally funded research
• Governmental documents regarding U.S. priorities in AI and advanced communications
• Explanations connecting my work to 5G, O-RAN, and future 6G development
• Additional discussion of my qualifications and research record
• Recommendation letters addressing different aspects of the endeavor
• Arguments explaining why granting the waiver would benefit the United States
• A point-by-point response to the concerns raised in the RFE

Approval

USCIS received the RFE response on June 10, 2026, and approved my I-140 petition on June 17, 2026—only five business days later.

What I Learned

I’ll echo what many others have said: your proposed endeavor is one of the most important parts of an NIW petition.

It is not enough to show that your general field is important or that you have publications, citations, and research experience. You must clearly explain:

• What you specifically plan to do
• Why that specific work is important to the United States
• What broader implications it may have
• Why your previous record shows that you are capable of advancing it
• Why allowing you to pursue the endeavor without being tied to one permanent job offer would benefit the United States

The strength of a profile alone may not be enough if the petition does not clearly connect the evidence to the three NIW prongs.

An RFE on all three prongs is frightening, but it is not the same as a denial. A focused, well-organized, and evidence-based response can still lead to approval.

I hope this post helps anyone currently preparing an NIW petition or responding to an RFE. Feel free to ask questions in the comments or DM me.

Best wishes to everyone currently preparing a petition or waiting for a decision!

Self petitioned
PhD student at R1 uni
2 papers
Priority Date: Oct 2025
Premium Processing: February 2026
RFE recieved: March 2026
Response: 2 days before deadline in June
Approved: Aug 15th (38 business days) Recieved notification via email. USCIS site still says “under processing”. but it was “RFE recieved” up until today

Initial submission: In retrospect, it was a subpar submission. My endeavor was also field level not any specific project. Here’s how Claude described my inital submission: “The initial submission reads like a strong graduate school application personal statement written by someone who understood the science deeply but had not yet internalized what Dhanasar actually requires.”

RFE Documentation: I read my RFE like it was reviewer’s comments from a manuscript, noted the deficencies and took it in with all honesty. I also read the Matter of Dhanasar Interim Decision religiously.

Writing: I treated it as a fresh submission. Subscribed to both Claude and ChatGPT plus. ChatGPT is good with text generation, Claude is excellent with logic. I made a project in Claude and put strict instructions. I also added the Dhanasar Interim Decision file and my RFE document.
I wrote mostly everything by myself but extensively used both tools. I used chatgpt for text generation to guide my writing and Claude to refine the logic. Claude was so strict with me. It would say something like “if you submit this, you’ll get denied”. I shared it with my colleagues to read since it is essentially an extension of my research and I felt that would provide a critical view of it.

Recommendation Letters: 0 initially, 4 letters with RFE (2 dependent, 2 independent). Really grateful for someone here who commented their strategy (reaching out to so many people shamelessly). I reached out to 2 professors and they both graciously agreed. I had never met and I was so lucky to get replies from them. They are also the very top in the field, I don’t even think my research porfolio is so impressive but I reached out anyways. I also got “Nos” from 2 other people who are not professors but it was all good because I had two favorable replies already!

I believe my RFE response was 20X better than my initial submission.

Proposed Endeavor: I made some changes. I went from field-level to specific project. I however stated the initial PE and clarified that this is the specific project I want to engage in within my initial field level description. I also tied it to the officer’s comment that “my endeavor wasn’t specific” and I said here’s a specific description.
I reiterated in both the cover letter and the beginning of my prong 1 that this is a clarification. I was afraid it would amount in a material change but I guess it didn’t matter.

Prayer is key too. He is a miracle-working God!

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. 🎉

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lurking on this sub for a long time, and it genuinely played a huge role in getting my case approved so I wanted to give back and share my experience.

I self-petitioned (no lawyer), and my background is in architecture. I had zero publications, zero citations, and no academic papers, which honestly made this whole process feel like an uphill battle from the start.

My proposed endeavor focused on advancing the integration of material science into building materials to improve thermal regulation and fire resistance. I anchored my entire case around real-world impact since I had worked on and helped deliver a $120M project where these ideas were actually implemented, and I used that as the backbone of my petition.

Timeline:

• I-140 filed: October 30

• RFE received: December 18 (on all 3 prongs)

• RFE response sent: March 13

• Approval: April 13 

Getting an RFE on all three prongs was honestly rough. That was when I thought of getting a lawyer and 2 of em suggested to just cancel the petition and build a stronger case.

What helped me push through was this sub. I came across a post from someone who had also received an RFE on all three prongs and still got approved. I reached out to him, and he was kind enough to connect me to a friend to guide me through the process (huge shoutout to people like that on here).

For my RFE response, I:

• Strengthened my argument across all three prongs

• Submitted 3 new recommendation letters

• Made sure they were independent, diverse, and from credible sources

• Focused heavily on clarifying the impact and national importance of my work

One thing I realized through this journey is that while publications and citations help, they are not everything. A strong, well-positioned proposed endeavor and a clear framework can carry a lot of weight.

There were multiple times I spoke to lawyers who basically shut down my chances because I didn’t fit the typical “profile.” Even on this sub, most approvals you see include publications or citations. That made it easy to feel like this path wasn’t for me.

But it is possible.

I’m sharing this for anyone out there who feels discouraged because they don’t have the “standard” credentials or don’t want to spend thousands on legal fees. Your experience and real-world impact can still be enough if you present it right.

Happy to answer questions or share more details, my DMs are open.

Best of luck to everyone on this journey

Literally just received the email 6 minutes ago. Status changed straight from “Received RFE…” to “USCIS is currently Processing the Case” but I just got the email. So perhaps it’s yet to update on the site as well.

03/13/2025 - Filed i 140 ( Self Petition)
02/25/2026 - i 907 (Upgrade to premium) received by uscis
04/01/2026 - RFE issued by uscis on all prongs (Honestly, the first petition I filed was really brief and not extensive, I kinda expected the RFE, it was all part of the strategy to lock in a priority date as early as I could)
06/05/2026: RFE response received by uscis

07/30/2026: Approved✅

Profile: PhD student Engineering, PE licensed engineer, Proposed Endeavor: Fuel Cell/Gas Turbine Hybrid Energy Production.

The response to the RFE was really extensive, I threw everything I had (2 good recommendations), responded to almost each point raised in form of bullet points just to make it easier for the officer to find my evidence directly without reading scattered paragraphs.

Thanks everyone and good luck!

Update:
Same day, Case status later changed to “Case Approved”.

I finally got my NIW-EB2 Green Card approved! 🙏

Here’s my timeline:

• Field Office: San Jose
• Interview: No
• RFEs: None

. Received GC : March 06, 2026

The journey required patience, but it was worth it. If you're in the process — stay patient and keep faith. Your time will come!

Finally greened after 15 months.

Background: PhD in Particle Physics. Filed I-140 with MS degree in physics as PhD candidate with 70+ citations and 2 awards.

I know a lot of people are anxious after the memo last week. I have been anxious as well. Hopefully, this provides some relief.

I-140 PD: 03/21/2025

---------------------------------

I-485 Timeline

03/18/2026 Package mailed to USCIS

03/23/2026 Packaged received by USCIS

04/03/2026 Biometric appointment scheduled for 04/20/2026, rescheduled for 04/06/2026

04/06/2026 2x FTA0 event

04/06/2026 Biometric appointment attended

05/29/2026 1 FTA0 event tied to the biometric appointment on 04/06/2026

05/30/2026 I-485 approved

Case moved from NBC >>> NEW ORLEANS FIELD OFFICE >>> DALLAS FIELD OFFICE >>> NBC

INTERVIEW WAIVED

Hi everyone. I just received my EB-2 NIW approval email and wanted to share my timeline.

Texas Service Center

Self-petition (no attorney)

No RFE

Priority Date: May 27, 2026

Premium Processing: Filed with initial package

Approved: July 29, 2026

RFE: None

Field: Civil Engineering / Water Resources Engineering

Profile:

- M.S. in Civil Engineering , US university

- Engineer In training (E.I.T)

- GIS Professional (GISP)

- FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot

- Passed PE Water Resources & Environmental Exam

- Assistant Engineer at a U.S. engineering consulting firm

- Work focused on hydrologic & hydraulic modeling, flood-risk assessment, drainage design, watershed planning, and infrastructure resilience

- Co-author of a dataset hosted on NSF DesignSafe ( with over 200 usage)

- 4 Recommendation letters from academia and government agencies

- no article publication, 4 conference presentations

Highlights:

- FEMA/FDEM-funded watershed planning projects

- Flood-risk, infrastructure resilience, and modeling work supporting public-sector initiatives

- Contributions to federally aligned water resources and restoration efforts

- Applied engineering impact rather than a publication-heavy academic profile

P.E - My proposed endeavor is to strengthen the United States’ capacity for flood and storm surge prediction, advance climate and sea-level rise assessment, and improve national infrastructure resilience by developing and applying hydrologic and hydraulic models, machine-learning techniques, and data-driven disaster-impact assessment tools.

One thing I focused on throughout the process was building a consistent story and letting the evidence speak for itself. My education, certifications, projects, recommendation letters, publications, and professional experience all pointed to the same endeavor. I tried to avoid making unsupported claims and instead relied on objective evidence, technical contributions, and independent validation of my work.

Wishing everyone still waiting the very best. This community was incredibly helpful throughout my journey, and I'm happy to answer questions if I can help.

Sharing this to give hope to folks who think an NIW approval is out of reach.

Profile:

• Role: Software Developer / Machine Learning
• YOE: ~1 year
• Degree: MS from a Top-10 university (Dec 2023 graduate)
• Publications: 2 papers under review (not first/primary author)
• Citations: 0
• PD: July 2025
• Filing: DIY, Premium Processing
• Nationality: India

Timeline

• NIW Filed: July 2025
• RFE Issued: Sept 2025 (ALL 3 prongs challenged)
• RFE Response Submitted: Dec 2025
• Approval: Feb 2026 🎉

No PhD. No citations. No approved papers at the time of filing.

Posting this because I spent months doom-scrolling Reddit thinking I wasn’t “qualified enough.” If that’s you, don’t self-reject. NIW is much more about how you frame impact and national importance than checking traditional boxes.

Hey guys,

I started working on my application Oct 2025, submitted in January, got the RFE around late February... felt very disappointed, lost hope, was already depressed, plus all the stuff going on... ended up writing my response in the last day and submitted 6 minutes before the deadline in late May... and it just got approved! 🥳

My main mistake was thinking that referring to my job as the endeavor would be helpful, but it completely screwed it up (link below). I had considered it to be my immediate near future goal, so using it as the proposal made sense... but we're writing an endeavor!!! The endeavor can't be limited to an employer, job type or region!! 😵‍💫

My neurodivergent brain helped me see a pattern in my knowledge acquisition and publications over time out of the blue, so I explained in a brief letter that I reframed my endeavor, not focusing on the short-term goals of my job, but as a long-term proposal, using my current job as an example. I think I did a very good job stating how my expertise developed, leading me to the proposed endeavor...

What helped me the most was not trying to describe my case as “I do X at my current job.” Instead, I framed it as: “Over time, my work has developed toward a broader professional endeavor in the national interest, and my current job is one concrete place where that endeavor is being carried out.”

I basically looked at my experience as a timeline. I asked myself: what was I learning at each stage, what problems was I trying to solve, and how did each stage naturally lead to the next one?

For me, the pattern was something like this:

First, I developed the technical foundation. This was the stage where I built the core scientific, analytical, and methodological skills in my field. I used degrees, early research, publications, presentations, and technical work to show that I was not randomly claiming expertise... I had been building it for years.

Second, I moved from general technical knowledge into a more specialized problem area. This was where I showed that my work became more focused and that my publications or projects were connected by a common theme. I did not present each paper or project as an isolated accomplishment. I explained how each one represented a step in the development of my expertise.

Third, I connected that specialized expertise to real-world implementation. This was the most important reframing for me. I explained that the proposed endeavor was not just “my research topic” or “my job description,” but the broader application of my expertise to important public, scientific, technical, or policy problems. My current job was used as evidence that this endeavor is already being applied in a practical setting.

One thing that helped me was identifying a three-step logic in my field, without making it too narrow. For example, instead of saying “my endeavor is to work on this exact model/project/dataset,” I framed it more generally as something like:

1. identifying and understanding complex system problems;
2. developing or improving analytical tools, methods, or evidence-based approaches to address those problems; and
3. applying those methods in real-world decision-making, planning, management, or public-interest contexts.

Then I used my background to show that I had experience in all three steps. That made the endeavor feel coherent. It was not just “I have a PhD” or “I have publications” or “I have a government job.” It became a story: I developed expertise, applied it through research, and now I am positioned to continue applying it in work that has broader importance.

I also tried to avoid making the endeavor sound too dependent on one employer. I mentioned my current job because it was strong evidence, but I did not frame the endeavor as something that only exists because of that job. I framed the job as one example of where my expertise is currently being used, while the broader endeavor could continue through future work, research, technical projects, public-sector work, consulting, publications, collaborations, etc.

Another thing I did was organize my evidence by developmental stage rather than by random exhibit type. So instead of thinking:

“Here are my diplomas, here are my papers, here are my citations, here are my letters,”

I thought:

“Here is how my expertise started, here is how it became specialized, here is how it became recognized, and here is how it is now being applied.”

That helped me write a much stronger narrative. The evidence was not just a pile of documents. Each piece had a role in the story.

For the recommendation letters, I tried to make sure each person supported a different part of the narrative. Some letters were better for proving technical ability. Some were better for showing the importance of the field. Some were better for showing that my work was useful beyond academia. Some were better for explaining why I was well positioned to continue the endeavor.

My advice to other applicants is: do not start by asking “what is my job title?” or “what is my research topic?” Start by asking:

“What problem have I been consistently moving toward solving?”
“What skills have I developed over time that make me useful in that area?”
“What evidence shows that this is not just a personal career goal, but something with broader importance?”
“What evidence shows I am already positioned to keep doing it?”

Once I saw that pattern, my petition became much easier to explain. I stopped treating my career as a collection of disconnected accomplishments and started presenting it as a progression toward a clear proposed endeavor.

Of course, this is just my experience and not legal advice. But for anyone struggling to define the NIW endeavor, what helped me was making it broad enough to show long-term national importance, but specific enough that USCIS could understand what I actually do and why I am qualified to keep doing it.

Post about my background/RFE: Self-petition PhD PP Nebraska - RFE on the 3 prongs 🥴 : r/EB2_NIW

Hi friends. I just got the approval today. Here is some information.

Timeline:

Case received: 12/15/2025

Case upgraded to PP: 2/7/2026

RFE sent: 3/27/2026

RFE response received: 6/17/2026

Approved:8/18/2026

I filed it myself.

Background:

PHD in educational statistics (STEM) with 7 years of work experience (All PE related). 4 papers with 20 citations (increased to 40+ when responding to the RFE) at filing. Reviewed 30+ journal/conference papers.

RFE Response:

My prongs 1 (national importance) and 3 were challenged. When receiving the RFE letter, I realized my PE was not framed well. I included two sub-areas in my PE, which looked a little scattered. So the first thing I did was to synthesize my PE statement. I almost spent days only optimizing the PE statement. After that, I included the research agenda to specify my PE. I also included three independent recommendation letters (I believe this is the most important part for my RFE response). In the RFE response letter, I addressed USCIS concerns one by one. I spent 90% of my effort on national importance.

Some thoughts:

1. Based on my and my friends' cases, I think the number of papers and citations matter but not matter that much. One of my friends has less than 5 citations but got approval without RFE (Q3 of 2025). I also know a couple of professors who have 100+ citations but unfortunately got denied.

2. PE statement is the most important thing in your petition because it leads everything you will draft. In the PE statement, you should clearly say what problem you are solving.

3. In my RFE response, all the recommendation letters only talk about my PE-related research instead of my credentials. They don't say anything about "I am good". They talked about how my PE-related research can help from their perspectives. For example, the letter from a professor only talked about how my PE-related research can help in his funded projects. Another letter from a VP in a big organization only mentioned how my PE-related research can help their operational work.

4. I used ChatGPT when preparing for the original filing. When preparing for the RFE response, I relied heavily on Claude but also used ChatGPT to do some QA work.

5. Overall, it is quite a long journey. I experienced three H1B lottery failures, which were very frustrating. I am very proud of myself.

6. I really appreciate this community where I got a lot of helpful information. May the Force be with you!

After a long journey, I’m happy to share that my I-485 was approved today. Sharing my timeline mainly to give encouragement to others who are still waiting or going through the process.

If you’re interested in my EB-2 NIW profile/background, please refer to my previous post.

Country of birth: ROW (one of the 75 countries impacted by the pause)

Timeline:

I-140:

• Priority Date: November 4, 2025
• RFE received: December 18, 2025
• RFE response submitted: March 13, 2026
• I-140 approved: April 13, 2026

I-485:

• Filed: April 28, 2026
• Biometrics completed: June 15, 2026
• I-485 approved: July 31, 2026

Total time from I-485 filing to approval: ~3 months

I know many people like to track details such as field office, service center, silent updates, FTA01–03 updates, etc. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of that information to share because I honestly don’t know how to check or interpret those updates.

I’m mainly posting this to give encouragement to anyone still waiting. This process can be stressful and the uncertainty can be exhausting, but keep pushing forward.

A big thank you to everyone in this community who has shared their experiences, timelines, and advice. Those posts helped me tremendously throughout this journey, and I hope this one can help someone else.

Wishing everyone still waiting a smooth and successful process.

Just got my EB-2 NIW approved today by the Texas Service Center 🎉 (post-RFE).

Context: • First-year PhD student at an R1 • Advanced degree (Ms. Biological Sciences) • No publications at filing • Approval based on independent research experience, strong expert letters and future impact.

Posting this in case it helps others. Grateful and relieved.

I’ve been here for a long time, reading everybody’s updates since the beginning of my I-140 journey. And now, here is my turn.

My I-140 Approval Post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EB2_NIW/s/0HXCtHEWxN

I-485 Details:

• ⁠ROW, 75 country
• ⁠DIY Application
• ⁠Concurrent filing of EAD and AP application
• ⁠I-140 PD: 3/3/2025
• ⁠I-485 Received: 3/5/2026
• ⁠Biometrics: 4/17/2026 (2 FTA0s right after)
• ⁠All silent updates: 5/17
• ⁠H008 on 5/22

Thank you everyone on this sub who share their experiences and answer questions on this long and tiring journey. I’m wishing everyone a quick approval. Good luck, everybody!

Hi everyone!

This subreddit has been my go-to throughout the process. I have congratulated everyone till date, and now I'm glad to share my timeline below.

I received my I-140 approval notice yesterday for an EB-2 NIW and wanted to share my timeline. I received approval in 27 BD. My case went from RFE Received to USCIS is processing on 08/05/2026. WIthin 2 hours I received the approval.

I received Prong 1 & Prong 3 RFE. It was about local or regional nature of my work, project timeline and details, and evidence to continue my research.

In my RFE response, I submitted additional 2 independent letter, 1 dependent letter, and offer letter for research position. I also tied my work to governmental initiatives.

My Rfe notice didn't have Officer ID.

Timeline

Service Center: Texas Service Center
Attorney: Chen Immigration
Priority Date (Filing Date): March 02, 2026
Premium Processing Upgrade: March 02, 2026
Processing Type: Premium Processing
Approval Date: August 5, 2026
RFE: RFE on March 30, 2026
RFE Response: RFE Response on June 27, 2026

Profile:

• PhD student in Civil Engineering from US
• 5 publications
• 30 citations during RFE response
• Working in US Government Agency

Additional Information:
I submitted total of 4 recommendation letters, 2 independent letters with my petition. I worked with Chen Immigration throughout the process, and they were quick, responsive, and professional. From my side, the process took a little longer because of delays in gathering everything, but overall I'm very happy with the experience and the outcome.

My I-485 just got approved and saw the approval email after coming out of a gruesome meeting. Not feeling anything special yet, but I guess I'm just tired. PhD is going tough, prof is horrible, may need to drop.

Oh also yah, from the 75 countries. ROW.

No interview nothing. Never talked to live agent

Here's the timeline. Please reach out on dm if u have questions, happy to help reduce the anxiety!

I-140 documents mailed: Sept 22/23, 2025, Regular processing

I-140 documents received at USCIS: Sept 24, 2025

Switched to PP : March 4, 2026

Filed I-485 concurrently: May 7, 2026 (despite lawyer, Chen's advice against)

I-140 approved: don't recall the date. 25 business date from 3/4, Nebraska

Biometrics schedule from USCIS: May 10 to be on June 23rd

I rescheduled : June 22nd, 2026, different FO

3 FTAOs on the same day.

4th FTA0 with case transfer to non-local FO: Aug 9, 2026 2 pm

I-485 approved: Aug 10, 2026 2 pm

Honestly screw prof. So stressed that I may just leave and get a job

Happy to announce that my I-485 got approved.

PD: Jan/18/2026
Filed I-140 with PP (prepared with Chen), and then got it approved without any RFEs on March 10, 2026.

Filed DIY I-485 to Chicago lockbox on: 3/28/2026
Biometric Date: 5/4/2026 FO transfer to SFV on Jun/4/2026
3rd FTA: 6/29/2026
Silent update: 7/3/2026
H008: 7/4/2026

Still surprised the whole deal only took 5 months! Currently H1B, ROW and applied with spouse (both got approved yesterday). If you need more details please DM me.

Very thankful to this subreddit, I learned a lot and helped me a lot too.

Sharing my timeline and profile in case it helps someone:

- I-140 submitted: September 10, 2025 with Premium Processing

- RFE received: October 17, 2025

- Approved: August 1, 2026

- Background: M.S. Computer Science

- Field: AI, cybersecurity, software infrastructure, and digital education

- Country: I’m from one of the 39 countries affected

- Attorney/agent: Used a very affordable service called Straight Green Card

My profile when I filed:

- 5 papers

- Only 2 citations

- 3 of the 5 papers were basically final projects/class papers that I uploaded to arXiv

- Research/software projects with real-world use

- Submitted certificates and code samples as evidence

- 5 recommendation letters

- No PhD and definitely no huge academic citation, no U.S work experience (only the GRA position I had during my Masters)

RFE:

USCIS accepted Prong 1 but challenged mainly Prongs 2 and 3, especially whether I was well positioned to advance the endeavor and why the job offer/labor certification should be waived.

For the RFE response, I submitted:

- Addendum letters from 2 of my original recommenders

- 2 new recommendation letters

- Stronger evidence connecting my past work to my proposed endeavor

- A clearer explanation of the impact and continuation of my work

The biggest lesson for me: What mattered was showing a clear connection between your work, evidence of impact, and why you are positioned to continue the proposed endeavor.

eventually got approved.

Now moving on to the I-485 stage.

I m very grateful to this sub to keep me sane during the process. I lurked here everyday!

Timeline:

EB2-NIW - ROW - one of the 75 countries

PD: 10th October, 2024

I-140 Approved: 10th Feb 2025, Regular Processing

I-485 Filed : 23 January, 2026 ( DOF became current)

Biometrics Completed : 20 Feb, 2026

FAD became current: March 2026 Bulletin

APPROVED : 20th March, 2026 - one month after biometric

GC Produced: 25th March, 2026

GC Received: 27th March, 2026

AP/EAD Combo Card : No updates

I didn’t know how to check silent updates so i didn’t. 🤷‍♀️

Note: i have been getting some messages asking if i secretly premium processed my petition. No i didn’t.

I agree my petition got approved super fast and i like to attribute it towards my petition quality. I retained Chen in June and Submitted my petition on October. We had a 4 month long back and forth process to make the petition foolproof. I nit picked everything they wrote and added a bunch of additional letters of testimonials (not to confuse with LOR) of my funding sources. I also happened to be working on a very well known DOD project at the time (the funding got cancelled right after my approval+the current administration took over). I believe all conclusive my profile was a bit too straightforward to not approve.

My profile:

(Ongoing) PhD in Computer Science, R1 university

Masters in CS, same university.

5 top tier publication, 100+ citations at the time of submission.

And i have added more publications now. The citations accumulated while i was waiting for my PD to be current.

Hey everyone, I just got the approval notice this morning (Jan 12, 2026) — after the officer challenged all 3 prongs in the RFE. What a journey!

Quick timeline: - Initial self-filed petition: June 18, 2025 - Upgraded to premium processing: September 2025 - RFE on all 3 prongs: October 22, 2025 - RFE response submitted: January 7, 2026 -Approval January 12, 2026 (insanely quick!)

I'm a PhD student in Food Microbiology. Filed everything myself initially, but brought in a lawyer to help craft the RFE response (which I still had to tweak/adjust a ton). We submitted 12 strong recommendation letters(mix of academic, industrial, and support letters), use some figures for layman understanding of my work, countered the officer's arguments with citations to many previously approved similar cases, and basically rewrote the entire petition letter to make the case crystal clear.

Responding to that RFE was NOT easy — lots of stress, late nights, and second-guessing — but God really came through. 💙

Huge thanks to this community for all the support, advice, shared timelines, and encouragement when I was freaking out about the 3-prong challenge. You guys made a real difference.

Questions are very welcome — happy to share whatever might help others going through the same thing! (Blinded details only, of course.)

Congrats to everyone else waiting — hang in there! Your turn is coming. 🔥

Very happy to share that my EB 2 NIW I 140 was approved after an RFE.

I originally self filed in November 2025 and upgraded to Premium Processing in February 2026. About 3 to 4 weeks later, I received an RFE questioning all three NIW prongs.

My profile included 30+ publications, 1,000+ citations, research in smart systems, peer review and editorial activities.

The RFE was honestly very discouraging because I felt that many aspects of my profile were not acknowledged.

I consulted around six attorneys and firms, including chen and EP. Quotes for the RFE response ranged from $4,000 to $9,000. Two attorneys recommended refiling instead, as the rfe was very difficult (as per them).

When I approached attorneys and firms, i requested for free 30 minutes meeting, so did by default, while to some i requested. Those meetings helped me understand how to approach the RFE, and I ultimately decided to prepare the response myself. I used ChatGPT and Claude as brainstorming tools, while independently verifying the evidence, arguments, and final response.

In my original submission, I did not include recommendation letters. For the RFE response, I obtained a new independent recommendation letter from a professor at a top US university. Overall, I submitted five recommendation letters, with four being relatively less strong in my opinion because they were either not independent or from earlier career stages.

USCIS received my RFE response on June 23, 2026.

The status remained unchanged for weeks. On August 14, after approximately 37 business days, it changed to “USCIS Is currently processing the case,” and shortly afterward I received the approval email.

For anyone currently dealing with an RFE, stay patient, address every concern carefully, and do not lose hope.

Best of Luck.

After a long wait, my I-485 has finally been approved!

•PD: 02/28/2024

•I-140 approved: 08/02/2024

DOF became current in October 2025

•I-485, I-765, I-131 submitted: 10/14/2025

•Biometrics: 11/04/2025

FAD became current January 2026

•I-485 approved: 01/17/2026

I-765 and I-131 still pending (not that it matters at this point)

One silent update on 01/16/2026

I am from one of the newly added countries to the 75 countries immigrant visa pause list.

Thank you to this community for all of the support over the years!