I’ve heard that when you file the I-485 as a concurrent filing, waiting times can stretch to a year or more. For some reason I thought it was 2–3 months. How did it go for you — how long did it actually take from filing to receiving the green card?
For I-485 the median is about 13 months according to statistics, and 80% of cases close in 18+ months. The spread is wild — there are cases where two people filed with priority dates (PD) literally 10–15 days apart: one got approval in 4.5 months, the other waited 1 year and 2 months. The difference turned out to be where the case went: a non-local office processed it faster. 2–3 months is an optimistic scenario; don’t count on it.
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Thanks, I hadn’t thought about the non-local office at all — it’s not up to us where the case will go. How can you know in advance which office it’ll end up in, or is it just a lottery?
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Yeah, it’s not exactly a lottery — the office is determined by the address at the time of filing. On egov.uscis.gov/processing-times there’s a table by office; you can check and compare processing times even before you file. When I looked, the difference between offices was about three to four months — not always, but sometimes noticeably. If you move before approval, the case can be transferred to the new office; that’s a different story.
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A transfer to the local office doesn’t just take longer — there’s probably going to be an interview as well, from what I’ve heard.
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The interview took me 20 minutes after localizing it — completely standard.
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NBC cases are being closed without an interview - transfer to FO is a different story.
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I also thought it would be quick — but I waited 11 months myself, and the case never went to the local office; NBC held it to the end without an interview. Two to three months are for the lucky ones, not the norm. You should expect at least a year.
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