I filed an EB-2 NIW myself without a lawyer, and my I-140 was approved. Now I don’t understand what happens next with the visa queue. After the petition is approved, do you just wait for your priority date to become ‘current’, or do you get put into some separate queue? Anyone who’s been through this — please explain how it works.
After approval of the I-140 there’s no separate queue—you just follow the monthly Visa Bulletin. Your priority date is fixed as of the petition filing date, and when it becomes current in the EB-2 category for your country, you’ll be able to file the I-485. For Russia and India the dates are currently very far back; for other countries the situation is better.
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That’s right, and as of now (April 13, 2026) the Visa Bulletin is Current for citizens of the Russian Federation, if you’re from there. So after approval of the I-140 you can immediately expect movement of your case through adjustment of status (Form I-485). That means you can fill it out and file it. Or go through the NVC and the consulate if you are outside the U.S.
I actually wrote about this recently here
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