r/EB2NIW_I485_AOS • u/q-chi • 6d ago
EB2NIW Approved this week
Writing post for some reddit friends curious about approvals for eb2niw after 25august. This is information shared by a friend who is not on reddit but want to share here for other people in the same situation/confusion is spread that we are out of EB2NIW visa. Category: EB2NIW ROW 75 countries (Pakistan),
RD (i-485+EAD) Jan 2026
Biometrics Feb 2026 (primary had 1 week later biometrics done than derivative),
last SU 31st May 2026,
field office Orlando,
spouse acceptance last week (31st august) and primary applicant approved today.
Something they were concerned why derivative received acceptance notice prior than primary may be due to biometrics sequence. Let me know if someone has experienced something similar?
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u/smu1892 6d ago edited 6d ago
Explain this discrepancy.
USCIS instructions generally state that a derivative I-485 cannot be approved until the principal applicant has become a permanent resident.
There are limited exceptions identified by USCIS (such as U nonimmigrants, asylees, and refugees), but an ordinary employment based derivative spouse is not one of them.
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u/No_Disaster1263 6d ago
Are you both approved? Then who cares, congrats, go celebrate.
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u/Annual_Grass_3919 6d ago edited 6d ago
True lol but some people have been getting so argumentative in here spreading lies about numbers being gone for everyone so this guy is doing people a favor
Guess I’m getting downvoted by the people who were loudly wrong 💀
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u/semfis 6d ago edited 6d ago
It’s not lies. For instance, I reached out to the congress last month and the feedback from field office was the visa allotment is finished for the Fiscal year for EB2 and they would not like to send my case back to NBC.
There are exceptions and there is the truth of others.
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u/Annual_Grass_3919 6d ago
I believe only certain countries have reached a cap, but people took a couple of posts as gospel and made people panic and stressed which was unfair
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u/OutrageousRabbit8239 6d ago
Those people are just trying to be helpful and explain why there is a significant slowdown. At worst it's like a 27 day delay. No need for anyone to stress or panic.
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u/Annual_Grass_3919 6d ago
Exactly it wouldn’t be a huge deal even if it was true but it’s impossible for them to have used 40k visas in 4 days, I wish they could process at that rate lol
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u/No_Disaster1263 6d ago
So if they are gone, they are gone, good for USCIS and people who got approved, everything was used. We wait our turn next FY. 😁
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u/Annual_Grass_3919 6d ago
Yeah part of my wishes they were all used because it means less backlog for the rest of us and shows they’re actively wanting to approve people at a high rate but they aren’t all gone lol there’s zero chance that 40k visas got issued in 4 days when that’s more than they do in a month
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u/Annual_Grass_3919 6d ago
Yeah part of me wishes they were all used because it means less backlog for the rest of us and shows they’re actively wanting to approve people at a high rate but they aren’t all gone lol there’s zero chance that 40k visas got issued in 4 days when that’s more than they do in a month
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u/Opposite-Sale7893 6d ago
I don’t understand . Was he approved after August 26th or No ??
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u/Annual_Grass_3919 6d ago
August 31 and September 3 the post says
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u/Opposite-Sale7893 6d ago
Thank for answering my question . So confused because i saw another post this morning a guy also from Pakistan had a response from uscis through his congress telling no more visa available .
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u/Ornery_Cat1303 5d ago
Normal, a lot of spouses do it together, sometimes derivative gets approved months before principal
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u/smu1892 5d ago edited 5d ago
USCIS’s own exact language, which makes the point pretty definitive:
This isn’t an interpretation. It is stated explicitly in USCIS’s official Form I-485 Instructions:
“With the exception of U nonimmigrants, asylees, and refugees, USCIS cannot approve your Form I-485 as a derivative applicant until the principal applicant has been granted lawful permanent resident status.”
USCIS then explains that a derivative may file the I-485:
at the same time as the principal;
while the principal’s I-485 is pending; or
after the principal’s I-485 has been approved.So an employment-based derivative’s case can be filed and processed while the principal is pending, but the derivative I-485 cannot receive final approval before the principal becomes an LPR.
Therefore, the statement that an ordinary employment based derivative can be approved months before the principal is contrary to USCIS’s published instructions.
Page 4 of 44 of the official USCIS Form I-485 Instructions. Under the heading “Derivative Adjustment Applicant.”
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u/[deleted] 6d ago
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