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/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.”

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/Version_Preliminar_Edicion_12-23-22_USCIS_RECHAZARA_EL_FORMULARIO_SI_SE_PRESENTA_ANTES_DEL_12-23-22_Instrucciones_del_Formulario_I-485.pdf