485 Progress: readers’ I-485 timelines

How long does an employment-based I-485 really take? USCIS publishes one broad range. Here readers add their own filing, biometrics, EAD and approval dates, and we combine them into medians and distributions so you can see how long people like you actually waited.

These are voluntary, unverified reader entries, not USCIS data, and they skew toward people willing to share. We collect no name, email or receipt number, and no single entry is ever shown on its own.

Applicant-reported timelines (live)

Entries counted: 725 · last updated 2026-11-10

Distribution: All

Each bar is 30 days. n = 462

How long the law firm took (overall)

Date current → firm's first contact

Not enough entries yet to show

Date current → questionnaire or document request

Not enough entries yet to show

Counted in weeks from the 1st of the month the date became current. Only people who have already filed can enter, so anyone still waiting is missing and the real wait may be longer. We collect no firm names and never split the numbers by firm.

Add your I-485 timeline

Only the filing date is required; add the rest whenever they happen. Do not enter your name, email or receipt number: the form has no place for them.

CategoryPlace of birthService center

Priority date (month is enough, optional)

I-485 filed (receipt date) *Biometrics (optional)EAD approved (optional)AP approved (optional)Interview (optional)I-485 approved (optional)

More detail (optional, the more the better)

How long the law firm took (optional)Month your date became currentUse the chart USCIS told filers to use that month (A or B)Date the firm first contacted youDate you received the questionnaire or document request

We collect dates only, never a firm name, and the page never splits the numbers by firm.

Receipt notice dateRFE dateRFE type

Transferred to the NBC?

Field office it moved to

Date it moved to the field office

I-140 and I-485 filed together?Asked for expedite?Downgraded from EB-2 to EB-3?

Medical exam (I-693)

Which clinic

Exam price paid (USD)Days from booking to the examWhere did you get vaccinesVaccine cost (USD)

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For USCIS’s official processing time, check the USCIS site (choose I-485, your category and service center): egov.uscis.gov/processing-times

History (our data)

These are I-485 records collected on this site over the years. They show processing speed in the years marked on each card, which may differ from today. Only approved cases are counted, so the numbers lean optimistic; the received date is usually about two weeks after filing.

By service center

NSC (Nebraska)

Received → approved

median 434 days

361–557 days · n = 2593

received 2020-07 to 2021-08, approved 2021-08 to 2022-08

Received → fingerprints taken

median 137 days

73–191 days · n = 2245

TSC (Texas)

Received → approved

median 617 days

582–653 days · n = 1523

received 2020-06 to 2021-07, approved 2021-09 to 2022-08

Received → fingerprints taken

median 307 days

218–488 days · n = 1598

NBC (National Benefits Center)

Received → approved

median 530 days

423–585 days · n = 634

received 2019-11 to 2020-10, approved 2021-09 to 2022-08

Received → fingerprints taken

median 168 days

35–374 days · n = 251

CSC (California)

485 Progress: readers’ I-485 timelines

Applicant-reported timelines (live)

How long the law firm took (overall)

Add your I-485 timeline

History (our data)

By service center

By category