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.
Entries counted: 717 · last updated 2026-09-29
Distribution: All readers
Each bar is 30 days. n = 462
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.
For USCIS’s official processing time, check the USCIS site (choose I-485, your category and service center): egov.uscis.gov/processing-times
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.
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)
Received → approved
median 734 days
482–859 days · n = 41
received 2020-03 to 2021-07, approved 2021-09 to 2022-08
Received → fingerprints taken
median 418 days
308–710 days · n = 52
EB-2 (non-NIW)
Filed → biometrics
median 40 days
28–61 days · n = 74
filed 2017-07 to 2025-12
Filed → EAD approved
median 97 days
73–164 days · n = 40
Filed → approved
median 213 days
141–303 days · n = 24
EB-3
Filed → biometrics
median 52 days
35–123 days · n = 115
filed 2017-01 to 2025-10
Filed → EAD approved
median 146 days
98–198 days · n = 61
Filed → approved
median 316 days
194–428 days · n = 32
EB-1
Filed → biometrics
median 103 days
44–145 days · n = 62
filed 2017-10 to 2026-02
Filed → EAD approved
median 172 days
104–264 days · n = 28
Filed → approved
median 270 days
214–320 days · n = 17
EB-2 NIW
Filed → biometrics
median 35 days
29–48 days · n = 13
filed 2015-09 to 2025-11
