Asylum Based i-485

[Akbrocks]

Hi Guys,

May 2018 i-485 filer here, got a status update that my previous fingerprints have been applied. Hoping that this is a good sign as I can see some of the other members have also gotten a similar update.

[treehouse]

luckycharm4111 one day when I had some free time and was feeling very upset/stressed out about the lengthy and unpredictable green card application at the TSC, I decided to search for all posts in this forum containing people's timelines and made notes of each one and then calculated the time between filing the i485 and some outcome from USCIS including GC approval, card being produced, RFE or called for an interview. I disregarded the BS fingerprints notice because they mean nothing (some people had that notice years ago and are still waiting!). Then I came up to over 25 timeline posts with some numbers that varied between 05 to 38 months with an average of 18-21 months between filing the i485 and hearing from USCIS. Of course, I only based on applications filed at TSC and I am assuming all post in this forum are asylum-based!

I think my case alone should hurt your calculation! I am the starter of this thread and my case is still pending believe it or not. I filed in Jan 2017 and my case status still showing "Fingerprints was received". I made numerous service requests and used senator inquiry which returned nothing but "we have had to perform additional review". I contacted Ombudsman in Jan 2021 and they keep sending me email saying they are facing backlog and they will contact USCIS once my request is reviewed by one of their analysts. Anyone reading this and anxious that their case seems like taking forever, if it makes you feel a little better, my case is pending since 55 months with no action whatsoever. I have seen people here who filed in 2018 or even 2019 and getting too upset because in their view its taking way too long. Based on what I am going through most of you should relax for now. Even Ombudsman who is supposed to help with delayed case is taking way too long even to review my request...think about that! Good luck to all!

[luckycharm4111]

I think my case alone should hurt your calculation! I am the starter of this thread and my case is still pending believe it or not. I filed in Jan 2017 and my case status still showing "Fingerprints was received". I made numerous service requests and used senator inquiry which returned nothing but "we have had to perform additional review". I contacted Ombudsman in Jan 2021 and they keep sending me email saying they are facing backlog and they will contact USCIS once my request is reviewed by one of their analysts. Anyone reading this and anxious that their case seems like taking forever, if it makes you feel a little better, my case is pending since 55 months with no action whatsoever. I have seen people here who filed in 2018 or even 2019 and getting too upset because in their view its taking way too long. Based on what I am going through most of you should relax for now. Even Ombudsman who is supposed to help with delayed case is taking way too long even to review my request...think about that! Good luck to all!

OMG that's bad, I am really sorry to hear that.

I think you should file for the Writ of Mandamus lawsuit which you are qualify for Full 100%

Please reach out to Asyleee Asyleee to get the draft of Mandamus lawsuit where you can file it by yourself without any attorney.

[waitingGC]

I think my case alone should hurt your calculation! I am the starter of this thread and my case is still pending believe it or not. I filed in Jan 2017 and my case status still showing "Fingerprints was received". I made numerous service requests and used senator inquiry which returned nothing but "we have had to perform additional review". I contacted Ombudsman in Jan 2021 and they keep sending me email saying they are facing backlog and they will contact USCIS once my request is reviewed by one of their analysts. Anyone reading this and anxious that their case seems like taking forever, if it makes you feel a little better, my case is pending since 55 months with no action whatsoever. I have seen people here who filed in 2018 or even 2019 and getting too upset because in their view its taking way too long. Based on what I am going through most of you should relax for now. Even Ombudsman who is supposed to help with delayed case is taking way too long even to review my request...think about that! Good luck to all!

treehouse , I am sorry to hear about your long waiting time. As I said before, that was an average based on my collection of data which in this case were volunteer anonymous self-reported timeline posts by members of this forum. And yes I saw cases pending for 30+ months but also saw people who got responses in 10 or even 5 months (actually only two people!). I considered only posts of cases filed in the Texas Service Center BTW. As mentioned before by someone else, I definitely think you should try the Writ of Mandamus. I also read online that there is something called Notice of intent to file a Writ of mandamus but have no idea how that works!

[waitingGC]

How early can one ask for help of a congressman? My i-485 case is pending for 12 months in the Texas Service Center and I am wondering if I should write them now or wait a little longer. And where can I find the congressperson responsible for my area (NYC)? Thanks

[Enub4]

How early can one ask for help of a congressman? My i-485 case is pending for 12 months in the Texas Service Center and I am wondering if I should write them now or wait a little longer. And where can I find the congressperson responsible for my area (NYC)? Thanks

According to https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ it takes more than 2 years. I don't know if your congressman can help even if your case is not outside the "normal" processing times. Good luck.

[Prince Ali]

How early can one ask for help of a congressman? My i-485 case is pending for 12 months in the Texas Service Center and I am wondering if I should write them now or wait a little longer. And where can I find the congressperson responsible for my area (NYC)? Thanks

You can find it on google by entering your area zip code.
You can do congressman inquiry whenever you like but these inquiries do not help at all. Uscis just send a generic reply that your case is still under normal processing time. 2 to 4 year is normal for them.
I am waiting since April, 2019 at TSC. Did 3 congressman inquiries but received same copy/paste reply.
Probably they have a policy to keep immigrants in a limbo.

[Prince Ali]

Hy guys, I received a notice today from USCIS after 2 years of filing. Its just says that we will use your previous biometrics. Although we attended the appointment 2 years ago.
what is the meaning of this notice?

[luckycharm4111]

Hy guys, I received a notice today from USCIS after 2 years of filing. Its just says that we will use your previous biometrics. Although we attended the appointment 2 years ago.
what is the meaning of this notice?

Yep, my husband received the same letter last months as it was more than 2 years of filing I485.

it looks like it’s the generic message which so many people received it and feels like they are trying to trick us by sending those notice to show that they are really working on it but they are not

I hate Texas Service Center and feels like they are doing the delays intentionally especially for Asylees

[treehouse]

How early can one ask for help of a congressman? My i-485 case is pending for 12 months in the Texas Service Center and I am wondering if I should write them now or wait a little longer. And where can I find the congressperson responsible for my area (NYC)? Thanks

Going through congressman is no different than putting in service request yourself or having your lawyer do it on your behalf on the USCIS website in my experience. As of Right now USCIS website says cases are considered delayed only if they were filed before October 29, 2017. No matter what avenue we take (senator, SR, Ombudsman etc) USCIS will not even explain what is causing the delay. Tired of their copy paste responses I don't even bother anymore with SR and congressman routes.

I do have some hope that Ombudsman might be able to help. I might be wrong but I believe they have little more power than others. My understanding is that when they ask for answer they will want proper answer from USCIS. For example all of my SR responses were "we have had to perform additional review". They will hopefully ask USCIS to elaborate on what kind of review is taking longer than the whole term of Trump's presidency lol. I sent my application when Obama was president ????. My then unborn daughter was born and now going to school after I filed my application. Think about that!

And I do know about writ of mandamus and I am keeping that as my last avenue. Going through all steps will make the mandamus case stronger if it comes to that in my opinion. My understanding is that the judge has to be convinced that I exhausted all of the possible avenues before bringing the lawsuit.

I do not want to scare other filers but based on my experience I suggest all of you to expect the worst but be optimistic, just like playing scratch off lottery. Trust me it can drown you emotionally over the long period of time if you end up experiencing delay like me. I know few people personally who applied in early 2018 and got approved in late 2018. I have no reason to believe my case had to be delayed while others were getting decisions in less than a year. Unfortunately I have to consider someone lucky even if they get decision in idk..45 months.

I pray that no one will have to go through my experience. Hopefully this new administration will be more effective in processing cases. Good luck to all. God bless!

[Asyleeasylee]

For those who recently received a letter from USCIS that they will use previously captured biometric.
Is there any update with your case?

[luckycharm4111]

For those who recently received a letter from USCIS that they will use previously captured biometric.
Is there any update with your case?

There is no update and I don't expect there will be any update.

Because the same way I thought when I got the biometric on Feb 2020 but from that time till now there is no update.

USCIS Texas Service Center is just tricking us by showing they are really working on our cases but they are not.

I didn't mean to disappoint but that's the fact and lost hope from Texas Service Center.

[Asyleeasylee]

There is no update and I don't expect there will be any update.

Because the same way I thought when I got the biometric on Feb 2020 but from that time till now there is no update.

USCIS Texas Service Center is just tricking us by showing they are really working on our cases but they are not.

I didn't mean to disappoint but that's the fact and lost hope from Texas Service Center.

You did not disappoint me at all. Just wondering.
min my case, we are preparing to sue USCIS in the end of Summer.
that’s it...

[Mr1212]

The interview Is it for asylum or green card ?

[Singh52]

Hello everyone, I also got a status update that uscis reused my previous fingerprints. I filed my I-485 in July 2018 and since then there was no update on my case. Not just me but I know 3 other guys who also got the same status update. Hopefully TSC will end this backlog. Good luck to everyone.