Employment based i-485 timeline

[chris2411]

08/08/2018 --- i-360 approved
10/25/2018 --- Lawyer mailed out i-485, i-765, i-131
11/01/2018 --- USCIS Texas Service Center received i-485, i-765, i-131
11/15/2018 --- USCIS processed the biometrics fee
01/11/2019 --- USCIS mailed out the biometrics appointment notice
01/23/2019 --- USCIS approved i-765 and i-131
01/24/2019 --- USCIS ordered the employment authorization card
01/28/2019 --- USCIS mailed the card
01/31/2019 --- USPS delivered the card
02/01/2019 --- Biometrics appointment completed

Waiting to see when they are going to schedule the interview...

[BluePanther]

08/08/2018 --- i-360 approved
10/25/2018 --- Lawyer mailed out i-485, i-765, i-131
11/01/2018 --- USCIS Texas Service Center received i-485, i-765, i-131
11/15/2018 --- USCIS processed the biometrics fee
01/11/2019 --- USCIS mailed out the biometrics appointment notice
01/23/2019 --- USCIS approved i-765 and i-131
01/24/2019 --- USCIS ordered the employment authorization card
01/28/2019 --- USCIS mailed the card
01/31/2019 --- USPS delivered the card
02/01/2019 --- Biometrics appointment completed

Waiting to see when they are going to schedule the interview...

You can get an indication of the processing time on the USCIS website if you figure out your field office.
Timelines can vary wildly. Also imporant which employment category and which country of origin since several categories are retrogressed.

[chris2411]

I assume the field office will be Montgomery, Alabama. Right now they are listing 9.5 months to 21.5 months processing time for employment-based i-485s.

[chris2411]

The field office will most likely be the one in Montgomery, AL. Right now they are listing the processing time for employment-based applications from 9.5 to 21.5 months.

[BluePanther]

The field office will most likely be the one in Montgomery, AL. Right now they are listing the processing time for employment-based applications from 9.5 to 21.5 months.

So best case scenario would be 8 months, worst case 2 years.
If you are not subject to retrogression of course.

[Enub4]

08/08/2018 --- i-360 approved
10/25/2018 --- Lawyer mailed out i-485, i-765, i-131
11/01/2018 --- USCIS Texas Service Center received i-485, i-765, i-131
11/15/2018 --- USCIS processed the biometrics fee
01/11/2019 --- USCIS mailed out the biometrics appointment notice
01/23/2019 --- USCIS approved i-765 and i-131
01/24/2019 --- USCIS ordered the employment authorization card
01/28/2019 --- USCIS mailed the card
01/31/2019 --- USPS delivered the card
02/01/2019 --- Biometrics appointment completed

Waiting to see when they are going to schedule the interview...

So you received the EAD combo card before biometrics? I haven't seen many cases like that. Good to know.
Form I-360 for employment based? Is that a special form?

[BluePanther]

So you received the EAD combo card before biometrics? I haven't seen many cases like that. Good to know.
Form I-360 for employment based? Is that a special form?

I-360 is used for EB4 category for special workers. If you are eligible for this category (for example worked for government abroad, religious worker, military abroad), you would be able to use this category and form.

[chris2411]

I came to the U.S. from Europe with an R-1 status at the end of 2016. I had to file I-360 first, then after the i-360 was approved I filed concurrently i-485, 1-765 and i-131 as primary and my wife as a dependent. We filed all the applications with the help of a lawyer who made sure that with sent all the documents possible together with the applications. We were also surprised to see they approved the EADs before our biometrics appointment.

[Enub4]

I came to the U.S. from Europe with an R-1 status at the end of 2016. I had to file I-360 first, then after the i-360 was approved I filed concurrently i-485, 1-765 and i-131 as primary and my wife as a dependent. We filed all the applications with the help of a lawyer who made sure that with sent all the documents possible together with the applications. We were also surprised to see they approved the EADs before our biometrics appointment.

Thank you for sharing. I see that EB4 is C for most countries, so it doesn't matter your PD in this case.

Did your wife receive EAD too? Is she on R-2?

[chris2411]

Yes, she is on R-2 and she received the EAD in the mail a day after I received mine. No premium processing. We were taken by surprise seeing that the Texas Center approved the i-765 and i-131 pretty quickly and mailed the EADs to both of us before the biometrics appointment. We just completed the biometrics appointment at the end of last week. It will be interesting to see how long it will take for the field office to come up with a date for the i-485 interview.

[Enub4]

Thank you chris2411, keep us posted.

If you know your FO (I think it depends on where you live), you can check the processing times here:

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

[chris2411]

Thank you, Enub4. I replied a few days ago to another message in this thread, but I will re-post here: the FO may be Montgomery, Alabama and now they are listing 9.5 to 21.5 months processing time for employment-based i-485s.

[Enub4]

I'm posting here because our case is also EB and TSC.

Received an alert* that EAD for principal is being produced, no news for spouse and child. You said that spouse EAD arrived one day later. I hope we get a new alert in a day or two.

*The alert was from the app. Also received an email about a change and it asked to log in to check the status.

[explid]

No update for me

No updates on MSC cases with RD of early Nov '18. AOS/EAD/AP cases are still on the "Fingerprints Fees Received" and "Case was received" status with a LUD of 11/28/18

[Enub4]

No updates on MSC cases with RD of early Nov '18. AOS/EAD/AP cases are still on the "Fingerprints Fees Received" and "Case was received" status with a LUD of 11/28/18

I see that the processing times for MSC is 4.5 Months to 6.5 Months. SRC is 5 Weeks to 5 Months.