08/16/2026
Marriage-Based AOS Approved in 4 Months! 🇺🇸 | April 2026 Filing → August 2026 Approval | San Jose FO
Wanted to share my timeline since reading other people’s timelines was really helpful while I was going through this process.
Background:
Marriage-based Adjustment of Status
Spouse is a U.S. citizen
I was already living in the U.S. in valid TN status when we filed
Canadian citizen
San Jose Field Office
Paper-filed everything concurrently
April 1, 2026 — USCIS received concurrent filing
Package included:
I-130
I-130A
I-485
I-864
I-765
I-131
I-693
Also submitted bona fide marriage evidence with the initial package, including things like our joint lease, joint bank statements, joint tax return, beneficiary documentation, photos, etc.
~2 weeks after filing — Receipt notices
Started receiving the I-797 receipt notices in the mail for the different applications.
~1.5 months after filing — Biometrics
Received the biometrics appointment notice and completed biometrics.
July 7, 2026 — Interview scheduled
I-485 case status changed to “Interview Was Scheduled.”
Shortly afterward I received the physical I-797C:
“Request for Applicant to Appear for Initial Interview.”
Interview was scheduled for:
August 11, 2026 — San Jose Field Office
Before the interview, the San Jose Field Office also emailed us asking us to create/link our USCIS online accounts and upload new evidence that had not already been submitted.
We uploaded additional/new bona fide marriage evidence covering the period after filing and brought all of our originals and updated evidence physically to the interview as well.
August 11, 2026 — Interview
Interview was at 12:30 PM.
We ended up waiting around 1.5 hours past our scheduled time before being called.
The actual interview was pretty detailed/long, but the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed. The officer joked with us here and there and did not separate us.
We had brought a lot of updated relationship evidence, but the officer barely needed to look through most of it.
He did review some of our financial documentation, including our jointly filed tax return.
At the end, I explicitly asked whether everything looked okay.
He said basically “Yeah, all good” and told us to expect something in the mail the following week.
We weren’t given an approval on the spot, so we left cautiously optimistic.
August 12, 2026 — I-130 APPROVED 🎉
The very next day, the I-130 changed to:
“Case Approved.”
The online approval notice showed:
Notice Type: Approval Notice
Section: Husband or wife of U.S. Citizen, 201(b) INA
The I-130 then showed as Case Closed.
At first my I-485 was still showing that the case was being processed and that USCIS did not need anything from me.
Then later the same day…
August 12, 2026 — I-485 APPROVED 🎉🎉
The I-485 changed to:
“Case Approved.”
So overall:
USCIS received case: April 1, 2026
Interview: August 11, 2026
I-130 approved: August 12, 2026
I-485 approved: August 12, 2026
Total time from USCIS receiving the package to I-485 approval was roughly 4 months and 11 days.
Happy to answer questions about the filing package, evidence we submitted, biometrics, EAD, San Jose interview, or the interview itself if it helps anyone going through the same process.
