Invariably people will make their decisions and live with the consequences, all we can do is share what we hear , I still find it very difficult to understand or believe that people are making immigration decisions without an attorney in this present situation….
Processing time for green card based on asylum
- Thread starter oliver_68
- Start date
just to clarify - are you saying that if we receive a GC with a date backdated by one year, that would be an error and difficult to fix?
I ask beacuse my laywer told me that USCIS intentionally backdates the GC date by 1 year as part of the adjustment process, and that's considered a normal benefit under the law.
just to clarify - are you saying that if we receive a GC with a date backdated by one year, that would be an error and difficult to fix?
I ask beacuse my laywer told me that USCIS intentionally backdates the GC date by 1 year as part of the adjustment process, and that's considered a normal benefit under the law.
lotterywinnerof2023
Active Member
No, that’s not an issue! USCIS should backdate your your green card 1 before the date they approved your I485 application. however, sometimes applicant files I485 right after aslyum and then USCIS adjudicate the case for instance in 6 months. In this case your green residence date is before aslyum approval which is huge issue
Thanks! that makes sence
This is mostly for people having i-130 which is family-based, not really applicable for asylees so N/A should do as you mentioned
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After reading all those comments, i am confused on the part of back date GC for 1 year
Lets say we apply a year after Asylum Approval, and these days waiting period is around 15 months .... that would be 2 years and 3 months after asylum approval
In any case and whenever GC is issued, its validity will start from the asylum approval date, right ?
Means, 5 years waiting on GC to meet naturalization criteria wont be wasted if GC comes later ?
Lets say we apply a year after Asylum Approval, and these days waiting period is around 15 months .... that would be 2 years and 3 months after asylum approval
In any case and whenever GC is issued, its validity will start from the asylum approval date, right ?
Means, 5 years waiting on GC to meet naturalization criteria wont be wasted if GC comes later ?
DISCLAIMER: I’m not an attorney, so please do your own research and due diligence.
Guys, please do not confuse yourselves. If you file early, you’re taking a risk because you can’t control whether they process your case in 4 months or 14 months or even in more than 3 years. Safe early filings are only the ones where your case isn’t approved until after the 1-year mark. It's very simple. Let me give you some clear examples.
Example 1 (safe)
• Asylum approved: Jan 1, 2025
• File I-485 early: July 1, 2025 (6 months after approval)
• USCIS takes 7 more months to start working on your case → decision Feb 1, 2026
• By the time they approve, you’ve already passed the 1-year mark starting from Jan 1, 2025
• Result: GC date will be back-dated to Jan 1, 2025 (Date of asylum approval) → safe for naturalization timeline
Example 2
• Asylum approved: Jan 1, 2025
• File I-485 early: Mar 1, 2025 (2 months after approval)
• USCIS processes very fast → approves Nov 1, 2025 (10 months after asylum)
Two possible outcomes we’ve seen happen:
They approve anyway
• GC “resident since” date is set before Jan 1, 2025 (asylum approval).
• Risk: Naturalization officer could question the validity of your LPR start date because law requires 1-year as asylee first. Could delay or complicate citizenship.
They deny your I-485 because 1 year not met
• You lose your filing fee, months of waiting, and must re-file after the 1-year mark.
Hope it clarifies
Guys, please do not confuse yourselves. If you file early, you’re taking a risk because you can’t control whether they process your case in 4 months or 14 months or even in more than 3 years. Safe early filings are only the ones where your case isn’t approved until after the 1-year mark. It's very simple. Let me give you some clear examples.
Example 1 (safe)
• Asylum approved: Jan 1, 2025
• File I-485 early: July 1, 2025 (6 months after approval)
• USCIS takes 7 more months to start working on your case → decision Feb 1, 2026
• By the time they approve, you’ve already passed the 1-year mark starting from Jan 1, 2025
• Result: GC date will be back-dated to Jan 1, 2025 (Date of asylum approval) → safe for naturalization timeline
Example 2
• Asylum approved: Jan 1, 2025
• File I-485 early: Mar 1, 2025 (2 months after approval)
• USCIS processes very fast → approves Nov 1, 2025 (10 months after asylum)
Two possible outcomes we’ve seen happen:
They approve anyway• GC “resident since” date is set before Jan 1, 2025 (asylum approval).
• Risk: Naturalization officer could question the validity of your LPR start date because law requires 1-year as asylee first. Could delay or complicate citizenship.
They deny your I-485 because 1 year not met• You lose your filing fee, months of waiting, and must re-file after the 1-year mark.
Hope it clarifies
Ptania08
Member
Asylee green card is backdated 1 year from GC approval. For ex your asylum got approved in 2023 and you apply for green card in 2024. Let’s say your green card don’t get approved till 2026. Unfortunately it’ll be backdated to 2025 because it’s 1 year from your GC approved. Not asylum approval.
Ptania08
Member
I wish we were like refugees. Their GC is backdated to the day they enter the us. I don’t know why asylees GC is not backdated to our approval date. I guess originally it was because there was no backlog and with time they haven’t addressed it. Biden tried by implementing the you can apply by the time of approval but due to interpretation it still doesn’t help. Asylees are resilient and eventually we’ll all become US citizen. That’s all that matters
Not cool but it is what it is
So .... many members here are arguing it is safe to apply prior to 1 year of physical presence , in order to save time (understandable , and i would want the same , of course)
But considering this administration's tilt against immigrants, it could be likely go towards rejection (or may be not)
Like , they may process an application faster, and they may find it is not a year yet since asylum was approved and application may be rejected, wasting that all application fee 1440 per person
My lawyer is of firm opinion to initiate i485 filing closer to 1 year after asylum approval, so there is lesser chance of rejection in case they pick my case immediately and reject it
mycasepending
New Member
After 11 months of asylum grant, I filed the form I485 and included everything in the package two weeks ago and just received fingerprint appointment. Hopefully they'll approve my case sooner. Good luck to all of us!
Ptania08
Member
Oh really? I’m surprised they gave you fingerprints appointment. They usually reapply old fingerprints. I hope it goes fast too
mycasepending
New Member
Yeah, I thought they are going to use the old fingerprint, but they sent me a new fingerprint appointment.
Same deal, I recently applied for i-485 and got a notice for biometrics appointment at a local office, although my biometrics on file are very old from when I filed i-589 so not sure if they expire at some point or they are just calling everyone in for these now.
Hello
When did you exactly applied your I- 485? I applied back in January 2025 but I didn’t receive biometrics notice. It’s showing
“Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken”
Right now or a few months ago, everyone who applies for I-485 get a notice for biometrics appointment. I applied last April and got a notice for biometrics appointment at a local office a few weeks after.
It looks like they re-used your biometrics so you should be fine but as others mentioned this seems to be a recent trend where everyone is asked for biometrics, I applied last month.
Hey everyone, I hope you’re all doing well. I was just talking with my lawyer, and she mentioned that one of her clients in our same category recently had an interview. It was very short, mostly just background questions, and his green card was issued a couple of days later. Hopefully we’ll be hearing more good news soon!