USCIS Begins Approving Marriage Cases Without Interview: What Changes for Adjustment of Status

A surprising trend has emerged among immigration attorneys: USCIS is approving some marriage-based green card applications (adjustment of status) without conducting an interview. Previously, the interview was a mandatory step, but the agency now has discretionary authority to skip it in the strongest cases.

What happened with marriage-based cases

Colleagues in the immigration field have begun sharing examples of clients being approved without an interview. It’s still unclear whether this is happening across all USCIS offices or only in some. The information is coming from attorneys and appearing in Reddit posts — the sources sound reliable enough to consider this a real trend rather than an exception.

Skipping the interview is only possible in very strong cases, where the entire marital history is backed by evidence and the applicant’s immigration history is spotless. USCIS must decide to apply favorable discretion and skip the mandatory step.

What filing strategy works now

Attorneys still submit as much evidence as possible at the time of filing the I-485 to demonstrate the marriage’s authenticity. Then, right before the anticipated interview, they upload new materials that have accumulated between filing and the interview.

An important change: if significant family events have occurred since filing — for example, a child was born and has a birth certificate — it’s worth updating the evidence on the I-130 form. This additional material can increase the chances of an interview waiver if the rest of the case is otherwise flawless.

EADs approved without expedite requests

Alongside marriage cases, changes have also occurred with work permits (EADs). Some EAD applications are being approved without needing to request expedited processing or prove a nationwide interest. There have been cases where EADs pending for over a year were suddenly approved with no apparent cause and no additional action from the applicant.

This usually applies to applications that have been pending for a long time. This practice has prompted attorneys to go back to filing EADs for most adjustment of status applicants, even though many had avoided it before due to delays.

How do we know this

The information came from several sources: conversations within the professional network of immigration attorneys and posts on Reddit from other applicants. While there’s no official USCIS announcement yet, the convergence of information from different sides points to a systemic change in approach rather than random approvals.