My 5 Year EB1A Green Card Journey

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I’ve been a silent reader on forums for years and now that I finally have my green card in hand.. I wanted to give back by sharing my full journey. Hopefully this helps someone going through the same process, specially those from backlogged countries like India and China.

 

 

Background

Country of chargeability: India

Category: EB1A

Dependent applicant (father was the primary applicant, sports coach — top 1% in his field)

 

 

 

Timeline

July 2021: Entered the US for the first time on an O1 dependent visa.

 

 

August 2021 – March 2022: Began preparing EB1A petition through an attorney. Faced delays due to Police Clearance Certificate

 

 

March 3rd 2022: I-140 filed

 

Received RFE
Attorney responded within 1 month.

 

 

February 2023: I-140 approved 🎉

 

 

February 2024: Moved back to India as my dad received a better job opportunity there.
From this point onward, we continued the process from India and waited there until our case progressed.

 

 

From early 2023 to April 2025 there was almost 2 years of no movement in the visa bulletin for India.
Month after month of checking, hoping and being disappointed.

 

 

April 2025 Visa Bulletin: Finally moved by 15 days, (Feb 1 -> Feb 15) small progress. Me and our attorney were convinced that after this small progress, the October VB would bring in some good news.

 

 

October 2025 Visa Bulletin: No movement again. At this point I felt lost and anxiety was at its peak because I was also aging out. My attorney said I have until June 2026 under the CSPA.

 

 

November 2025 Visa Bulletin: Date jumped forward by a month and our priority date finally became current after more than a 2 year wait. I couldn’t believe it to be honest… relief is an understatement.

 

2 weeks later, NVC contacted us and scheduled interview at Mumbai Consulate.Before interview, we had to do our medical exam and renew our pcc’s as the old ones had expired.

 

 

January 5 2026 Interview Day (Mumbai Consulate): Was extremely anxious going in but the experience was surprisingly smooth. Officer was very friendly and relaxed and the questions were pretty straightforward.Then the words you wait years to hear: “Your visa has been approved”

 

 

January 8, 2026: Received passports with immigrant visa stamped.

 

 

March 7 2026
Flew Delhi → Shanghai → LAX.

Travel experience was trouble free. At LAX, CBP officer was actually excited seeing an immigrant visa packet lol. Didn’t question us but just confirmed the mailing address for the green card.

 

 

April 13 2026: Received physical green card in hand. USCIS case tracker still shows “card was mailed to me” and tracker is unavailable.. so don’t rely on the tracker.

 

 

 

Suggestions

Sign up for USPS informed delivery. It gives your real time updates for your green card.

Be mentally prepared for long periods of no movement. It’s a sad reality.

Backlogs are brutal (specially India/China), but things can move suddenly.

Have a good attorney (ignore if self filing) it makes a difference during RFE stages.

Try to find distractions or hobbies during the wait.

Some days will feel overwhelming and that’s normal.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

If you’re going through this process right now.. I genuinely hear you and feel you. The uncertainty is the most exhausting part. The part that slowly kills people from the inside. But, don’t lose hope. Even when it feels like nothing is moving things can change quickly.

 

Huge thanks to communities like:

r/greencard

r/eb_1a

r/uscis

r/nationalvisacenter

…and everyone who answered my anxiety driven questions along the way.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I’ll try my best to help.