Marriage green card interview at Chicago IL field office — approved after the interview (June 2026)
Approved after the interviewOverstayFiling → approval: 3.2 months
Field office
Chicago IL
Case type
AOS — I-130 + I-485 filed together
Sponsor
U.S. citizen spouse
Prior status
ESTA / visa waiver, expired before filing
Attorney
No
RFE during case
No
Timeline
- FiledApr 18, 2026
- BiometricsMay 11, 2026 · day 23
- Interview noticeMay 19, 2026 · day 31
- InterviewJun 10, 2026 · day 53
- I-130 approvedJun 11, 2026 · day 54
- I-485 approvedJul 25, 2026 · day 98
Their story
Chicago field office, filed concurrently, no lawyer — we did it ourselves and had no problems and no RFE. My spouse is a U.S. citizen.
My ESTA expired on March 28, 2026. We got married on April 2 and sent the package on April 18 — I didn't want a lot of unlawful presence, so we acted quickly. Biometrics were scheduled on May 8 for May 28, and I rescheduled two weeks earlier to May 11. The interview was scheduled on May 19 and held on June 10, just 51 days after filing, which felt incredibly fast. The I-130 was approved the next day, June 11.
Then came over six weeks of waiting before the I-485 was finally approved on July 25, 2026. I almost thought I'd have the green card in under two months, but the I-485 took a little longer. There was no unauthorized work in my case.
Total cost: $2,400.
Questions the officer asked
- 1.During the interview I had to sign a document about the reason why I overstayed. The officer asked about it two or three times, and in the end she wrote "because we decided to get married" as the reason. I won't lie, I was afraid that wouldn't be a big enough answer after the new memo.
- 2.That was the only memo-related question — nothing else along those lines came up.
Preparing for your own interview?
My Interview Hub has 400+ marriage green card interview practice questions you can work through together with your spouse — flashcards, quizzes, and a two-person practice mode.
See the question guideTheir advice
If your status is about to run out, filing quickly limits how much unlawful presence you accumulate. My ESTA expired on March 28, we married on April 2 and filed on April 18.
You can move biometrics up. Mine was set for May 28 and I rescheduled it two weeks earlier to May 11.
Be ready to explain your overstay in writing. I had to sign a document stating the reason, and the officer asked about it two or three times before writing down that we had decided to get married.
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Share your experienceThis is a user-submitted experience reviewed for spam and personal information before publishing. It is an individual anecdote, not legal advice. Every case is different — timelines and interview style vary by office and officer.
