Why Your Green Card Case Has Gone Quiet Since April — And What Every Couple Needs to Know Right Now

You did everything right. You gathered your documents. You attended your biometrics appointment. You checked your case status and it said ‘actively being processed.’ And then, sometime after April 27, everything just stopped.

No interview notice. No approval. No explanation.

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Thousands of couples across the country are sitting in the same silence right now, and the reason has nothing to do with your paperwork.

What Happened on April 27, 2026

On April 27, 2026, USCIS quietly implemented a sweeping new security vetting process that effectively paused the adjudication of a massive number of pending immigration cases. The change was not widely announced and most applicants received no notice at all.

Here is what happened: USCIS began requiring all pending cases that previously had fingerprint-based background checks submitted to the FBI to go through the process again under a new, expanded system. This new system is called the Next Generation Identification platform, and it gives USCIS access to significantly broader FBI criminal history data than before.

Until those new checks are complete, USCIS officers are instructed not to approve any case. That means green cards, naturalization applications, adjustment of status cases, and family-based sponsorship petitions are all sitting in a queue waiting for the new fingerprint checks to cycle through.

USCIS has said publicly that any delays should be ‘brief,’ but the agency has not defined what ‘brief’ means, and with nearly 12 million pending cases in the system, the backlog is real.

Who Is Affected

The cases most commonly impacted include:

   Adjustment of status applications (Form I-485)

   Naturalization applications (Form N-400)

   Family-based green card sponsorship petitions (Form I-130)

   Asylum applications

   Any other application that required biometric collection before April 27

Newly filed cases submitted after April 27 are also affected. They go to the back of the queue, behind the entire backlog of previously filed cases that need to be re-vetted first.

The one limited exception at this time is naturalization applicants who already had an oath ceremony scheduled. Those cases are being allowed to proceed.

This Is Not a Denial

I want to say this clearly because I know how frightening silence can feel when your family’s future is sitting in a government queue.

A paused case is not a denied case. Your application is not being decided against you. USCIS is running an administrative process that is happening to every pending case in the system. If your paperwork was complete and accurate when it was filed, there is no reason to panic.

That said, there are some situations where this new vetting process could create complications worth discussing with an attorney. The expanded FBI database gives USCIS access to more detailed criminal history information than before, including old arrests that did not result in convictions, juvenile records, and sealed cases. If any of those exist in your history, now is the time to get ahead of them rather than wait for a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny to arrive in your mailbox.

What About Processing Times Before April 27?

Even before this change, USCIS processing times in 2026 were already running long across most categories. Here is where things stood heading into May:

   I-130 petitions for spouses of green card holders: up to 35 months at some service centers

   K-1 fiance visa (I-129F): median of 7.9 months, with some cases taking considerably longer

   I-485 adjustment of status: highly variable depending on service center and case type

   I-765 work authorization tied to pending I-485: delays directly impact ability to work legally

The April 27 vetting change layered on top of an already backlogged system. The current processing environment is genuinely complex, and the timeline for any given case is harder to predict than it has been in years.

What You Should Do Right Now

Whether your case is already pending or you are planning to file, here is where to focus your energy:

Check your case status regularly at the USCIS processing times page. If your case shows as pending without movement since late April, the re-vetting process is almost certainly the cause. You do not need to do anything to trigger the re-check. USCIS officers are responsible for re-submitting your fingerprints on file. You will not be asked to schedule a new biometrics appointment.

Make sure your address and contact information on file with USCIS is current. During this period, the agency may issue Requests for Evidence or schedule interviews. Missing a notice because it went to an old address is an avoidable and costly mistake.

If your work authorization or advance parole is tied to a pending I-485 and those documents are approaching expiration, address that immediately. There are protections available under certain categories for timely-filed renewal applications, but the rules are specific and timing matters.

If you have any criminal history, including arrests that were dismissed or charges that were dropped, speak with an immigration attorney before your case moves forward. The expanded vetting process is surfacing records that previous screenings may have overlooked, and being prepared with documentation and legal context is far better than being surprised.

Planning to File Soon? Here Is What This Means for You

If you are in the planning stages of a marriage green card or adjustment of status case, the current environment makes the work you do before filing more important than ever. Cases with clean, complete, well-documented records move more smoothly through enhanced vetting. Cases with gaps, inconsistencies, or unaddressed history face a harder road.

This is not a reason to delay indefinitely. Priority dates are moving, family categories are advancing in the visa bulletin, and filing windows do not stay open forever. But it is a reason to work with an attorney who understands what USCIS is scrutinizing right now and can help you build a file that holds up.

A Note From Chelsea

This is not the first time I have closely observed a slow roll out of delay by USCIS. Check my post here concerning USCIS severing the green card process from obtaining the social security card; which inevitably morphed into EAD delay (check Q4 statistics on USCIS for confirmation; no EAD, no ss card). I have been watching this situation closely since late April. The silence that thousands of families are experiencing right now is real, and it is unsettling, and you deserve a plain-English explanation of what is actually happening.

If you have a pending case and you are worried, or if you are planning to file and you want to make sure you are positioned as well as possible going into the current climate, I would be glad to talk through your specific situation. Every case is different, and what matters is having someone in your corner who knows the landscape as it stands today, not how it looked a year ago.

Contact KVisaXpress to schedule a consultation. I will give you honest information and a clear path forward.

Chelsea E. Walker, Attorney at Law

Walker Legal Services LLC | KVisaXpress.com