u/Optimus_Prime_995

Hi, when I checked the processing time for f1 i765 it was showing 3.5 months like 2 days ago and the inquiry date was Aug 22 2026. Now suddenly the processing time has increased to 4 months and the inquiry date is pushed to 18th Sept 2026.

I was hoping that on aug 22 will raise an inquiry because the stem OPT has been pending for exactly 5 months now. Filed on 20th March 2026. They keep pushing the date.

Hi everyone,

Me and my friend will be traveling next month while both of our stem opt is pending and also my h1b being pending at the same time.

I have a h1b receipt notice and stem opt receipt notice along with cap gap i20 showing opt ending in april 2027. My i94 says D/S.

While my friend has only stem opt pending receipt notice and is well under the 180 days. His i94 also says D/S.

Do you think there is any risk of federal immigration encounter? We are under legal status and never overstayed or have any kind of visa violations. Never encountered with law enforcement including any traffic stops or any other kind of violation.

We plan to carry all docs in printed form, we also have stamped f1 visas valid till June 2028. We are just worried about if there is any risk involved here because of pending applications even though we have all the paper and here legally.

Hey everyone, I went to a Virginia dmv yesterday to renew my DL license. The teller gave me a paper saying that my docs are scanned and pending verification and I should hear back in 10 business days through email and then I should return back with all the same docs again. Docs were my CAP gap I20 and my h1b petition receipt notice.

My question is I tried searching SAVE system but couldn’t find any query generated by DMV for verification. There is a query from previously when I first got my VA license but not during the renewal this time. I have seen online reddit post where people mentioned they got an email from dmv saying their docs have been sent to USCIS so wait for it. I haven’t received anything yet so I am concerned if the DMV even sent anything for verification or not because I have seen people go back after some days and dmv is like oh we have to send the docs again.

Also what is the timeline lately if anyone has experienced it recently in 2026? Thanks

Hey everyone, I went to a Virginia dmv yesterday to renew my DL license. The teller gave me a paper saying that my docs are scanned and pending verification and I should hear back in 10 business days through email and then I should return back with all the same docs again.

My question is I tried searching SAVE system but couldn’t find any query generated by DMV for verification. There is a query from previously when I first got my VA license but not during the renewal this time. I have seen online reddit post where people mentioned they got an email from dmv saying their docs have been sent to USCIS so wait for it. I haven’t received anything yet so I am concerned if the DMV even sent anything for verification or not because I have seen people go back after some days and dmv is like oh we have to send the docs again.

Also what is the timeline lately if anyone has experienced it recently in 2026? Thanks

Hi everyone,

I am considering an EB-2 NIW petition and would appreciate honest feedback on whether my profile and proposed endeavor appear suitable.

I have a master’s degree in regional planning with concentration in Infrastructure Policy Management and Finance from an Ivy League university. I currently work as an infrastructure economics and finance consultant at a large U.S. infrastructure consulting firm and have approximately 2.5 years of combined experience.

My work focuses on:

• Benefit-cost analysis for transportation and infrastructure projects
• Cash-flow modeling, financial forecasting, and project feasibility
• Infrastructure funding and financing strategies
• Capital planning and debt-capacity analysis
• Evaluating the financial and operating performance of cities, utilities, and public agencies
• Financial due diligence for federally financed water projects
• Transportation reliability and climate-resilience analysis
• Federal infrastructure grant and loan programs

I have led or significantly supported passenger rail analyses, federal infrastructure loan reviews, municipal funding strategies, clean-energy affordability studies, and climate-resilience planning across several U.S. states. My work includes reviewing public-sector revenues, operating expenses, rate structures, capital improvement plans, debt obligations, repayment capacity, and long-term financial sustainability. Some projects have contributed to successful funding outcomes, and I have received strong recognition from clients, managers, and senior professionals.

My proposed endeavor is to improve the planning, financing, and delivery of critical U.S. infrastructure through economic, financial, and resilience-based frameworks. The goal is to help public agencies prioritize high-value projects, improve financial and operating performance, use taxpayer funds efficiently, secure federal support, and advance safer and more resilient infrastructure.

Additional credentials include specialized infrastructure finance training, an academic gold medal in my undergrad, professional memberships, and two undergraduate publications: a book and a research paper. However, those publications are not directly related to my current infrastructure finance work.

I do not have a high citation count, patents, major national awards, or extensive media coverage. My strongest evidence would be project leadership, work involving federal programs, successful funding outcomes, professional recognition, and recommendation letters.

I would love to hear others thought, people who had approvals previously or who are preparing right now.

Hi my employer filed an h1b petition for me as i got selected in the lottery this year. The address on the petition and lca is 100 glebe road but it should have been 1100 glebe road, both these addresses are 1.2 miles apart only. The other parts of the address such as pin code, county, etc are correct, only one digit is missing in the address.

Will this cause them to file a new petition and withdraw the previous one? I already have a receipt number and I feel very frustrated now that it will delay my case if they have to file all over again.

They filed for me on 8th june.

I have already emailed the attorney and employer but since it is a Saturday I am feeling anxious about what will happen. Has anyone gone through a situation like this?

Hey everyone, so my stem opt is pending currently but my manager who signed the form is leaving tomorrow. I emailed my dso asking if i need to submit a new i983. They said yes but will submitting a new i983 cause delay with my STEM OPT application? All things remain the same in my i983 only change is the supervisor. Anyone went through this situation?

Was your stem opt approval delayed or did you get an RFE?

Hi, my h1b got picked this year and Fragomen filed paper filing for my petition. I am curious to know why did they do paper? Isn’t online filing more faster and efficient? I expect a receipt notice to be generated much later as compared to online filing. Anyone any thoughts?

Getting a fee charged to my Vanguard employer 401k every 3 months. Is it normal? Below is my transaction summary for June . These are the 4 line items that appear.

JUNE 2026

Plan Contribution

06/05/2026

$74.44

1.40 shares at $53.05

Fee

06/05/2026

$2.02

0.04 shares at $53.05

Plan Contribution

06/05/2026

$173.69

1.15 shares at $150.84

Fee

06/05/2026

$4.73

0.03 shares at $150.84

Edit-

Fund 1- Vanguard Institutional S&P 500 Index Fund (70%)

Expense Ratio-0.01%

Current value including gains- $5575

Fund 2- Target Retirement 2065 (30%)

Expense Ratio- 0.04%

Current value including gains- $2374

Country- India

Visa Type- H1B

Hi, has anyone booked their h1b visa appointment slot before the approval. Can I book a slot using receipt notice?

I know there has been a change in rule that you need to complete your ds160 fully before booking. That rule is as more for people who used to do placeholder. While I will fully fill the ds160 and then book.

The only thing I am concerned about is h1b start and end date which I believe can only be entered after approval. Can I just fill the dates tentatively and later after approval refill a new ds160 and take both old and new confirmation page to update at the biometrics?

I will anyways have to fill a new ds160 because I will be renewing my passport and my account has an old passport number, so along with the passport number can I also update the h1b start and end date and get the ds160 updated?

I know the start and end dates are in two place- one in ds160 and other on the us visa scheduling portal. So does submitting an updated ds160 at the biometrics will change this at both the places?

I have been really trying to look for an answer if someone has successfully done this way recently. It would be really helpful.

Thanks