Security re-vetting in 2026: why approvable I-485s stopped moving

An adjustment case can be complete, interviewed and approvable, and still not be approved. Since late April 2026 a growing number of employment-based I-485s have stalled at exactly that point, and the reason given informally is security re-vetting.

What has been reported

Immigration practitioners report that from 27 April 2026 USCIS began using an enhanced FBI fingerprint check and started re-submitting the fingerprints of pending applicants whose checks had been run before that date, holding final approval until the new results arrive. The reports describe internal guidance. At the time of writing we have not found a USCIS public notice that sets out the procedure, its scope or its expected duration, so the details should be treated as reported rather than published.

What is published is the legal basis for collecting and using biometrics, in 8 C.F.R. § 103.16, and the agency's broader 2026 approach to holds, visible in policy memoranda such as PM-602-0194. The country-based holds in those memoranda were later vacated; that litigation is covered in Dorcas v. USCIS. The re-vetting reports concern something different: a check applied by date, not by nationality.

Why it matters in a delay case

Security checks are the government's strongest answer under the fourth TRAC factor, competing priorities, and courts give them weight. A delay that is explained by a vetting step applied to everyone in the same position looks like a queue, not a lapse. That is why the TRAC analysis for an employer has to show that the case has fallen out of sequence, not merely that it is slow. Mandamus.com's page on background-check delays discusses how courts treat this argument.

What the employer can do now

• Record, for each pending I-485, the date biometrics were taken and whether an interview has occurred. Those two dates identify who is likely affected.
• Capture the posted processing time monthly. A free check such as the receipt-number review on Mandamus.com helps separate a slow case from a stuck one.
• Keep the evidence file current: inquiries, responses, and dated consequences such as an expiring work permit.
• Use the ordinary channels first, as set out in the four levers on a stalled petition. An unanswered inquiry is itself evidence.

Costing the wait

A pause with no published end date is the hardest delay to budget. The method in costing an adjudication hold applies: price the months that are already certain, then the months at risk, and set a review date rather than waiting for an announcement that may not come.

Questions

Do employees need new fingerprint appointments?

Reports indicate that USCIS generally reuses fingerprints already on file. If a new biometrics notice arrives, it should be attended; missing it can lead to denial.

Is re-vetting a valid reason for USCIS to delay?

Courts generally accept that security checks take time. They are less tolerant of a case left untouched long after checks of comparable cases have cleared.

Should an affected employee travel?

Only with valid advance parole or a qualifying H-1B or L-1 return, and after taking advice. Travel does not speed up re-vetting.

General information, not legal advice. Rules and processing practice change; verify against the agency's own published figures and take advice on your own facts.