“Case Was Approved” on Your I-485: What It Means

In the I-485 stages (Decision): USCIS orders and sends the decision notice. For an approved case, a welcome notice may follow.^[5]

USCIS approved the specific form on that receipt number.^[3][2]

It does not always mean the final immigration outcome has occurred.^[3]

Sources disagree. USCIS publishes no definition for H008. Treat the code as a likely sign of approval and rely on your notice.^[6]

Watch for “New Card Is Being Produced”, which the cited memo calls the approval update for an I-485.^[2]

For how long cases usually take, see USCIS processing times. We do not state a timeline on this page.

Make sure your address on file is current. If the tool says an approval notice was mailed and you have not received it, USCIS says to submit an e-Request.^[4]

• H008Likely approval

H008 is not in the NIEM code list. A redacted capture in a case-tracker project pairs H008 with the status title “Case Approved”, so H008 is read as approval, but a user reports repeated H008 rows without an approval, so it is strong but not certain.^[6][7]

This page covers the I-485. Read the general page for this message or follow the whole case on the I-485 Tracker.

• I-485 Tracker
• I-140 Tracking
• H-1B Status Tracker
• Track EAD Status
• H-4 EAD Status Check