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Immigration
EAD (WorkPermit)
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CARD BEING PRODUCED!!
Hello all,
It's finally my turn to share my timeline and experience. As of an hour ago, the status of my case is "new card is being produced." Here's my timeline and a few reommendations.
Marriage based AOS, Santa Ana, California.
Assigned to NBC.
I have an immigration attorney (you will see why this is relevant).
Feb. 28: Submitted I485, I130, I131, I765
March 4: Receipt date.
Biometrics appointment beginning of April (don't recall the exact date)
April 14: case shange to "your fingerprint review was completed"
Radio silence for months.
August 16: Lawyer submitted an expedite request for my travel permit. I am a scholar and I needed to travel to speak at several conferences in Latin America, that was the reason to expedite.
**Nothing happened with this expedite request. It showed as "completed" but I never heard anything back, neither did my lawyer. Wasn't asked to submit evidence or anything. The request just got lost in limbo. I called and spoke to Tier 2 and he said evidence should be faxed. Asked me if I faxed it, I said my lawyer was handling and I didn't know. I'm not sure what happened there, my theory is USCIS never followed-up but my lawyer didn't make the effort to reach out to them, either. The date of the conference passed so I didn't insist (naturally I couldn't travel in the end)**
Mid August: I realize I'm outside normal processing time. I tell my lawyer. My lawyer says I'm not (!!!) and that she wouldn't submit a SR. I didn't listen to her and submitted anyway on Aug. 12. I also reached out to my local representatives and senators but they had a waiting time of 45 days. I never got them to help me.
SR was never assigned for processing either.
I chatted with a rep through Emma and called USCIS many, many times during this period. It was never helpful.
September 10: I decide to submit an expedite request for my EAD on my own, not involving my lawyer. I did it by chatting with a rep through Emma. The rep only asked me for the category of the expedite, I said "severe financial loss to person," and she didn't ask me for any more details.
September 12: Status changed to "my expedite request was received"
September 13 (today): My expedite request was assigned to an officer, completed, and "response was sent".
Later in the same day: "My new card is being produced".
This was my journey. It was very painful and stressful. I had to stop working in May because my old EAD expired (F1, OPT). SO I was without income for amny months. It was painful but it is now the past.
Here's my advice: FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS. Push USCIS, call them, send SRs, expedite requests, everything in your power to make them DECIDE YOUR CASE. Don't just wait it out, you could be waiting forever. Action is key.
If you have a lawyer, and you're unhappy with their advice, just don't take it. My lawyer didn't really fight for me. Told me not to send SRs, told me I just had to wait it out, didn't even recommend I submit an expedite request, I did it on my own (which in the end is what got me the EAD). In my experience, doing all this won't delay your case. It can't hurt to do it. Just go ahead and try to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN FOR YOURSELF. Be pushy and ignore any advice of inaction that your lawyer may give you (listen to your lawyer in crucial matters, but when it comes to getting your EAD, most of them are clueless, you have to do it for yourself). Seek advice of people who got their EADs approved recently. Look at this forum often (It helped me immensely).
If you're outside normal processing times, SEND AN EXPEDITE REQUEST. In my case, they didn't ask for evidence, but I had it ready just in case. I had all my bills, rent, student loan payments, car payments, a job offer, and a letter from my employer saying they needed to hire me ASAP. You probably don't need all this, but the more you have, the better. Again, I was never asked to submit it. I can't stress this enough: send an expedite request if you're outside normal processing time!!! It will bring attention to your case and, who knows, you may get a good immigration officer like the one I got and he or she will approve your case very quickly.
The waiting is horrible, and it's inhumane what they're doing with us who just want to work in America and be productive. But you gotta fight it. Don't lose hope. I was desperate, and then this happened, and I'm out of the woods. So keep at it, you will get there, but you gotta take action. As my favorite athor said: “Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real. It is possible. It's yours.”
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have to help you out with your cases.
Good luck to all.
It's finally my turn to share my timeline and experience. As of an hour ago, the status of my case is "new card is being produced." Here's my timeline and a few reommendations.
Marriage based AOS, Santa Ana, California.
Assigned to NBC.
I have an immigration attorney (you will see why this is relevant).
Feb. 28: Submitted I485, I130, I131, I765
March 4: Receipt date.
Biometrics appointment beginning of April (don't recall the exact date)
April 14: case shange to "your fingerprint review was completed"
Radio silence for months.
August 16: Lawyer submitted an expedite request for my travel permit. I am a scholar and I needed to travel to speak at several conferences in Latin America, that was the reason to expedite.
**Nothing happened with this expedite request. It showed as "completed" but I never heard anything back, neither did my lawyer. Wasn't asked to submit evidence or anything. The request just got lost in limbo. I called and spoke to Tier 2 and he said evidence should be faxed. Asked me if I faxed it, I said my lawyer was handling and I didn't know. I'm not sure what happened there, my theory is USCIS never followed-up but my lawyer didn't make the effort to reach out to them, either. The date of the conference passed so I didn't insist (naturally I couldn't travel in the end)**
Mid August: I realize I'm outside normal processing time. I tell my lawyer. My lawyer says I'm not (!!!) and that she wouldn't submit a SR. I didn't listen to her and submitted anyway on Aug. 12. I also reached out to my local representatives and senators but they had a waiting time of 45 days. I never got them to help me.
SR was never assigned for processing either.
I chatted with a rep through Emma and called USCIS many, many times during this period. It was never helpful.
September 10: I decide to submit an expedite request for my EAD on my own, not involving my lawyer. I did it by chatting with a rep through Emma. The rep only asked me for the category of the expedite, I said "severe financial loss to person," and she didn't ask me for any more details.
September 12: Status changed to "my expedite request was received"
September 13 (today): My expedite request was assigned to an officer, completed, and "response was sent".
Later in the same day: "My new card is being produced".
This was my journey. It was very painful and stressful. I had to stop working in May because my old EAD expired (F1, OPT). SO I was without income for amny months. It was painful but it is now the past.
Here's my advice: FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS. Push USCIS, call them, send SRs, expedite requests, everything in your power to make them DECIDE YOUR CASE. Don't just wait it out, you could be waiting forever. Action is key.
If you have a lawyer, and you're unhappy with their advice, just don't take it. My lawyer didn't really fight for me. Told me not to send SRs, told me I just had to wait it out, didn't even recommend I submit an expedite request, I did it on my own (which in the end is what got me the EAD). In my experience, doing all this won't delay your case. It can't hurt to do it. Just go ahead and try to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN FOR YOURSELF. Be pushy and ignore any advice of inaction that your lawyer may give you (listen to your lawyer in crucial matters, but when it comes to getting your EAD, most of them are clueless, you have to do it for yourself). Seek advice of people who got their EADs approved recently. Look at this forum often (It helped me immensely).
If you're outside normal processing times, SEND AN EXPEDITE REQUEST. In my case, they didn't ask for evidence, but I had it ready just in case. I had all my bills, rent, student loan payments, car payments, a job offer, and a letter from my employer saying they needed to hire me ASAP. You probably don't need all this, but the more you have, the better. Again, I was never asked to submit it. I can't stress this enough: send an expedite request if you're outside normal processing time!!! It will bring attention to your case and, who knows, you may get a good immigration officer like the one I got and he or she will approve your case very quickly.
The waiting is horrible, and it's inhumane what they're doing with us who just want to work in America and be productive. But you gotta fight it. Don't lose hope. I was desperate, and then this happened, and I'm out of the woods. So keep at it, you will get there, but you gotta take action. As my favorite athor said: “Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real. It is possible. It's yours.”
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have to help you out with your cases.
Good luck to all.
All Replies (12)
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