March 202 filers

[Mmesa]

Mine has not updated yet, but the ASC will start open next week. When is your ASC opened? I think you will receive an update after the biometric is done.

Hey there,

Tbh, I was really hoping for an EAD reply BEFORE the biometrics, considering :
- the enormous delay on our applications
- the fact they have done virtually (almost) nothing for the last 3 months
- the fact they might close again 2 weeks after reopening (covid-19 & money related)
- the fact we paid a lot and are trapped in this country with no possibility to work or travel to our families.
- the fact a lady from USCIS told me on the phone last time that biometrics are not mandatory for the approval of EAD/AP at the moment (is it right? I don't know)

But yeah, what was I expecting... Let's just wait a little longer haha
Good luck everyone!

ps : am in Miami, the ASC reopens on the 13th, but covid cases are exploding around here...

[ldinh91]

Hey there,

Tbh, I was really hoping for an EAD reply BEFORE the biometrics, considering :
- the enormous delay on our applications
- the fact they have done virtually (almost) nothing for the last 3 months
- the fact they might close again 2 weeks after reopening (covid-19 & money related)
- the fact we paid a lot and are trapped in this country with no possibility to work or travel to our families.
- the fact a lady from USCIS told me on the phone last time that biometrics are not mandatory for the approval of EAD/AP at the moment (is it right? I don't know)

But yeah, what was I expecting... Let's just wait a little longer haha
Good luck everyone!

ps : am in Miami, the ASC reopens on the 13th, but covid cases are exploding around here...

I contacted the customer service today again. And he/she replied "The Contact Center will reach out to each office when an appointment is required for an emergent service. To help ensure the Contact Centers are able to schedule the appointments as needed, the Field offices are asked to reduce the amount of appointment availability. This helps the Contact Center with the ability to schedule and it doesn’t require the field office to continuously open appointment slots."

Does anyone know what it means?

[ldinh91]

Also guys,

My friend shared me a news saying that "In mid-June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ contract ended with the company that had been printing these documents. Production was slated to be insourced, but “the agency’s financial situation,” USCIS said Thursday, prompted a hiring freeze that required it to ratchet down printing.

Of the two facilities where these credentials were printed, one, in Corbin, Ky., shut down production three weeks ago. The other facility, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., appears to be operating at reduced capacity.

Some 50,000 green cards and 75,000 other employment authorization documents promised to immigrants haven’t been printed, USCIS said in a statement. The agency said it had planned to escalate printing but that it “cannot speculate on future projections of processing times.” In the event of furloughs — which the agency has threatened if it does not get a $1.2 billion loan from Congress — “all agency operations will be affected.”


Source: Washington Post

Should we be worried if the cards are not being produced?

[Mmesa]

Also guys,

My friend shared me a news saying that "In mid-June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ contract ended with the company that had been printing these documents. Production was slated to be insourced, but “the agency’s financial situation,” USCIS said Thursday, prompted a hiring freeze that required it to ratchet down printing.

Of the two facilities where these credentials were printed, one, in Corbin, Ky., shut down production three weeks ago. The other facility, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., appears to be operating at reduced capacity.

Some 50,000 green cards and 75,000 other employment authorization documents promised to immigrants haven’t been printed, USCIS said in a statement. The agency said it had planned to escalate printing but that it “cannot speculate on future projections of processing times.” In the event of furloughs — which the agency has threatened if it does not get a $1.2 billion loan from Congress — “all agency operations will be affected.”


Source: Washington Post

Should we be worried if the cards are not being produced?

Hi there,

I was literally just reading about this and stunned by yet another "hey we did not say anything, but we did not do anything" case...
Am really starting to think we're pretty f **** unless there's a big change in November -which won't be immediate anyway - and am quite worried about what's gonna happen to all our pending applications in case USCIS completely crashes.

My gut tells me, as always when a company has to suddenly shut down, we're just gonna be (non compensated) collateral damages.

But there is a little bit of fun in "we did not print the cards that were approved cause we're short on money #sorrynotsorry #giveusabillion", I mean if you're not waiting on these people to decide if your life's worth living.

[danny32]

I'm not worried about this at all. All it means is there will be delays and honestly at this point I don't care about delays. I just want our case to move forward without any hassle. I hope we get biometric appointments in next 3 weeks. Our ACS in Southern California is re-opening on 7/20 and their appointments are wide open for next two weeks (they only show 2 weeks for booking an appointment). So I'm hoping that within couple of weeks after opening they will start sending out appointment letters.

[ciculove]

Did anyone receive any Biometric Letters? I understand my field office San Jose just opened on July 13th, just wondering.

[Mmesa]

Did anyone receive any Biometric Letters? I understand my field office San Jose just opened on July 13th, just wondering.

Nope... nothing as usual
Good luck!

[APY]

I thought I'd contribute to the community regarding how I obtained my work permit a bit faster.

Timeline for i-765:
- 03/31/2020: Case was received
- 06/15/2020: Case was approved
- 06/22/2020: New card is being produced
- 06/22/2020: Fingerprint review was completed
- 06/13/2020: Card was mailed

Timeline for i-485:
- 03/31/2020: Case was received
- 03/31/2020: Fingerprint fee was received
- 06/23/2020: Fingerprint review was completed
- 07/03/2020: Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview

As you can see on my i-765 timeline, it is not the standard order of steps.

I decided to apply for an expedited review of my i-765 application once it became clear that I wasn't going to receive a card by the time my new job started. I read online that healthcare workers that are involved in COVID-19 care were getting approved with better chances, so I gave it a shot.

I called my local congressional office. They were super helpful and submitted the request on my behalf. I gave them a copy of my job contract/offer as well as a letter from my employer detailing my role.

The case was approved 06/15/2020 BUT all centers for biometrics were closed with no end in sight.

I called my congressional office once again. I also decided to file a claim with the CIS Ombudsman. Both contacted USCIS and I received a call from my local USCIS office pretty soon after that - the officer told me to come for fingerprinting the next business day.

I went, got my fingerprints taken and then waited for the card. The process from "card was sent for printing" until "card was mailed" was way longer than what I was quoted, but I'm not complaining since they were very helpful with getting the case approved faster.

I wish you all the best of luck.

[aph]

Updates...anyone?

[Mmesa]

ps : so I reset my account, hoping this would meant something have happened on my case : nope. Nothing.

(And my old password, the one I typed "unsuccessfully" too many times, was refused during resetting because flagged as... my old password... #lol )

[Gcapplicant2019]

Well wow.. I was about to reply "nothing", and I checked one more time just to see : my account has been locked !

Do anyone have issues consulting their case status today or is it just me?
The message is :

"Account Locked
Your account has been locked for one of the following reasons:

• Account inactivity.
• Too many unsuccessful login attempts.
  Select Forgot User Name or Password and follow the instructions to reset your password."

I obviously logged in everyday and never forgot my password or my user name...

This happens to me a lot, just try to change your password and everything should be fine.

[Mmesa]

Hello everyone,

Little "up" message for this thread.
Anyone got any news regarding EAD/AP?

I checked the processing times and it's now 4 to 6 months for concurrent Asylum or I485, and 4.5 to 6.5 months for employment based.
The PD to file an enquiry is Feb 3 or January 13 depending on the category.

I also read an article where USCIS was announcing an EAD processing time around 4.5 months for 2020, said it's still less than in 2018 or 19.
All we have to do now is wait a little more, at least until we can finally send an official request about it.

Have a good day!!

M

[danny32]

Hello everyone,

Little "up" message for this thread.
Anyone got any news regarding EAD/AP?

I checked the processing times and it's now 4 to 6 months for concurrent Asylum or I485, and 4.5 to 6.5 months for employment based.
The PD to file an enquiry is Feb 3 or January 13 depending on the category.

I also read an article where USCIS was announcing an EAD processing time around 4.5 months for 2020, said it's still less than in 2018 or 19.
All we have to do now is wait a little more, at least until we can finally send an official request about it.

Have a good day!!

M

Processing times doesn’t really matter since we haven’t had our biometrics. I wouldn’t bother sending a request because I think it would useless but to each his own.

I’m betting that we will receive biometrics appointments in next 3 weeks, have them done by late August/early September and receive EAD/AP by December. This is the best case scenario in my view.

[Mmesa]

Processing times doesn’t really matter since we haven’t had our biometrics. I wouldn’t bother sending a request because I think it would useless but to each his own.

I’m betting that we will receive biometrics appointments in next 3 weeks, have them done by late August/early September and receive EAD/AP by December. This is the best case scenario in my view.

Well I don't see how "useless" it would be if these requests are actually MADE for that : For you telling them "hey guys, it's about time you work on my case!".
It might help us at least get biometric appointments and cards faster than your predictions... There are several people who (mostly after expediting), even without biometrics, got their EAD approved...
So I don't know, I just hope we are not stuck for the next 6 months.

[Mmesa]

ps : Oh wow, USCIS updated and refunded their website! that's a lot of work... and money!