L2 EAD expedite request approval rate

[chandan6025]

Hi,
We are awaiting the L2 EAD approval so that my wife can start working in US. I came to know about the expedite request channel to speed up approval process . The current processing time at Vermont center shows 5 months to 13 months .

I am curious to know on the success rate of this expedite route i.e. what are the chances that one can expect a speed approval, and if so then how many days does it take for expedite approval.

Thanks in advance !

[Gina1808]

Hi. There are 4 official reasons to file an expedite request. 3 of them (humanitarian, national interest and USCIS error) are fairly self explanatory and don't seem to apply to your case (wife wants to start working). The fourth is financial loss, and has two sub-categories: personal and employer. The personal sub should be interpreted as financial hardship (unability to pay bills etc) and requires evidence like bills coming due and low bank balances.
In short, expediting an L2 EAD under personal financial loss category is just about impossible. L2s are L1 dependents, and the premise of approving the primary application is that the dependents can be supported financially. Majority of L2 and H4 expedites under financial loss get rejected right away. Sometimes, if the case sounds very compelling (usually when L1 salary is not sufficient, eg with huge medical bills), the officers will request evidence (bills, bank statements etc proving hardship). In that case, waiting time is about 5 days to 2 weeks after submitting evidence, and the decision is still at the officer's discretion.
So overall, while you can try, make sure you have a good case first. I didn't bother because I know mine would be rejected.

An alternative route you should consider is asking for your Senator or Congressperson's help. For a standalone EAD application (no pending I-539), a job offer is usually enough for them to inquire ((no guarantees that 1) they will want to help you and 2) them reaching out to USCIS will actually do anything)). But this is still more likely to work for L2 than a USCIS expedite request. If you need more info about how to reach out to your rep, please let me know.

My initial L2 EAD and the first renewal were processed in Vermont. The turnaround was the smaller value of the published processing range at the time of application submission +2 to 4 weeks.

Make sure to sign up for USPS Informed delivery. That way, you can make sure mail doesn't get lost. USPS sent my first EAD back and you certainly do not want for that to happen.

Hope this helps. Sorry to sound so negative, but unfortunately this is the USCIS reality.