Impact of RFE on EAD?

[CurbsideProphet 0]

Friends. What is the impact of an AOS request for evidence on the approval timeline for the EAD? We received our AOS NOA1 on May 1 and an RFE for birth certificate translation on May 16. We responded to the RFE and someone in DHS signed for our response on May 26, so we have proof that they received it.

Today we received our AP in the mail (hooray!), but I'm wondering if the RFE is going to delay processing of our EAD. (Good Lord, how many acronyms can one post have?!)

I asked a similar question about a month ago but the responses had to do with how long it took to resume normal processing (evidently it took about 2 weeks). But does the processing timeline for the EAD start again from zero after an RFE? That is, can we expect to have it within 90 days of May 1, our original NOA date, or will it take 90 days from May 26, the date that DHS signed for our response to the RFE?

Thanks so much for your help.

[Otto 83]

Time for more acronym-soup...

The RFE for your AOS does (according to USCIS) put your EAD on 'hold' until such time that you respond to the RFE. Once you've responded (and with what they wanted), processing resumes both on the AOS and EAD. (EAD processing does not 'start over' but merely is released to continue processing - from what ever stage it was in.)

In most cases (ours too) the delay was hardly even noticeable since we responded to the RFE very quickly (coincidently, our RFE was for translated BC just like you).

[CurbsideProphet 0]

Time for more acronym-soup...

The RFE for your AOS does (according to USCIS) put your EAD on 'hold' until such time that you respond to the RFE. Once you've responded (and with what they wanted), processing resumes both on the AOS and EAD. (EAD processing does not 'start over' but merely is released to continue processing - from what ever stage it was in.)

In most cases (ours too) the delay was hardly even noticeable since we responded to the RFE very quickly (coincidently, our RFE was for translated BC just like you).

Fabulous news all around. Thanks much.

[Kinito_2k3 5]

Time for more acronym-soup...

The RFE for your AOS does (according to USCIS) put your EAD on 'hold' until such time that you respond to the RFE. Once you've responded (and with what they wanted), processing resumes both on the AOS and EAD. (EAD processing does not 'start over' but merely is released to continue processing - from what ever stage it was in.)

In most cases (ours too) the delay was hardly even noticeable since we responded to the RFE very quickly (coincidently, our RFE was for translated BC just like you).

Yes same here

[Eric-Pris 1,606]

it may or may not affect EAD; my step daughters received an RFE for medical and the EAD's a couple days later.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Friends. What is the impact of an AOS request for evidence on the approval timeline for the EAD? We received our AOS NOA1 on May 1 and an RFE for birth certificate translation on May 16. We responded to the RFE and someone in DHS signed for our response on May 26, so we have proof that they received it.

Today we received our AP in the mail (hooray!), but I'm wondering if the RFE is going to delay processing of our EAD. (Good Lord, how many acronyms can one post have?!)

I asked a similar question about a month ago but the responses had to do with how long it took to resume normal processing (evidently it took about 2 weeks). But does the processing timeline for the EAD start again from zero after an RFE? That is, can we expect to have it within 90 days of May 1, our original NOA date, or will it take 90 days from May 26, the date that DHS signed for our response to the RFE?

Thanks so much for your help.

If the EAD was filed concurrently with the AOS, everything is on hold until the RFE is satisfied and the case resumes processing. The EAD in this case is derivitive of the AOS

[JeremyR 8]

(EAD processing does not 'start over' but merely is released to continue processing - from what ever stage it was in.)

Attack of the pedantic semantics coming up

Whilst they don't start processing your case over from the beginning, an I-485 RFE can technically 'reset' the 90 day time limit to approve the EAD. That is what USCIS told me when I complained that I was outside the normal processing time.

Looking back at my timeline, I got an I-485 RFE for a problem with the Affidavit a couple of weeks after NOA1. It took maybe a week after the CRIS email telling me that the case was on hold for the RFE to arrive in the mail, another week to sort it out the docs and get the response delivered to USCIS and maybe another 10 days or so for the case status to update to 'case processing resumed'. So the 'on hold' time was a little over three weeks or so. The case processing resumed approximately 5 weeks after the NOA1 date

When the 90 day processing time for the EAD passed (taking into account the days when the case was on hold), I got onto them an initiated a 'service request' (which we all know rarely gets you anywhere fast). When I got the response a few days later, it was a fairly blunt and very short note indicating that my case was not outside normal processing time in their opinion and that the processing time frame for an EAD is 90 days from acceptance or 90 days from receipt of a response to a request for initial evidence, if applicable. I'm paraphrasing a bit there because I don't have the SR response to hand but that was gist of it.

End result: the total wait time for my EAD was 133 days from NOA1 and 'coincidentally' just over 90 days from the date that case processing resumed after the RFE.

I totally appreciate that for most people, this doesn't happen - it certainly seems rare to find someone on VJ who waited for their EAD as long as I did but an RFE can reset the 90 day processing time. I'll try and dig out the service request response where USCIS stated so in a bit and post it here...

What follows is nothing more than conjecture but I suspect it has to do with the type of RFE. I had a second one on my I-485 just before the EAD was issued and that one certainly didn't affect the EAD processing beyond putting it on hold until the response was received. However, the first RFE was a request for initial evidence, the second was a request for additional evidence. I wonder if this is what makes the difference, considering that a request for initial evidence would normally be sent within a few weeks of the NOA1 date???

[Josunbaba 0]

(EAD processing does not 'start over' but merely is released to continue processing - from what ever stage it was in.)

Attack of the pedantic semantics coming up

Whilst they don't start processing your case over from the beginning, an I-485 RFE can technically 'reset' the 90 day time limit to approve the EAD. That is what USCIS told me when I complained that I was outside the normal processing time.

Looking back at my timeline, I got an I-485 RFE for a problem with the Affidavit a couple of weeks after NOA1. It took maybe a week after the CRIS email telling me that the case was on hold for the RFE to arrive in the mail, another week to sort it out the docs and get the response delivered to USCIS and maybe another 10 days or so for the case status to update to 'case processing resumed'. So the 'on hold' time was a little over three weeks or so. The case processing resumed approximately 5 weeks after the NOA1 date

When the 90 day processing time for the EAD passed (taking into account the days when the case was on hold), I got onto them an initiated a 'service request' (which we all know rarely gets you anywhere fast). When I got the response a few days later, it was a fairly blunt and very short note indicating that my case was not outside normal processing time in their opinion and that the processing time frame for an EAD is 90 days from acceptance or 90 days from receipt of a response to a request for initial evidence, if applicable. I'm paraphrasing a bit there because I don't have the SR response to hand but that was gist of it.

End result: the total wait time for my EAD was 133 days from NOA1 and 'coincidentally' just over 90 days from the date that case processing resumed after the RFE.

I totally appreciate that for most people, this doesn't happen - it certainly seems rare to find someone on VJ who waited for their EAD as long as I did but an RFE can reset the 90 day processing time. I'll try and dig out the service request response where USCIS stated so in a bit and post it here...

What follows is nothing more than conjecture but I suspect it has to do with the type of RFE. I had a second one on my I-485 just before the EAD was issued and that one certainly didn't affect the EAD processing beyond putting it on hold until the response was received. However, the first RFE was a request for initial evidence, the second was a request for additional evidence. I wonder if this is what makes the difference, considering that a request for initial evidence would normally be sent within a few weeks of the NOA1 date???

Same here. The customer service agent told me if they request for INITIAL evidence, the process will stop and will start over again after they reccive you evidence. For me, it was a month delay for the EAD and AP.

[Otto 83]

End result: the total wait time for my EAD was 133 days from NOA1 and 'coincidentally' just over 90 days from the date that case processing resumed after the RFE.

I totally appreciate that for most people, this doesn't happen - it certainly seems rare to find someone on VJ who waited for their EAD as long as I did but an RFE can reset the 90 day processing time. I'll try and dig out the service request response where USCIS stated so in a bit and post it here...

Incidentally - have seen folks wait as long as you (more or less) for their EAD to be approved and never got an RFE for AOS - go figure..