AOS and EAD... what a NIGHTMARE... :(

[Impala 0]

My wife arrived from Russia on March 11, we got married March 16th. At the middle of April, we submitted the I-765 EAD and I-465 AOS papers. Receipt dates were April 28.

After several "lost" mailings from the USCIS, we finally got an interview for the AOS, at July 20th (didn't have biometrics done yet). The interviewer approved our case, arranged for the biometrics the same day. He promised we'd have the residency card within about a month. It's now October 17, and USCIS still has the same message, saying their last written notice was returned in May 17 as "undeliverable," a blatant lie...

The I-765 was approved on August 28, but never arrived... We waited, and we waited......... and we waited some more. After more than a dozen phone calls to the USCIS, we just received a notice saying "it must have been lost in the mail, you need to submit a NEW I-765, along with the ~$200. In other words, we need to start the process all over again, from the beginning....

My wife- a serious go-getter, has been going absolutely crazy, because she can't work legally... She's now so disgusted that she is seriously thinking about going back to Russia, because my lovely government won't allow her to work, to have a life, to do anything at all, except sit in the house, and wait for me to come home from work...

The immigration attorneys that I hired initially (Holmes and Lolly) have been utterly useless- they simply advise to keep waiting... I just sent them a scathing letter, saying (in effect) to get off of their fat behinds, and DO SOMETHING....

Has anybody else gone through a similar situation...? And how were able to resolve this?

Because, at this point, I'm ready to kick some @ss, and not bother to take names...

[raymaga 25]

Did your wife get the I-551 stamp in her passport after the AOS interview? If so, she is completely legal to work and travel, even without having received the GC (for a period of one year, I believe).

After the AOS is approved, the EAD is no longer required. The GC is all that is needed to work and travel.

Maybe you should make an InfoPass appointment and take all your documentation with you and explain the situation and see if they can do anything to help you out.

Good luck.

[Impala 0]

Did your wife get the I-551 stamp in her passport after the AOS interview? If so, she is completely legal to work and travel, even without having received the GC (for a period of one year, I believe).

After the AOS is approved, the EAD is no longer required. The GC is all that is needed to work and travel.

Maybe you should make an InfoPass appointment and take all your documentation with you and explain the situation and see if they can do anything to help you out.

Good luck.

No, the officer did NOT put a stamp in her passport...

We've made several trips to the local office (they're only 10 minutes away), and their attitude is "don't BOTHER us with things like facts, or questions about where the EAD is, or anything else..."

The San Jose, CA office is populated by very rude and unhelpful people... (who, I might add, seem somewhat intellectually challenged... )

[raymaga 25]

Sorry to hear that the local office has been no help to you. You could perhaps get your congressman to look into this for you. What has the local office suggested that you do in order to get the GC problem resolved?

I don't have any other suggestions to offer, except that I wouldn't be too worried about the EAD, I'd be more concerned about getting the GC issue settled because the EAD is no longer necessary if the AOS has been approved.

Hope you can get this settled soon.

Edited October 18, 2006 by raymaga

[zxed 0]

My wife arrived from Russia on March 11, we got married March 16th. At the middle of April, we submitted the I-765 EAD and I-465 AOS papers. Receipt dates were April 28.

After several "lost" mailings from the USCIS, we finally got an interview for the AOS, at July 20th (didn't have biometrics done yet). The interviewer approved our case, arranged for the biometrics the same day. He promised we'd have the residency card within about a month. It's now October 17, and USCIS still has the same message, saying their last written notice was returned in May 17 as "undeliverable," a blatant lie...

The I-765 was approved on August 28, but never arrived... We waited, and we waited......... and we waited some more. After more than a dozen phone calls to the USCIS, we just received a notice saying "it must have been lost in the mail, you need to submit a NEW I-765, along with the ~$200. In other words, we need to start the process all over again, from the beginning....

My wife- a serious go-getter, has been going absolutely crazy, because she can't work legally... She's now so disgusted that she is seriously thinking about going back to Russia, because my lovely government won't allow her to work, to have a life, to do anything at all, except sit in the house, and wait for me to come home from work...

The immigration attorneys that I hired initially (Holmes and Lolly) have been utterly useless- they simply advise to keep waiting... I just sent them a scathing letter, saying (in effect) to get off of their fat behinds, and DO SOMETHING....

Has anybody else gone through a similar situation...? And how were able to resolve this?

Because, at this point, I'm ready to kick some @ss, and not bother to take names...

contact your congressman.woman., drop it of personally and speak to the director who will handle the immigration matter.. that will get you results..

do not call the NSC, do not call your lawyer., you are wasting your time.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

There is no point in asking at infopass about your EAD you should be more worried about your greencard....

I would make another infopass appointment and enquire about your greencard..... if you were approved why have you not recieved your welcome letter or Greencard, that would be the question to ask.....

Kezzie

[aidan80 9]

After several "lost" mailings from the USCIS, we finally got an interview for the AOS, at July 20th (didn't have biometrics done yet). The interviewer approved our case, arranged for the biometrics the same day. He promised we'd have the residency card within about a month. It's now October 17, and USCIS still has the same message, saying their last written notice was returned in May 17 as "undeliverable," a blatant lie...

The I-765 was approved on August 28, but never arrived... We waited, and we waited......... and we waited some more. After more than a dozen phone calls to the USCIS, we just received a notice saying "it must have been lost in the mail, you need to submit a NEW I-765, along with the ~$200. In other words, we need to start the process all over again, from the beginning....

Has anybody else gone through a similar situation...? And how were able to resolve this?

Because, at this point, I'm ready to kick some @ss, and not bother to take names...

This just might be a stab in the dark but, is you’re name on your mailbox? Just made me think of when we checked our case status online one day and found a message to the effect of “the card or document that we sent out was returned”.. We couldn’t understand it!

Long story short, we found out that not having our name on the mailbox could result in USPS returning mail from USCIS, which is exactly what they did. It took 2 months a few sticky letters on the mail box and an infopass appointment in order to get the EAD.

I agree 110% with what other people here have said, if you’re wife was approved her AOS I’d ignore the EAD and worry about the Green Card.

Just an idea, I could well be wrong here.

Good Luck!

[makidesuu 0]

When you checked at infopass, did you check your status (I-485)? I think it is still pending since your finger print has not been taken at the biometrics for EAD. From my understanding, your finger print has to be taken at biometrics for FBI fingerprint check, then the result is to be sent to USCIS. Since you have been approved for GC interview, your officer still needs FBI fingerprint check and FBI name check. I think you will have to make an appointment (application process?) for the EAD.

[maya62 7]

There is no point in asking at infopass about your EAD you should be more worried about your greencard....

I would make another infopass appointment and enquire about your greencard..... if you were approved why have you not recieved your welcome letter or Greencard, that would be the question to ask.....

Kezzie

Amen!! The heck with the EAD... where's the greencard????

Yes, make another Infopass and find out!

Maya

[Peter Miami 0]

Make an infopass appointment and find out about the GC.

Peter Miami

[twellspeak 0]

Did your wife file her documents in her married or maiden name? Whichever it was, that is the name you need on your mailbox.

[Miranda&James 8]

Talk to your Congressman! From what you say your story is absolutely absurd (on the part of USCIS) and you need to get some higher ups to make something happen!!

[Impala 0]

Talk to your Congressman! From what you say your story is absolutely absurd (on the part of USCIS) and you need to get some higher ups to make something happen!!

To answer a few questions:

Yes, we got a biometrics appointment for her AOS. We also got not one, but two different appointments for her EAD, before it was "lost."

We have an apartment in San Jose, CA. With current prices for a 3-bedroom/2-bath house in the $750K range, it's pretty much the way it is, here, unless you're independantly wealthy... Which means no names on any of the mailboxes.

And yes, she did file in her married name.

Now the conversation between her and I has degenerated into her saying "I can't live like this..."

I can't believe the USCIS could screw up my life SOOO bad.....

[Impala 0]

My wife arrived from Russia on March 11, we got married March 16th. At the middle of April, we submitted the I-765 EAD and I-465 AOS papers. Receipt dates were April 28.

After several "lost" mailings from the USCIS, we finally got an interview for the AOS, at July 20th (didn't have biometrics done yet). The interviewer approved our case, arranged for the biometrics the same day. He promised we'd have the residency card within about a month. It's now October 17, and USCIS still has the same message, saying their last written notice was returned in May 17 as "undeliverable," a blatant lie...

The I-765 was approved on August 28, but never arrived... We waited, and we waited......... and we waited some more. After more than a dozen phone calls to the USCIS, we just received a notice saying "it must have been lost in the mail, you need to submit a NEW I-765, along with the ~$200. In other words, we need to start the process all over again, from the beginning....

My wife- a serious go-getter, has been going absolutely crazy, because she can't work legally... She's now so disgusted that she is seriously thinking about going back to Russia, because my lovely government won't allow her to work, to have a life, to do anything at all, except sit in the house, and wait for me to come home from work...

The immigration attorneys that I hired initially (Holmes and Lolly) have been utterly useless- they simply advise to keep waiting... I just sent them a scathing letter, saying (in effect) to get off of their fat behinds, and DO SOMETHING....

Has anybody else gone through a similar situation...? And how were able to resolve this?

Because, at this point, I'm ready to kick some @ss, and not bother to take names...

contact your congressman.woman., drop it of personally and speak to the director who will handle the immigration matter.. that will get you results..

do not call the NSC, do not call your lawyer., you are wasting your time.

An update... A bit late, but it's finally done.

As you suggested, I wrote my congressman (actually, the liberal-elitist congresswoman Zoe Lofgren ). Her staffers started an investigation, to determine what happened.

After my wife did her biometrics (and they lost her passport), her file simply... disappeared from the San Jose office.

DHS never took action, because they never received the biometrics information. So a new appointment was made, and we went through them again. This time, they were delivered to DHS, within two weeks.

Later, a full investigation was started, because while the biometrics may have been lost, the ONLY way the entire file could simply vanish was by the intentional actions of someone within the office where biometrics are taken.

Around the end of January, we received word that DHS had received the information, and that they would give us a reply in due time. Mid-February, my wife received her green-card.

Some things to remember, if you have problems:

1. IF you have problems, don't wait after the required period. CALL your Congressman.

2. When you call your congressman (or visit their office), bring *every* document you have. The more information they have, the faster the results will be.

3. Don't even BOTHER to make a complaint through DHS/INS/ICE (whatever the incompetant fools want to call themselves this week). They'll make a case number, promise to have an answer for you within 30 days... And you'll never hear from them again.

4. Be patient, but be FIRM. Have all of your documents in order, and stay focused. Do NOT let emotion get in the way of your discussions with your Congressman.

5. DO NOT GIVE UP.

Good luck to you all.

[StormnRolly 0]

I am pleased to see that everything finally worked out for you both. I pray that removing the conditions goes much better for you then this part of your journey did. Best wishes

Kristina