I need to have my EAD within 60 days!

[rimini 4]

Hi!

Me and my same-sex husband got married in Seattle on July 1, 2013!!!!! YEEEH!. We had been together for 4 years and were planning our travel back to Europe, where we would have had to restart our life from scratch...after we had already bought a home in Dallas, got a job and made so many friends here. Then on June 26, 2013, we could not believe our ears when we heard that DOMA was finally repealed and we were able to get married in the US and actually have a family in Texas! It was on that very same day that I also officially came out to all my family in Italy, to my boss in Dallas and also told everybody I was going to get married the following week! In fact, a week later we jumped on a plane to Washington State and finally got married on July 1, 2013! It was awesome!

Then we decided to work through the process of the green card. Unfortunately we were only able to come up with the money to pay both the lawyer and the filing fees in October 2013 and not earlier.

Our lawyer also waited until the end of October 2013 to send all paperwork to USCIS.

Now it occurs to me that DOMA was just the tip of the iceberg of a series of problems that keep being an obstacle between me and my husband as we are trying to finally have a family together. I thought the repeal of DOMA would end years of frustration for me and my husband... apparently we still have to take in more....

My Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization is due to expire on December 12, 2013 and our lawyer sent out the following forms on October 28, 2013:

I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative)

I-485 (Adjustment of Status)

I-131 (Application for Travel Document)

I-765 (Employment Authorization)

Now, I currently have a good job in Dallas that provides for both of us. My husband also has income, which was enough to prove the financial support of the family... although the biggest chunk of finances actually comes from my job.

Our lawyer told us that once it is past December 12, 2013, I will have to stay home and do absolutely nothing because I will not be able to renew my driver's license and I will also be unauthorized to work until I will receive a "work authorization card" in the mail. They said it may take up to 90 days (that is, it will take until January 28, 2014!).

There is no doubt we will incur financial hardship over the period between December 12 and the day I will receive the work authorization card. Would it be possible to expedite the I-765 process and at least be able to receive the card before the end of the year rather than the end of January? I entered the information in the VisaJourney Timeline and it shows I should receive the work authorization card between December 28 and December 31, 2013. How reliable is this tool?

Thank you so much in advance for your support!

[Boiler 45,525]

You can see how long others are taking to get their card, no need to have used a Lawyer but too late now.

How long you will take, well 80 days or so is the usual guess.

You can certainly try for an expedite.

[devo6786 10]

There is something your lawyer should have sent with the package (Im sorry, I can't remember what my wife called it, she is a lawyer and did all of the paperwork), but it was basically asking for her EAD and authorization to travel be expedited. Again, this is something your lawyer should have told you about and sent in with the package. Not sure if you can send it in after the fact.

We are also a gay couple, just for reference. We filed out paperwork at the end of July 2013 and just got her green card a little over a week ago. So it took about 3 months from beginning to end (sent in the package, biometrics, then my wife had to get her medical exam as we didn't know she needed too and we got an RFE, then she got her EAD card shortly after (as well as authorization to travel), a month later we had our interview and got the green card approved same day). She had already had a SS#, so once we got the EAD card we went to the DMV 3 days later and got her ID in the mail within 5 business days.