Successful expedite of EAD/AP

[Ejoriah 4]

Hi everyone, I want to share my story in case it helps anyone. I a Mauritian citizen on an F-1 visa since 2010. I am adjusting my status following my marriage to a USC. I am currently in grad school and am scheduled to go abroad for research in my home country this month.

I booked the tickets to do research back in early march, thinking I would renew my student visa while in Mauritius. However as I researched visa renewals I realized it would be fraudulent of me to re-enter the US on a student visa while engaged to a US citizen and planning to marry and AOS about 9 months after my return. Therefore we got married as fast as possible in order to do things lawfully. Unfortunately it took some weeks to get the certified marriage certificate, which led to our packet being sent less than three months before my intended departure (I am leaving July 11). However I filled in my timeline information here and originally VJ said the case would get adjudicated in late June. I thought that was just in time for needing to travel.

Unfortunately my receipt number never worked on the website so I couldn't track progress, and as I followed timelines and threads here I realized that EAD/AP adjudication was now taking the full 90 days on average. I tried calling but couldn't make sense of the automated system to get connected to an actual person, and as I mentioned my receipt number was not recognized. I decided to set up an InfoPass at my local office and thankfully there was an opening for two days later.

I asked my academic advisor to write a letter on university letterhead explaining why this research was crucial to my career, and I also wrote a letter explaining why I was asking for an AP expedite. I brought all my receipts, copy of the plane ticket and all the immigration documents I have, including my passport and copies of all my former I-20s.

When it was my turn to speak to the officer, I was really nervous. Not only is this research crucial to my career but the plane ticket is also non-refundable (I know, I know, don't make plans until you have card-in-hand, but as mentioned above at the time I thought I could simply renew my student visa). He asked to see the receipts that prove that I did file for AOS and AP. Then I told him I am asking for an expedite because I am scheduled to travel for academic purposes on July 11. He asked to see the plane ticket, then called (I assume) the office where my file was. He gave my A-number to the person on the phone and then told them I was requesting an expedite because of travel for academic purposes on July 11. I was prepared to argue my case and show proof that this travel was incredibly important and would result in significant losses for me if I couldn't go, but he never asked to see any of it.

Once he hung up he told me that they agreed to expedite (yay!) but that it might not get there in time for me to travel. He also said that they could give an emergency advance parole directly in my passport right there in the office, but that those are only valid for 30 days and my trip is supposed to take 31 days. He then asked me to wait as he talked to his superior. I was getting somewhat nervous during that time again, relieved that they would expedite my request but worried that I would need to pay $$$ to change my plane ticket and come back a few days early. He came back and told me that they could give me a 45-day authorization for a $360 fee, which would amply cover my needs. He then said I could wait until July 8 to see if my card would get there in the mail, and if it does not I could come back to the office with the fee and they would give me the authorization in my passport. He then wrote a note on my appointment receipt telling them to please let me back in on July 8 and send me to his window so that I can get the authorization.

The day after the appointment (July 1) my receipt was updated to say that the card is in production. With the long weekend I don't know if I'll get it in time but I hope I do so I don't have to pay the fee. At any rate, this was a very pleasant experience. I expected to have to plead and beg and show all the proof I could, but the officer took me at my word, the only documents he needed to see was my ID, receipts, and plane tickets.

[Boiler 45,898]

Interesting

I have seen many cases of Emergency AP but nobody has ever mentioned a time limit.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

I also never heard of a time limit, nor a fee.