April 2017 AOS Filers

[Beefheart 31]

13 hours ago, nikaero said:

hey guys... I filed on may 24th from Buffalo and my interview is already scheduled for August 2nd which will be 70 days from PD. I was worried about getting my EAD in hand before leaving for India at the end of August and now I'm kind of scared at how fast they scheduled my interview... hopefully i can travel with a green card instead of an EAD... sending out positive vibes to everyone who is waiting... I'm posting on here because no one in the may filers group have seen updates like mine yet hope that's ok...

You can't travel with EAD; you need AP for travel. Unless you're just referring to the combo-card as EAD?

Regardless, your greencard will render EAD/AP irrelevant. You receive all the benefits for EAD/AP with the greencard, plus residency.

Great news regarding the super fast process. Congratulations.

[Omoba 24]

23 hours ago, Katrin.TX said:

My case is ready to be scheduled for an interview! EAD card should be here this week. And I'm on day 73 and had an RFE. 

 

Maybe Texas is just very fast at the moment or I was so annoying that they're trying to get rid of me 😅

 

Just putting it out there as hope for others! Try to use all methods to make them go faster. Call them, file a service request, talk to your congressman/woman. Go out there and be annoying! 

That sounds good.. but how were you able to expedite your EAD card

[nikaero 131]

10 hours ago, Sudan Man said:

Congratulations !!

It good to hear about this progress but updating May filers might give them hope..

Btw what service center processed your case?

Thanks... I did update on the May 2017 group too... National benefits center... my receipt number said MSC...

[nikaero 131]

2 hours ago, Beefheart said:

You can't travel with EAD; you need AP for travel. Unless you're just referring to the combo-card as EAD?

Regardless, your greencard will render EAD/AP irrelevant. You receive all the benefits for EAD/AP with the greencard, plus residency.

Great news regarding the super fast process. Congratulations.

LOL OK... I know both those things as I have spent the better part of the last 6 months reading through thousands of posts on these and other forums... I didn't know people got so technical about that but I was referring to the combo-card(sorry about that!) and I don't care about the EAD/AP card anymore(obviously...) coz my interview is going to come sooner than that will, for sure(which i thought was clear from my earlier post!)...

 

Sorry about the tone of this reply but I am still irritated because of a long conversation I had with my mother in law where she said, why did u do this on your own?, you don't know how this works and you should have spent the money and gone to a lawyer...

 

It is great news and Thank you...

[Katrin.TX 9]

@Omoba

 

You are allowed to put in a request to expedite as soon as you had your biometrics appointment. I know, there is a weird rumor going around that you have to wait for day 90 but that's actually not true.

 

However, you have to have a reason to expedite. In my case it was "Severe financial loss to person and/or company" based on a job offer I have. I sent them the job contract and a letter from my future boss stating that it would be hard and expensive for them to find someone new, if I do not get the EAD in time. That did the trick. 

[Beefheart 31]

1 hour ago, Katrin.TX said:

@Omoba

 

You are allowed to put in a request to expedite as soon as you had your biometrics appointment. I know, there is a weird rumor going around that you have to wait for day 90 but that's actually not true.

 

However, you have to have a reason to expedite. In my case it was "Severe financial loss to person and/or company" based on a job offer I have. I sent them the job contract and a letter from my future boss stating that it would be hard and expensive for them to find someone new, if I do not get the EAD in time. That did the trick. 

How does one go about executing this? Is it as straightforward as contacting your congressman with the necessary evidence you highlighted, or do you also need to file something with USCIS?

[nikaero 131]

1 hour ago, Katrin.TX said:

@Omoba

 

You are allowed to put in a request to expedite as soon as you had your biometrics appointment. I know, there is a weird rumor going around that you have to wait for day 90 but that's actually not true.

 

However, you have to have a reason to expedite. In my case it was "Severe financial loss to person and/or company" based on a job offer I have. I sent them the job contract and a letter from my future boss stating that it would be hard and expensive for them to find someone new, if I do not get the EAD in time. That did the trick. 

that's very helpful @Katrin.TX congrats on your EAD...

[nikaero 131]

1 hour ago, CookieCat said:

~Two inappropriate/bickering posts were removed~

VJ Moderation

thank you... and sorry about that... I should know better...

[Katrin.TX 9]

1 hour ago, Beefheart said:

How does one go about executing this? Is it as straightforward as contacting your congressman with the necessary evidence you highlighted, or do you also need to file something with USCIS?

You first have to call USCIS (regular hotline) and request the expedition of your EAD case. They go with you through a couple of questions, including the reason why you want to expedite and then they file the request for you. A few days later, you should get the request for evidence for your expedition from USCIS and then you send them the documents that prove the reason to expedite. After that, they decide if they allow the expedition.

 

Here is the info: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/expedite-criteria

 

I only went to my congressman because I didn't hear anything from USCIS for two weeks after I filed the request. But as long as you hear from them, you don't need to go talk to the congress person.

[Beefheart 31]

4 hours ago, Katrin.TX said:

You first have to call USCIS (regular hotline) and request the expedition of your EAD case. They go with you through a couple of questions, including the reason why you want to expedite and then they file the request for you. A few days later, you should get the request for evidence for your expedition from USCIS and then you send them the documents that prove the reason to expedite. After that, they decide if they allow the expedition.

 

Here is the info: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/expedite-criteria

 

I only went to my congressman because I didn't hear anything from USCIS for two weeks after I filed the request. But as long as you hear from them, you don't need to go talk to the congress person.

Thank you for taking the time to talk me through the process; extremely helpful to have it explained in a logical step-by-step approach.

[Asakelove 72]

On 7/4/2017 at 10:21 AM, Katrin.TX said:

My case is ready to be scheduled for an interview! EAD card should be here this week. And I'm on day 73 and had an RFE. 

 

Maybe Texas is just very fast at the moment or I was so annoying that they're trying to get rid of me 😅

 

Just putting it out there as hope for others! Try to use all methods to make them go faster. Call them, file a service request, talk to your congressman/woman. Go out there and be annoying! 

Congratulations , I see you got your interview date already, wow thats extremely fast as we heard that USCIS process is annoyingly slow here in Texas, may I ask which status you're adjusting from and which state in Texas, I hear its slower in Houston than all cities here.

Best of luck 

[Katrin.TX 9]

14 hours ago, Asakelove said:

Congratulations , I see you got your interview date already, wow thats extremely fast as we heard that USCIS process is annoyingly slow here in Texas, may I ask which status you're adjusting from and which state in Texas, I hear its slower in Houston than all cities here.

Best of luck 

Thanks!

 

F1 and San Antonio

[Beefheart 31]

Response to RFIE officially received today. I'm on day 79 and feeling increasingly inclined to just wait it out now rather than having to send yet more evidence to USCIS to support am expedite request. Thoughts?

[tahir123 5]

Hi guys

 

My wife (the K1 fiance, now wife) and I are April, 2017 filers as well and I have a few concerns I'm hoping one of you guys can shed some light on.

 

About 10-15 days after submitting our paperwork for her AOS we received our receipts via mail and about a couple of weeks after that my wife received her biometrics appointment letter. On the day she received her appointment letter we received a notice on USCIS website saying they had issued a Request for Initial Information. We kept waiting and waiting and nothing came so I called them on the 2 week mark and they said they'd re-send. 2 weeks later we received another notice saying that it was returned to USCIS by USPS because it was not deliverable. Again they said they'd resend. In the meantime I contacted USPS and asked them why they weren't delivering the letter when the last 4 times (3 receipts for I-485, EAD, AP, and biometrics appointment letters) were received at the same address. The customer rep at the main office was really helpful but the local office wasn't helpful at all. Long story short I scheduled a Infopass and was able to get a copy of the Req. for Initial Information. Since then the post office has returned another copy of the letter that the USCIS supposedly mailed out.

 

For some dumb reason USCIS wanted a copy of my wife's birth certificate in the native language in addition to the English one I had submitted. It was never an issue when I filed for her I-129 but I guess they just needed an excuse to delay the case. Not to mention that English is an official language of her country of origin and thus her English birth certificate is original and a copy of it in the native language should not be required. Anyway, it took over a month for my in-laws to obtain a copy of the certificate due to local bureaucracy's and I've just submitted it to the USCIS; 2 weeks short of the deadline.

 

The other issue is that the 90 day mark on her EAD/AP was up on July 2nd and we've received no notifications regarding those at all. When I go to track those cases it's blank, nothing has changed since they received the case in back in early April. Maybe it has something to do with the 4th of July weekend or is EAD/AP dependent on the I-485? I don't know.

 

I'd really appreciate it if anyone has anyone could shed some light on this and/or have any tips what I can do. Thanks!

Edited July 6, 2017 by tahir123

[nikaero 131]

28 minutes ago, tahir123 said:

Hi guys

 

My wife (the K1 fiance, now wife) and I are April, 2017 filers as well and I have a few concerns I'm hoping one of you guys can shed some light on.

 

About 10-15 days after submitting our paperwork for her AOS we received our receipts via mail and about a couple of weeks after that my wife received her biometrics appointment letter. On the day she received her appointment letter we received a notice on USCIS website saying they had issued a Request for Initial Information. We kept waiting and waiting and nothing came so I called them on the 2 week mark and they said they'd re-send. 2 weeks later we received another notice saying that it was returned to USCIS by USPS because it was not deliverable. Again they said they'd resend. In the meantime I contacted USPS and asked them why they weren't delivering the letter when the last 4 times (3 receipts for I-485, EAD, AP, and biometrics appointment letters) were received at the same address. The customer rep at the main office was really helpful but the local office wasn't helpful at all. Long story short I scheduled a Infopass and was able to get a copy of the Req. for Initial Information. Since then the post office has returned another copy of the letter that the USCIS supposedly mailed out.

 

For some dumb reason USCIS wanted a copy of my wife's birth certificate in the native language in addition to the English one I had submitted. It was never an issue when I filed for her I-129 but I guess they just needed an excuse to delay the case. Not to mention that English is an official language of her country of origin and thus her English birth certificate is original and a copy of it in the native language should not be required. Anyway, it took over a month for my in-laws to obtain a copy of the certificate due to local bureaucracy's and I've just submitted it to the USCIS; 2 weeks short of the deadline.

 

The other issue is that the 90 day mark on her EAD/AP was up on July 2nd and we've received no notifications regarding those at all. When I go to track those cases it's blank, nothing has changed since they received the case in back in early April. Maybe it has something to do with the 4th of July weekend or is EAD/AP dependent on the I-485? I don't know.

 

I'd really appreciate it if anyone has anyone could shed some light on this and/or have any tips what I can do. Thanks!

I think the general consensus is that if you receive an RFIE(not just RFE) then EAD and AP gets delayed by however many days it took for you to submit the evidence after they sent out the RFIE.(or the 90 day clock gets reset! I have heard it both ways, pretty sure its the reset thing ) So unless you can expedite or you get lucky, I would say add the number of days you took to submit the evidence to the original 90 days and you will get an idea of when to expect a decision on your EAD/AP... Lets just hope it doesn't come to that and you get lucky and get them sooner... Pray and keep your fingers crossed...

 

P.S. I don't have any idea what you can do to fix the USPS problem but i would suggest its very important that you get it fixed somehow as thats the route through which this whole process happens... I saw somebody on here suggesting that you put your name as well as your wife's on the mailbox especially if you are in an apartment complex...

Edited July 6, 2017 by nikaero