Applying for jobs while waiting for EAD (Expedite?)

[Alan&Rachelle 18]

Hey everyone,

 

so I sent out my packet on May 3rd and it arrived at USCIS on the 5th. 

 

I have received my receipts for the forms.

 

My questions are:

 

1. Can I apply for jobs and go have interviews? (Not going to start working until I actually have the EAD in hand, I am aware of that.)

2. I haven't received the biometrics appointment letter yet, can I just do a walk-in?

3. I heard about the option to expedite my EAD. Can I do that without biometrics? How do you expedite your EAD?

 

Thank you. 

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

Technically you can apply and interview, but naturally as you said you cannot actually work until EAD in hand which may mean you won't get many interviews since on a lot of applications it asks if you can legally work which you would have to answer "No" to and again probably not get a call back.

 

As to a walk-in for biometrics, I don't think many offices like that as when we did ours there was a specific time slot and if you showed up even right on time they could bump you back an hour to the next slot. Generally they are pretty busy.

 

Expediting EAD really only happens when you have a job offer and can supply a letter from the employer showing you have work lined up.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Ben&Zian

[Alan&Rachelle 18]

3 hours ago, Ben&Zian said:

Technically you can apply and interview, but naturally as you said you cannot actually work until EAD in hand which may mean you won't get many interviews since on a lot of applications it asks if you can legally work which you would have to answer "No" to and again probably not get a call back.

 

As to a walk-in for biometrics, I don't think many offices like that as when we did ours there was a specific time slot and if you showed up even right on time they could bump you back an hour to the next slot. Generally they are pretty busy.

 

Expediting EAD really only happens when you have a job offer and can supply a letter from the employer showing you have work lined up.

What about if there's a question like "Are you eligible to work in the US" vs "Are you authorized to work in the US"? They may sound the same, but legally there's a difference. Just wondering. I have selected yes to those questions so far. Hope it doesn't cause any trouble.

Would it be smarter to call the company ahead of applying and explain and then submit?

 

Is it possible to expedite an EAD before the biometrics appointment if you have a supply letter from the employer?

 

Sorry for asking a lot.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Alan&Rachelle

[Dashinka 24,506]

Depending on the job or company, I would do the searching and if it works the interview, but at that time you have to be honest with them and inform them of your status and your expected timeline for being able to legally work.

 

to answer your original question, yes, you can search and yes you can interview.

 

Good Luck!

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

6 hours ago, Alan&Rachelle said:

Hey everyone,

 

so I sent out my packet on May 3rd and it arrived at USCIS on the 5th. 

 

I have received my receipts for the forms.

 

My questions are:

 

1. Can I apply for jobs and go have interviews? (Not going to start working until I actually have the EAD in hand, I am aware of that.)

I applied ahead and answered yes as I knew I would be. It was never a problem. You will usually get asked when you would be available to start working. That's a good point to explain that you are awaiting the document in an estimated so and so time.

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2. I haven't received the biometrics appointment letter yet, can I just do a walk-in?

You can do a walk-in, but not until you have an appointment scheduled. Prior to that you won't be in their system at the USCIS office/application support center you will be going to. Nor will you know for sure which one you will be scheduled at. I suppose in some places that would be quite obvious though  I did an early walk-in for medical reasons and there was no problem I did research on it before hand and apparently, Wednesdays and Fridays after 1-2 pm were supposedly the best due to how their work week and scheduling is done. I got there a Wednesday at 1 pm - and there was no one ahead of me. I walked in and was out in 15 min. Impossible to say how it would be at your specific centre.

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3. I heard about the option to expedite my EAD. Can I do that without biometrics? How do you expedite your EAD?

There is a list of reasons you can expedite under, the "easiest" of which to be granted is for a job offer, which falls under "financial loss". You can call the USCIS service desk and start up the expedite, they will let you know what documents you need to send them. They will send you a letter about this, but sometimes they also give you the information over the phone together with a fax number you can directly fax those documents to. To get a job offer expedite to progress as fast as possible it is advised to use your local congressman's office. You call them and explain and you will fill out a privacy release form and fax/send documents to them and they will do it for you.

 

Edited May 19, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Alan&Rachelle 18]

Thank you, everybody. You all have been VERY helpful!

 

If I have any more questions, I will just post them here.

[Allie D 39]

On 5/18/2017 at 7:22 PM, Suss&Camm said:

There is a list of reasons you can expedite under, the "easiest" of which to be granted is for a job offer, which falls under "financial loss"

Just curious about whether this is effective for the OP's adjustment of status case. The sponsor(s) who filed the I-864 were required to explicitly prove that the applicant could be financially supported regardless of whether he/she works. The expedite case for a H-1B with a job offer seems more straightforward.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

22 minutes ago, Allie D said:

Just curious about whether this is effective for the OP's adjustment of status case. The sponsor(s) who filed the I-864 were required to explicitly prove that the applicant could be financially supported regardless of whether he/she works. The expedite case for a H-1B with a job offer seems more straightforward.

These expedites are done for ppl with pending AOS/EAD all the time. IF you have a job offer it still falls under financial loss regardless if someone has signed an i-864.