EAD Expedite Timeline After Fax Request

[AOSFairfax 111]

3 hours ago, DJClaire said:

Ok so here is my situation and I really need some input from people who have been through this process.

 

I arrived here on a K1 visa. Got married.

We filed out AOS/EAD/AP on March 7th.

I called and requested to expedite the I-131 (AP) on the grounds of severe financial loss. 

 

Basically we allowed double the processing time and planned for a wedding ceremony in Spain. We have shelled out over $4,000 in costs which are non refundable, so unless I receive the AP and they allow me to leave the country we will lose the lot, which we really cannot afford to do! Especially as we are living on one wage. Our in laws have paid a portion of this too.

 

On May 31st I telephone to expedite the I-131 (Advance Parole).

On June 6th I received an E Mail requesting the information to be faxed. I faxed it all on the same day.

On June 7th I spoke to my Senator's office and she agreed to look into the expedite today. 10th.

 

Today I found out I have a dental issue that urgently needs addressing and the simple truth is, I cannot afford to have the dental work done here in the US (I have no insurance). Is it worth me contacting USCIS to add this to my severe financial loss claim that I also wish to have dental work done outside of the US? Not sure if it will help or hinder our cause.

 

In the meantime I have a raging toothache and need a root canal and a headache from USCIS.

 

Sorry to hear about your toothache, that's the worst.. I don't have much experience expediting the AP, as I only requested to expedite my EAD (although I did apply for a combo card) based on financial loss to my employer so take what I say with a grain of salt but I did wanna try to help. Maybe if you got some sort of quote from a dentist's office stating how much the dental work would be and you sent that in along with your guys' bank statements and other rents, bills, expenses you have, that might help you prove a case that with one income you can't afford to pay for all of that. Tbh, I don't know if that would help your expedite but also even if it did, I wouldn't bet on your EAD/AP card coming too quickly. From what I've seen on VJ, the above expedite timelines seem to be more the exception than the rule. If you read through the posts a few pages back most people seem to be hearing back 4-5 weeks after they put in the expedite. Personally, I'm on week 6 of not having an update lol. 

 

Can you get on your spouse's insurance? Tbh that might be faster than the expedite itself, if that's an option. Also, I would try contacting your Representative as well. No harm in having both of your congressional representatives file an inquiry for you. Good luck and keep us posted!!

[eckoin 211]

On 6/9/2019 at 2:14 PM, Northerndynasty said:

Pssst!  I, too, used a Congressional Inquiry to assist in my case.  The response from USCIS just a few days ago:  Your constituent’s case is still within anticipated Processing Times.  Please wait until the constituent’s application processing reaches in excess of anticipated Processing Time frames.

 

Hence my suspicions....  😏

 

But, as you say, it can’t hurt.... 

That sounds like the congressperson's office submitted and inquiry rather than an expedite request. 

3 hours ago, DJClaire said:

Ok so here is my situation and I really need some input from people who have been through this process.

 

I arrived here on a K1 visa. Got married.

We filed out AOS/EAD/AP on March 7th.

I called and requested to expedite the I-131 (AP) on the grounds of severe financial loss. 

 

Basically we allowed double the processing time and planned for a wedding ceremony in Spain. We have shelled out over $4,000 in costs which are non refundable, so unless I receive the AP and they allow me to leave the country we will lose the lot, which we really cannot afford to do! Especially as we are living on one wage. Our in laws have paid a portion of this too.

Unfortunately, having a pre-planned trip isn't an emergency. What do you mean by, "allowed double the processing time"? If you did, then you'll get your AP approved by then anyway. 

3 hours ago, DJClaire said:

On May 31st I telephone to expedite the I-131 (Advance Parole).

On June 6th I received an E Mail requesting the information to be faxed. I faxed it all on the same day.

On June 7th I spoke to my Senator's office and she agreed to look into the expedite today. 10th.

 

Today I found out I have a dental issue that urgently needs addressing and the simple truth is, I cannot afford to have the dental work done here in the US (I have no insurance). Is it worth me contacting USCIS to add this to my severe financial loss claim that I also wish to have dental work done outside of the US? Not sure if it will help or hinder our cause.

You can try, but it's not a guarantee that it will reach the person you're trying to reach at this point. Saying that you're going to buy a ticket to Europe just to get dental work done is also not the most convincing evidence of financial loss--if you can afford a flight, chances are, you can afford a root canal. Not saying that root canals aren't incredibly expensive where you are, but chances are, flights aren't either. And again, not an emergency. People have failed getting APs expedited for deaths in the immediate family. 

3 hours ago, DJClaire said:

In the meantime I have a raging toothache and need a root canal and a headache from USCIS.

Get on your spouse's plan. Regardless of any outcomes, it's the right thing to do, since you're here now, with infamous costs. 

[my&aaron 54]

So both of my NC senators's offices and the congresswoman have been very responsive. I figured I should work with one office first instead of all - the problem is that this office told me the only thing they could do is to submit an inquiry to check on my status, which they did and this was USCIS's response: "Thank you for your inquiry regarding this constituent’s immigration matter. We have requested the file, and it will be reviewed by an officer once we receive the file. Your constituent should receive a decision or notice of other action within 60 days of the date of this notice." 

 

Not really helpful....This senator's office also added that "Please understand an inquiry from a Senate/Congressional office does not “expedite” the processing of a petition. The USCIS service centers process all petitions in the chronological order that they are received to be fair to all applicants." 

 

I have two other offices to try but figured I should ask here to see what your senators/congresswo/man have done for your case besides submitting an inquiry? I do have a pending job offer, which was what USCIS asked me to fax over. 

 

@eckoin, @Bebe10 @Scng7 @debbiedoo @Northerndynasty tagging those I have seen have been approved later if you have any recommendations

[AOSFairfax 111]

2 minutes ago, my&aaron said:

So both of my NC senators's offices and the congresswoman have been very responsive. I figured I should work with one office first instead of all - the problem is that this office told me the only thing they could do is to submit an inquiry to check on my status, which they did and this was USCIS's response: "Thank you for your inquiry regarding this constituent’s immigration matter. We have requested the file, and it will be reviewed by an officer once we receive the file. Your constituent should receive a decision or notice of other action within 60 days of the date of this notice." 

 

Not really helpful....This senator's office also added that "Please understand an inquiry from a Senate/Congressional office does not “expedite” the processing of a petition. The USCIS service centers process all petitions in the chronological order that they are received to be fair to all applicants." 

 

I have two other offices to try but figured I should ask here to see what your senators/congresswo/man have done for your case besides submitting an inquiry? I do have a pending job offer, which was what USCIS asked me to fax over. 

 

@eckoin, @Bebe10 @Scng7 @debbiedoo @Northerndynasty tagging those I have seen have been approved later if you have any recommendations

I contacted both my senator and rep and they both submitted expedites (not inquiries). 

Here's what the senator's office got from USCIS "Thank you for your inquiry regarding this constituent’s immigration matter.  This case has been requested and will be routed for expedited processing.  Once this case is reviewed, your constituent will receive a decision or notice of further action." and the rep's office got a similar response "This case will be routed for expedited processing." The senator's office also added that I should allow for 30 days for the request to be addressed. 

 

I'd suggest contacting those two other offices.. It seems that there can fairly large differences in what each congressional office can do and / or the response time from USCIS for each office so it can't hurt to have multliple people looking into your case

[Bebe10 3]

13 minutes ago, my&aaron said:

So both of my NC senators's offices and the congresswoman have been very responsive. I figured I should work with one office first instead of all - the problem is that this office told me the only thing they could do is to submit an inquiry to check on my status, which they did and this was USCIS's response: "Thank you for your inquiry regarding this constituent’s immigration matter. We have requested the file, and it will be reviewed by an officer once we receive the file. Your constituent should receive a decision or notice of other action within 60 days of the date of this notice." 

 

Not really helpful....This senator's office also added that "Please understand an inquiry from a Senate/Congressional office does not “expedite” the processing of a petition. The USCIS service centers process all petitions in the chronological order that they are received to be fair to all applicants." 

 

I have two other offices to try but figured I should ask here to see what your senators/congresswo/man have done for your case besides submitting an inquiry? I do have a pending job offer, which was what USCIS asked me to fax over. 

 

@eckoin, @Bebe10 @Scng7 @debbiedoo @Northerndynasty tagging those I have seen have been approved later if you have any recommendations

You have to be vigilant. I had it pretty easy but I do have a high clearance job as a Physician and that might have contributed to the quick approval. However, I would recommend you keep on emailing, phoning the senators/congressman. Your own inquiries will be futile. I received this email below hours after asking my congresswoman to send an expedite to USCIS. And a day later it was approved. I can’t show you my other emails but the bottom line here is that the senator and congress person has more power than you do and their requests will make it further than doing it yourself. Also, a job offer alone won’t be enough. You also need the following; if you support someone else other than your spouse, include some evidence for that. Like if you support parents, brothers or sisters, take some snapshots of your conversations about sending money as evidence. If any of them depend on you for medications, even better.

 

I would advise that you not contact more offices since you are already working with 2. This will likely cause confusion. Since you are not at risk for job termination, the expedite request may be viewed lightly just FYI. 

 

Also call the USCIS number and ask for tier 2 and explain your situation. These are humans working there. I have a friend who works there and basically when you call, you give them a reminder to review your case, it can’t hurt 👍🏾

[my&aaron 54]

29 minutes ago, AOSFairfax said:

I contacted both my senator and rep and they both submitted expedites (not inquiries). 

Here's what the senator's office got from USCIS "Thank you for your inquiry regarding this constituent’s immigration matter.  This case has been requested and will be routed for expedited processing.  Once this case is reviewed, your constituent will receive a decision or notice of further action." and the rep's office got a similar response "This case will be routed for expedited processing." The senator's office also added that I should allow for 30 days for the request to be addressed. 

  

I'd suggest contacting those two other offices.. It seems that there can fairly large differences in what each congressional office can do and / or the response time from USCIS for each office so it can't hurt to have multliple people looking into your case

Thank you so much for your response. May I ask - did you previously submit an expedite request on your own also? For my case, I requested expedite on my own by calling USCIS --> USCIS emailed asking to fax the job offer --> USCIS sent an email confirming they have my fax then tell me to wait. 

Then I contacted the 1st senator's office and they submitted an inquiry. I am not sure if they could submit expedite for me if I am already routed for expedited processing... 

[debbiedoo 2,339]

@my&aaron

really just wait and see. The issue I see is that a wedding and medical care may not bee seen as urgent for the simple reason that a wedding is not necessary (youre already married after all) and your spouse should make enough to cover your medical expenses. you should be on their insurance. it probably all rolls down into who gets your petition and how they view it (or even just how nice they are). From initial call to approval was 3 weeks for us, received notice yesterday the card had been mailed, so I expect another week for that (we received the paper copies of the approvals yesterday- when we saw it in the informed digest we were really hoping it was the actual card, but it wasnt lol. 

 

we submitted the expedite on our own and through the senators office the same day. 

[Scng7 10]

Okay so yesterday my status changed that my card was mailed to me. I have seen that a lot of people post that they give a tracking number. But I don’t see where . Did anybody get one ?

[AOSFairfax 111]

11 hours ago, my&aaron said:

Thank you so much for your response. May I ask - did you previously submit an expedite request on your own also? For my case, I requested expedite on my own by calling USCIS --> USCIS emailed asking to fax the job offer --> USCIS sent an email confirming they have my fax then tell me to wait. 

Then I contacted the 1st senator's office and they submitted an inquiry. I am not sure if they could submit expedite for me if I am already routed for expedited processing... 

Yes, I submitted an expedite myself on Apr 29 and sent in the evidence a couple of days later. When I hadn't heard anything in a couple of weeks I contacted my senator and rep. Tbh I did not specifically request them to expedite vs file an inquiry so I'm not sure why one office does one and not the other. I guess that's why it can't hurt to contact the other offices?

[AffableAndy 107]

I called USCIS today as it has been almost two weeks since I put an expedite request in and they haven't even asked for evidence of my job offer or anything yet. Turns out that the person I spoke to before did not correctly put in the request (though I got a referral ID!) and the very helpful person I spoke with today put in a new one. Apparently you should get a request for proof of your circumstances within 5 days of an initial request - just FYI for anyone else who got no follow up.

[Bebe10 3]

14 hours ago, Scng7 said:

Okay so yesterday my status changed that my card was mailed to me. I have seen that a lot of people post that they give a tracking number. But I don’t see where . Did anybody get one ?

You will get a tracking number when the status changes to “The Post Office picked up mail containing your new card”

[aznhouston 132]

On 6/10/2019 at 4:25 PM, DJClaire said:

 

Today I found out I have a dental issue that urgently needs addressing and the simple truth is, I cannot afford to have the dental work done here in the US (I have no insurance). Is it worth me contacting USCIS to add this to my severe financial loss claim that I also wish to have dental work done outside of the US? Not sure if it will help or hinder our cause.

 

In my experience, detal insurance is next to nothing here in the US. And I don't think it's a very good reason to get the AP expedited. Under USCIS pointof view, your spouse should be responsible for this.

[tiantian2 18]

Hi, for those of you who successfully expedited EAD (or are close to getting through), did you 485 status change to "ready to schedule interview" before you got to the stage of "EAD card in production“?

Mine hasn't changed for either 485 or 765, below is my timeline

May 23  Fingerprint review completed on 485 and 765

May 31  EAD expedite request with evidence submitted by congressman

June 4   Congressman forwarded USCIS reply "we have requested the file...will receive decision or NOA in 30 days"

so far, still stuck on "finger print review completed", did not receive RFE for 485 either.

 

Thanks ahead for any insights/suggestions. 

[ITMFA 241]

Oh boy. I'm starting to think nobody at any stage of this process knows anything about how it all works. I submitted an expedite request over the phone with a tier 1 on May 31st, and got an email a couple hours later saying: "We received your request to expedite the decision on your application. Your case is currently under review. You will receive a decision or notice of further action shortly. " I got no request for evidence, so after a week  of waiting I contacted my congressman's office, where the immigration specialist was very friendly and helpful. He asked me to email him my evidence for the request, and I sent it on Monday. Yesterday, he forwarded me an email that he received which reads: "Thank you for your inquiry regarding this constituent’s immigration matter.  This case will be routed for expedited processing.  Once this case is reviewed, your constituent will receive a decision or notice of further action." I emailed him back asking whether that meant my expedite was approved, and if it means my case is now in the pile to be adjudicated, and he said yes! Cue me feeling very positive! 

 

So this morning, seeing that there was no update on the website, I managed to speak to a Tier 2 representative, who told me that actually they have 60 days to review my evidence, and that she doesn't see any record of my evidence or the congressman's office submitting a request. Again I say, oh boy. I see from this thread that everyone has a different experience with this process...any advice/similar experience to me/positivity that you could share would be great! I have a job starting July 6th. 

p.s. I've already been waiting over 6 months...

 

❤️

Edited June 13, 2019 by ITMFA
can't spell

[tiantian2 18]

5 minutes ago, ITMFA said:

Oh boy. I'm starting to think nobody at any stage of this process knows anything about how it all works. I submitted an expedite request over the phone with a tier 1 on May 31st, and got an email a couple hours later saying: "We received your request to expedite the decision on your application. Your case is currently under review. You will receive a decision or notice of further action shortly. " I got no request for evidence, so after a week  of waiting I contacted my congressman's office, where the immigration specialist was very friendly and helpful. He asked me to email him my evidence for the request, and I sent it on Monday. Yesterday, he forwarded me an email that he received which reads: "Thank you for your inquiry regarding this constituent’s immigration matter.  This case will be routed for expedited processing.  Once this case is reviewed, your constituent will receive a decision or notice of further action." I emailed him back asking whether that meant my expedite was approved, and if it means my case is now in the pile to be adjudicated, and he said yes! Cue me feeling very positive! 

 

So this morning, seeing that there was no update on the website, I managed to speak to a Tier 2 representative, who told me that actually they have 60 days to review my evidence, and that she doesn't see any record of my evidence or the congressman's office submitting a request. Again I say, oh boy. I see from this thread that everyone has a different experience with this process...any advice/similar experience to me/positivity that you could share would be great! I have a job starting July 6th. 

p.s. I've already been waiting over 6 months...

 

❤️

I saw from other's posts that if you expedite through congressman (versus phone call USCIS for expedite), there will be no record online. They go through another channel.