AOS Still pending- Renewing Work Permit

[esty1973 4]

Hi Guys 

I wrote the post back in Feb 2018 regarding my husband's pending AOS and i'm still waiting. Not sure if I should be super nervous or concerned that the documents have been misplaced or just tossed to the side. My husband went today to our local field office and was told the paperwork is still in Lees Summit, MO. and they are still looking at them since January of 2018. Really? this is simply ridiculous. 

 

What's the "actual" pending time for an AOS. My husband is really getting anxious about going to see his family in Cuba and I really don't want to spend another $ 600 in travel permit. its simply crazy money.

 

Another issue is the renewal of work permit because of the pending AOS.   I know they give him an extension since he falls under the pending AOS.  We just sent the renewal this past week and they received on Monday. Do you guys know the waiting time on this as well? He was told one the approval document arrived he can work again. 

 

I'm so overwhelmed with this process- I thought getting the K-1 Visa was an issue but this has become a GRAND issue. The waiting game- so frustrating.

 

please someone give me some sound advice.

 

thanks 

esther 

 

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

9 minutes ago, esty1973 said:

What's the "actual" pending time for an AOS. My husband is really getting anxious about going to see his family in Cuba and I really don't want to spend another $ 600 in travel permit. its simply crazy money.

It depends on your local USCIS office. Many (most) are taking over a year right now and some are taking 18-24 months.

Another $600? You shouldn't have paid for AP the first time...the I-131 is free to file with a pending I-485. The same goes for a renewal. See page 16 of the I-485 instructions. Send a copy of the I-485's NOA1 in lieu of payment.

 

11 minutes ago, esty1973 said:

Another issue is the renewal of work permit because of the pending AOS.   I know they give him an extension since he falls under the pending AOS.  We just sent the renewal this past week and they received on Monday. Do you guys know the waiting time on this as well? He was told one the approval document arrived he can work again. 

A timely filed and complete renewal should automatically be extended for 180 days:

https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/automatic-employment-authorization-document-ead-extension

[Starkilla09 366]

Your actual adjustment of status processing time will depend on how backlogged your local USCIS field office is at the moment. You should visit USCIS.gov and check the processing times for your local field office to give you an idea. With the nationwide backlog across USCIS field offices, it’s now very common to expect longer processing times. Now as long as your adjustment of status is still pending, you can always keep renewing your EAD and Advance Parole Document (travel document) for free. If he needs to travel he can apply for advance parole but that will take a couple of months. If it’s a sudden emergency he can apply and request an emergency parole. Issuance of an emergency AP is subject to USCIS discretion though based on the nature of the emergency.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Starkilla09

[esty1973 4]

Well I originally filed the AOS with work permit on Dec. 2016 and I had an RFE within a month and they received the documents of the RFE back in Jan 2017--  this is why i am saying the process is taking more time than it should. 

I will continue to wait but its aggravating. 

 

the information for the renewal of the work permit is not very clear. I even spoke to the people in the local field office and they did not mention that i would have an extension of the  permit without payment.

so i went ahead and paid $ 410.00 for the permit.  

 

[Starkilla09 366]

7 minutes ago, esty1973 said:

Well I originally filed the AOS with work permit on Dec. 2016 and I had an RFE within a month and they received the documents of the RFE back in Jan 2017--  this is why i am saying the process is taking more time than it should. 

I will continue to wait but its aggravating. 

 

the information for the renewal of the work permit is not very clear. I even spoke to the people in the local field office and they did not mention that i would have an extension of the  permit without payment.

so i went ahead and paid $ 410.00 for the permit.  

 

What is your local USCIS field office? You can always submit an inquiry to notify them just in case your case is way past processing times posted for your field office. The I-765 (EAD) 180 day automatic extension started sometime in February 2017 to deal with backlogs. As of that date all notice of action issued after EAD renewal application was received by USCIS came with a phrase in it saying it has been extended for 180 days. Meaning you could use the NOA as well as expired EAD to continue working for 180 days extra as of expiration date on card while USCIS processed the renewal. It’s unfortunate that you payed for the renewal as it was suppose to be free. This has been free since June 2007 when the law changed. I’m surprised USCIS didn’t return your EAD package because they were suppose to reject it for “incorrect fees” as the reason since you were not required to pay as an AOS applicant.

[esty1973 4]

well the Texas office received the EAD this past Monday so in actuality they haven't looked at it as of yet. My husband hasn't received the text or email notification. 

do you think they will not process the Credit card for the $ 410 and process the EAD for extension ?

 

Lets put it this way, I've been to the field office by where I live twice and they are not the most helpful people. The second agent i spoke to was the "most" helpful but he too didn't tell me i didn't have to pay for the extension of the EAD and I went in March 2018.

[Starkilla09 366]

24 minutes ago, esty1973 said:

well the Texas office received the EAD this past Monday so in actuality they haven't looked at it as of yet. My husband hasn't received the text or email notification. 

do you think they will not process the Credit card for the $ 410 and process the EAD for extension ?

 

Lets put it this way, I've been to the field office by where I live twice and they are not the most helpful people. The second agent i spoke to was the "most" helpful but he too didn't tell me i didn't have to pay for the extension of the EAD and I went in March 2018.

How much leverage you have will depend greatly if your case is past processing times for your field office, that’s why it’s good to check their processing times and know what course of action to take. Your hands are pretty much tied if it’s still within normal processing times. Since you just recently sent your renewal there’s a great chance it will be rejected for the aforementioned reason as explained earlier. If that happens you can just resend the returned package excluding your payment to them. Where is your local USCIS field office in the city you live? 

Edited May 4, 2018 by Starkilla09

[Boiler 45,711]

EAD/AP is free, so not sure what happened first time around.

 

\You are dealing with the Government, they do need to be helpful and often are not.

 

[esty1973 4]

I live in Miami, FL for my field office according to my zip code is Hialeah.

 

i'm wondering at this point regarding his AOS should i contact the local senators office &  Ombudsman - Case Assistance?

 

AOS originally sent 12.21.2016

NOA 1.17.2017

RFE 2.6.2017

RFE RECEIVED  2.24.2017

AOS still pending and we are in 5.4.2018

its been 1 year and 3 months almost since USCIS received RFE.

 

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

Your case is still considered within normal processing timelines: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

Hialeah FL

Estimated time range: 11.5 Months to 21 Months

Case inquiry date" August 25, 2016

 

On the plus side, you're only a few months off from being outside normal processing timelines, so hopefully you hear back soon.

[esty1973 4]

thanks everyone for the information. 

let me clear up some info,

originally I filed the AOS with the EAD of which I only paid for the AOS cause its a combo deal. I never applied for the I-131, therefore that's why I stated I didn't want to pay another $ 585.00 to travel.

I understand the processing times but if the field office mentions to you they have opened your file in 1.5.2018 and started looking and its going through its background check.-- how long is it really taking to do a background check? this is my question. I know, the FBI looks at it, another agency looks at it and then Cuba looks at it as well for some reason as well. how long? that's all. 

 

[Boiler 45,711]

The amount of time it takes to process something is very small, vast majority of time it is just sitting in a pile.