Form I-131 emergency

[Mulugulu 23]

1 hour ago, username_taken said:

This thread is already 4 pages long! I guess everyone loves anothers misfortunes...

 

Anyway processing times for the EAD/AP have been over 3 months for over a year now, and even if it wasnt that long I also do not have much sympathy for someone that makes plans during the process and then has issues. You need to ask for an expedite for the 131. Lately because of the delay in processing times everyone has been asking for EAD or AP expedites and at first USCIS was handing them out like candy. They have since wised up and now almost every expedite request is being declined. 

 

You should try to expedite anyway. Use your congressperson for assistance. Best of luck, and remember do not leave the US with out your AP or else you will have to return to the US with out your spouse and they will have to apply for the CR visa. If you really cant afford to lose your money then thats what you might have to do- be separated for another 12+months to do the CR.

Thank you for your advise and suggestion. And everyone else's help here. 

I am currently gathering supporting evidence to make my case. 

 

If anyone has experience in expediting an i-131 I'd be happy to hear from as it is confusing to me whether I should call uscis, get an infopass or just walk into the next field office to lay out my case. 

[D&D_NYC 58]

6 minutes ago, Mulugulu said:

If anyone has experience in expediting an i-131 I'd be happy to hear from as it is confusing to me whether I should call uscis, get an infopass or just walk into the next field office to lay out my case. 

I outlined the reason I was seeking an expedite and my results in the below post. I don't think they will see this situation as an emergency or worthy of an expedite, and as noted, I wasn't successful with my own attempt, but you don't lose anything by trying. Certain places might still let you book InfoPass appointments online, but NYC is not one of them...almost every AP expedite post I saw began with calling the USCIS Control Center. 

 

 

[Mulugulu 23]

3 minutes ago, nerdese said:

I outlined the reason I was seeking an expedite and my results in the below post. I don't think they will see this situation as an emergency or worthy of an expedite, and as noted, I wasn't successful with my own attempt, but you don't lose anything by trying. Certain places might still let you book InfoPass appointments online, but NYC is not one of them...almost every AP expedite post I saw began with calling the USCIS Control Center. 

 

 

I read your post, thank you! 

My main concern in calling them is to get the same experience as you did by not being able to submit any evidence and therefore receiving a denial, since they "just" take notes of your reasons to get the i131 expedited and don't have any physical evidence to support the case.

[Boiler 45,525]

Begs the question what documentation you have that would be relevant to an expedite, but maybe I should leave that alone.

[D&D_NYC 58]

Admittedly, they might not have felt that my request over the phone sounded urgent enough. I was operating under the assumption that everyone was given the opportunity to submit extra evidence and that they might be compelled by those documents, but clearly, they're now using that initial phone request to vet whether circumstances are truly urgent or not. 

[Honeybun 18]

I’m sorry but as a former immigration paralegal I used to always tell my clients, even if the processing charts says one month NeVER plan ahead of time, even when it says case approved, so many thing can happen. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

@Mulugulu

 

There are various ways to ask for an expedite. None of the ways is considered superior- but they do have pros and cons to them. You can use infopass, congresperson, phone system, and even paper mail.

 

Remember whatever path you take you must remain on it. Meaning if you file through the phone center you can only track it through the phone center. You can not get info from infopass on what the phone center is doing. So if infopass is a far drive you may have to repeatedly drive there- cant file at infopass and follow up on phone.

 

Some people feel infopass works best because you are actually speaking to a person and maybe they take pity on you and send your stuff in and follow up on it for you. People have went to infopass and been treated poorly though. Some infopass workers go above and beyond and will personally call you to update you- others simply take your papers and send them to the service center and dont follow up or do anything more.

 

Congressperson is really the best if you want continuous contact and updates. Phone center reps will take your expedite request over the phone with limited info- open an expedite request with the service center and then the service center will contact you about sending evidence if they think evidence can be shown warranting an approval. Some people are denied with out even getting to submit evidence and in those cases it wouldnt have mattered if they submitted evidence- based on what they are appealing for an expedite under it didnt qualify and no amount of evidence would make it qualify. 

 

Again- recently USCIS has been flooded with expedite requests due to the long processing times so it probably will be denied. Using a congressman or going to infopass will ensure you are able to submit whatever documents you have as proof but repeating again- if it doesnt qualify as an expedite (and they are being very strict on what does) then evidence does not matter.

[Mulugulu 23]

As I promised earlier, I am now posting an update about our achievements since my last post:

 

My wife and I filed for an expedite request of the form I-131. In addition to that we have reached out to our congressman to ask for assistance in our case and provided him with all information he needed.

 

The results are, that I already got my interview appointment and just received my EAD which includes my travel permit. 

 

I know, this might not sound fair to some who have struggled in getting a advance parole document, but we have done our research and found that the system has more to offer, than what you can find on the USCIS Website. 

Whoever finds themselves in the same situation, I offer you to reach out to me and I will be happy to assist you with the experience I have gained during this process.

 

I recommend everyone to not necessarily listen to the so called "experts" on visa journey but instead take steps and have faith in your process. 

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

So was the expedite approved?

[Boiler 45,525]

I am a strong believer that everybody should apply for an expedite, the option is there and with processing now taking 8? months would be silly not to.

 

Begs the question what will happen when expedites are the norm is another issue. Basically expediting is now part of the process.

[geowrian 22,337]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I am a strong believer that everybody should apply for an expedite, the option is there and with processing now taking 8? months would be silly not to.

Current average for VJ members is around 4 months now (https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/eadstats.php?history=90 and https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/apstats.php?history=90).

Edited June 3, 2019 by geowrian

[Mulugulu 23]

11 minutes ago, geowrian said:

So was the expedite approved?

Yes, the expedite was approved for the i-131 and for the i-765, for which we did not file a request. Contacting our congressman also expedited my interview appointment, for which we also did not file a request. 

[geowrian 22,337]

Edit: nvm - I get it now.

Edited June 3, 2019 by geowrian

[Unlockable 7,314]

2 minutes ago, Mulugulu said:

Yes, the expedite was approved for the i-131 and for the i-765, for which we did not file a request. Contacting our congressman also expedited my interview appointment, for which we also did not file a request. 

Confused. How does cases get expedited if they were not requested? Also, the congressman does not request expedites.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Unlockable

[geowrian 22,337]

2 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

Confused. How does cases get expedited if they were not requested? Also, the congressman does not request expedites.

I thought the same, but then realized that I think he means an expedite was requested on the I-131 but not the I-765. But both were approved (since they are almost always adjudicated together). That explains why the case is waiting for an interview now as well, as that is the next step once they complete initial review as necessary for the I-131 and/or I-765.

Edited June 3, 2019 by geowrian