EAD could expire while waiting for K-1 AoS processing: Lawyer?

[microcebus 40]

My wife entered the US on a K-1 visa late November 2018.  We filed AoS in December after our wedding.  Her EAD came over the summer after we had to put in a request to expedite it.  She has now started a teaching job, and her EAD is only valid until the end of May 2020.  She could get a one-time extension through November 2020, but that would not last her through next school year and could put her job in jeopardy. 

 

Our case is at the Orlando field office because we live in Central Florida now.  We are moving to our house near (but not in) Orlando by the end of the year.  With the house, we need both of our incomes.

 

The Orlando field office has a long backlog with an estimated time range of 13.5-33 months.  Their “Receipt date for a case inquiry” was recently backdated from 2018 to November 26, 2016, as of today.  While Jacksonville, Florida’s, processing time is not great, it is at least better: 11-25 months.  The Orlando field office is actually closer, but our neighbor was assigned to the Jacksonville field office.  His wife got her green card within a few months of their wedding.  This was several years before we got married.

 

On my wife’s first week of work last week, her school put us in touch with an immigration lawyer who wants to have a $250, 1-hour consultation with us.  We just need to ask that lawyer if we can transfer my wife’s case to Jacksonville.

 

After a lot of effort this summer contacting USCIS, our Congressman, and others in the government, we’re not happy about the government stringing us along regarding her continued work authorization.  I’m apprehensive at spending thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, especially while we have a house under construction.  I've used JustAnswer several times before to help us fill out forms, but there's more at stake here.

 

So before I continue down a path with this lawyer, I just wanted to check here: has anyone else engaged an immigration lawyer from a similar situation (planning ahead for EAD renewal after K-1 AoS)?  Did it help?  Any other thoughts or advice?

[payxibka 10,045]

1 minute ago, microcebus said:

My wife entered the US on a K-1 visa late November 2018.  We filed AoS in December after our wedding.  Her EAD came over the summer after we had to put in a request to expedite it.  She has now started a teaching job, and her EAD is only valid until the end of May 2020.  She could get a one-time extension through November 2020, but that would not last her through next school year and could put her job in jeopardy. 

 

Our case is at the Orlando field office because we live in Central Florida now.  We are moving to our house near (but not in) Orlando by the end of the year.  With the house, we need both of our incomes.

 

The Orlando field office has a long backlog with an estimated time range of 13.5-33 months.  Their “Receipt date for a case inquiry” was recently backdated from 2018 to November 26, 2016, as of today.  While Jacksonville, Florida’s, processing time is not great, it is at least better: 11-25 months.  The Orlando field office is actually closer, but our neighbor was assigned to the Jacksonville field office.  His wife got her green card within a few months of their wedding.  This was several years before we got married.

 

On my wife’s first week of work last week, her school put us in touch with an immigration lawyer who wants to have a $250, 1-hour consultation with us.  We just need to ask that lawyer if we can transfer my wife’s case to Jacksonville.

 

After a lot of effort this summer contacting USCIS, our Congressman, and others in the government, we’re not happy about the government stringing us along regarding her continued work authorization.  I’m apprehensive at spending thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, especially while we have a house under construction.  I've used JustAnswer several times before to help us fill out forms, but there's more at stake here.

 

So before I continue down a path with this lawyer, I just wanted to check here: has anyone else engaged an immigration lawyer from a similar situation (planning ahead for EAD renewal after K-1 AoS)?  Did it help?  Any other thoughts or advice?

Apply for a renewal.  The renewal application provides an automatic 180 days while the renewal application is processing 

[microcebus 40]

3 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Apply for a renewal.  The renewal application provides an automatic 180 days while the renewal application is processing 

In the original post, I mentioned that the EAD even if renewed would expire in November 2020.  My wife's school issues teaching contracts over the summer, so we would potentially need her AoS to be done by July 2020 (~18-19 months after we filed) for her to be able to keep her job next school year.

[K1visaHopeful 2,820]

4 hours ago, microcebus said:

In the original post, I mentioned that the EAD even if renewed would expire in November 2020.  My wife's school issues teaching contracts over the summer, so we would potentially need her AoS to be done by July 2020 (~18-19 months after we filed) for her to be able to keep her job next school year.

You will receive an automatic 6 month extension upon application of the renewal EAD.

You can apply for a renewal 6 months before it will expire. I cannot tell you when that will be as you have neglected to finish filing out your timeline but most likely you can apply Jan 2020 if you were approved for the original EAD "this summer" which would be 180 days before the original EAD would expire.

That would extend you until summer 2020 and by then your renewal EAD would be approved and youd be good until summer 2021.

[microcebus 40]

19 hours ago, K1visaHopeful said:

You will receive an automatic 6 month extension upon application of the renewal EAD.

You can apply for a renewal 6 months before it will expire. I cannot tell you when that will be as you have neglected to finish filing out your timeline but most likely you can apply Jan 2020 if you were approved for the original EAD "this summer" which would be 180 days before the original EAD would expire.

That would extend you until summer 2020 and by then your renewal EAD would be approved and youd be good until summer 2021.

I estimated the date for the EAD/AP combo card on my timeline.  My wife would probably know the exact dates.  I think I tried to post that earlier and the update didn't go through.  

 

USCIS sent us the "Testing and Interview" case status change email today, so it could all be a moot point.  It said that today, they scheduled our interview and they will send us something in the mail about that.  Any idea how long it would be between this email and our interview date, given that our field office is in Orlando?  

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

5 minutes ago, microcebus said:

I estimated the date for the EAD/AP combo card on my timeline.  My wife would probably know the exact dates.  I think I tried to post that earlier and the update didn't go through.  

 

USCIS sent us the "Testing and Interview" case status change email today, so it could all be a moot point.  It said that today, they scheduled our interview and they will send us something in the mail about that.  Any idea how long it would be between this email and our interview date, given that our field office is in Orlando?  

Interviews are scheduled around 5-6 weeks after the status changes to "Interview has been scheduled".

You should receive the formal notification approximately in a week. 

[DeepakChani 738]

Question: Should I file AP renewal for my EAD/AP card, 6 months before expiry (USCIS recommendation for EAD renewal) or 4 months before expiry (USCIS recommendation for AP renewal). I have a combo card and thus asking. 

[Crazy Cat 41,899]

4 minutes ago, DeepakChani said:

Question: Should I file AP renewal for my EAD/AP card, 6 months before expiry (USCIS recommendation for EAD renewal) or 4 months before expiry (USCIS recommendation for AP renewal). I have a combo card and thus asking. 

As early as possible....6 months prior, imo.