EAD Expedite Request Approved...And Then Denied?

[CDNgirl09 53]

I submitted an EAD expedite request based on severe financial loss to myself. I received an amazing opportunity as a high level manager position with a US employer. This position requires specialized education and uses my advanced degrees. The salary is also high and would allow me to resume supporting my father undergoing chemotherapy, help me pay off student loans and alleviate financial burden on my spouse. Strangely enough, I received two updates on Dec 31, 2019: 

1. Your request for expedited processing of your 765 has been approved.

2. Your request for expedited processing of your 765 has been denied.

 

Has anyone ever had this happened? And if your EAD was denied...what were your next steps? Has anyone ever had an expedite decision reversed?

 

Just a timeline:

11/13 : USCIS received AOS package

12/12 : Biometrics

12/16: Received Job offer Called USCIS to request EAD expedite

12/19: Visited congressman's office, provided evidence package and requested their help

12/20: Received Fax information from officer: Faxed evidence

12/23: Faxed evidence again...just in case

12/26: Last time I faxed evidence. Nobody could confirm they received any of the previous copies.

12/31: Received updates that case was approved & denied.

 

I called Tier 2 Officer today to get clarification. She gave me a SR number and said she would escalate the call and I should hear back within 5 days...unfortunately job offer start date is January 13. 

 

Any advice from those who have been through the process would be appreciated. 

[NikLR 13,232]

Talk to the company and see if they can push back the start date. 

[Boiler 46,179]

1 hour ago, NikLR said:

Talk to the company and see if they can push back the start date. 

Seconded, when do you expect to get your EAD with normal processing?

[ultrasoul 51]

What probably happened is that the expedite was approved. The second denial was because they had already approved the expedite before. I would call to get another Tier 2 officer again to get confirmation that the EAD for expedite processing was in fact approved but don't be surprised if the L2 officer still gives you another ambiguous answer.

 

To truly know what happened to the expedite requests, you will know after a few days (between 3 to 10 business days). If expedite was truly approved, it will kick over to a different officer to actually review and adjudicate the EAD case (hence the 3 to 10 business days waiting period).

Edited January 2, 2020 by ultrasoul

[CDNgirl09 53]

9 minutes ago, ultrasoul said:

What probably happened is that the expedite was approved. The second denial was because they had already approved the expedite before. I would call to get another Tier 2 officer again to get confirmation that the EAD for expedite processing was in fact approved but don't be surprised if the L2 officer still gives you another ambiguous answer.

 

To truly know what happened to the expedite requests, you will know after a few days (between 3 to 10 business days). If expedite was truly approved, it will kick over to a different officer to actually review and adjudicate the EAD case (hence the 3 to 10 business days waiting period).

Hmmm..that's interesting. The Tier 2 officer did mention that it's possible it was approved and then a supervisor decided to deny it right after. She seemed convinced that the expedite as it stands now is denied because the second decision is usually more "final". She wasn't too interested in helping though to be honest and she actually hung up on me lol. So I would definitely try another Tier 2 officer tomorrow morning.

 

The initial approval email said "your request for expediting processing was approved" and the second said "your request for expediting process was denied". What's strange is these were sent out 40 minutes apart. As it stands, my case history shows both approved and denied status updates.

 

I also reached out to congressman and Senator's office to get some clarification. Both are waiting for a response.

I wonder if the separate responses has to do with an expedite request being sent out by me AND by my Congressman. And if they were somehow adjudicated separately which creates the scenario you referenced. Very odd.

 

[CDNgirl09 53]

Another strange update...

I called Tier 2 yesterday to escalate my case and get the officer to explain the situation. Today I got a notification that my case as assigned to a new officer who sent me a new request for evidence letter with a new LAXXXX and same team and division. Essentially.. a new ead expedite request? Has this ever happened to anyone?

[AffableAndy 107]

From when I expedited my EAD - I never received any confirmation that they received my documentation, but about a week or so later I got an approval letter in the mail.

 

I suggest you respond to the new letter asking for evidence, and then just wait for at least two weeks. Do not send documents multiple times as that may lead to confusion. The expedite process itself takes about 2-3 weeks after you fax your information.

[CDNgirl09 53]

48 minutes ago, AffableAndy said:

From when I expedited my EAD - I never received any confirmation that they received my documentation, but about a week or so later I got an approval letter in the mail.

 

I suggest you respond to the new letter asking for evidence, and then just wait for at least two weeks. Do not send documents multiple times as that may lead to confusion. The expedite process itself takes about 2-3 weeks after you fax your information.

I was advised to just wait until Monday and fax the evidence after I get a chance to speak to the congressmans office. Hopefully the caseworker can help ensure that the evidence is put in the right hands sooner rather than later. I'm concerned about another 3 week timeline because the job starts on the 13th and I don't think I can push the date back more than a week 😕

[Boiler 46,179]

My understanding is that a Congresspersons office has a specific contact, they would not be able to speak to the right hands.

[CDNgirl09 53]

Just an update...I faxed evidence in for the new expedite on Monday morning and also spoke with a Tier 2 officer. I asked him to clarify what happened to my previous expedite and why I was starting over with a new one without hearing about what happened to my initial request. Especially because neither a denial nor approval letter is on file or has been sent to the house. I think there was some misunderstanding because he submitted a request to review an administrative error that just appeared on my case tracker. Based on our conversation, I think he did it in reference to the new expedite request that was created by the previous Tier 2 officer as opposed to addressing my previous dual response. 

 

Now I'm worried that looking into it will show this second shot at an expedite was a clerical error. I wish I was more clear about what I was trying to look into. Am I just being paranoid?

 

I need to stop calling and just let the chips fall where they may at this point..driving myself crazy. Thoughts?

 

 

[AffableAndy 107]

If your start date won't be pushed beyond the 13th, not much you can do about it now.

 

I can only say from my sample size of 1, but with the new year holiday and such, there may simply not have been enough time for you to get an approval notice in the mail. It's only been three working days. Hopefully you have informed delivery and would know if you missed a notice in the mail. There's an obvious disconnect somewhere in USCIS between things mailed out and status updates visible to reps online, so quite frankly I'd take everything you hear from the folks on the phone with a grain of salt.

 

I really hope it works out for you! At least you know you're a good candidate for future applications!

[ultrasoul 51]

On 1/7/2020 at 10:46 AM, CDNgirl09 said:

Just an update...I faxed evidence in for the new expedite on Monday morning and also spoke with a Tier 2 officer. I asked him to clarify what happened to my previous expedite and why I was starting over with a new one without hearing about what happened to my initial request. Especially because neither a denial nor approval letter is on file or has been sent to the house. I think there was some misunderstanding because he submitted a request to review an administrative error that just appeared on my case tracker. Based on our conversation, I think he did it in reference to the new expedite request that was created by the previous Tier 2 officer as opposed to addressing my previous dual response. 

 

Now I'm worried that looking into it will show this second shot at an expedite was a clerical error. I wish I was more clear about what I was trying to look into. Am I just being paranoid?

 

I need to stop calling and just let the chips fall where they may at this point..driving myself crazy. Thoughts?

 

 

What fax number did you fax to? If you are doing adjustment of status, I'm assuming it would be the NBC Missouri that is handling the I-765 application. I suggest faxing to both 8028606933 and 8162512290. Do you mind if I ask what LA number, Div and Team you were given?

 

I fax my dad's I-765 expedite to both those fax numbers on Jan 3 and amazingly I got an officer who reviewed and sent a reply accepting the expedite evidence the same day on Jan 3. This is very rare. From 2 other I-765 expedites (also NBC Missouri) I had done for my mom and brother last year 2019, it took 3 to 5 business days for an expedite ticket to be assigned and response sent.

Edited January 8, 2020 by ultrasoul

[CDNgirl09 53]

Oh man....just had an update that my new card is being produced!!!!!!! Thank you to everyone for your input and help throughout this!

[Zsazsa 249]

This JUST happened to me. Freaking out. I have a job offer. Was supposed to start work June 1. Literally just mailed off my RFE for my I-864 this morning and now this. I feel like I’m moving backwards. How is this possible? 
 

many insights would be greatly appreciated