Covid Impacting Processing Time For Everyone?

[*Rachel* 2]

Hi all,

 

I’m a K1>AOS applicant. We submitted the whole package (I-495, EAD, Advance Parole) on October 1st 2020, biometrics were done on Feb 17th this year. Checking the status on the web portal, the EAD just says “fingerprints were taken” and the AOS says that as of March 9th I am “ready to be scheduled for an interview” but obvs we’ve heard nothing since. 
I’m guessing a lot of us are in a similar boat here? Assuming Covid has created an enormous backlog of cases for the poor buggers at USCIS to process and so even EAD is going to take a lot longer to process than normal? It says “6-8 months” generally but it’s already been 8 and there has been no update on the portal since Feb. Can anyone in the know tell me if they noticed any change in the online portal status update between “fingerprints accepted” and the EAD arriving? And I’m assuming the interview backlog is enormous so it’ll probably be a lot longer before I get my interview scheduled, right?
 

I guess I don’t really have any other questions other than looking to console with other people still in limbo! I was a full moron and didn’t get my SSN sorted while my K1 was valid, partly because my husband was on tour and it escaped our notice that we COULD, and now he’s going on tour again at the end of the year and I can’t drive so I’m starting to get a little anxious that I’ll still be SSN-less and jobless by the time he goes away. My own stupid fault but we also couldn’t have predicted a pandemic getting in the way! Best wishes to anyone reading ❤️

[K1visaHopeful 2,793]

EAD/AP are taking up to 10 months currently.

Your I485 timeline is based on the estimated time line at your local filed office.

The wait varies from office to office.

You can look your LFO up on the website by googling "My USCIS local filed office", scrolling to the bottom and inputting your zip code.

Then you can look up your estimated timeline there by inputting that LFO and I485 into the processing times website.

 

 

[JonSeattle 202]

Are you sure you can't drive? My wife and I just moved to California and we spend most of yesterday dealing with the Kafkaesque DMV here (exceeded only by the USCIS) . My wife, who is K1/AOS, was able to get a drivers license in Washington, and at the end of the day was finally able to apply for an AB-60 license in California.

 

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-licenses-identification-cards/assembly-bill-ab-60-driver-licenses/

 

That doesn't help with a job, but it will get you out of the house at least.

[*Rachel* 2]

6 hours ago, K1visaHopeful said:

EAD/AP are taking up to 10 months currently.

Your I485 timeline is based on the estimated time line at your local filed office.

The wait varies from office to office.

You can look your LFO up on the website by googling "My USCIS local filed office", scrolling to the bottom and inputting your zip code.

Then you can look up your estimated timeline there by inputting that LFO and I485 into the processing times website.

 

 

Thank you SO much oh my gosh, that’s really helpful! It’s looking like the Green Card is between 12 and 17 months so as expected I’ve got a while to wait still probably, but that’s okay. There was an option for the EAD form too but they just have service centres rather than a specific LFO - I’m assuming mine is California and that’s looking like it could be between 7 and 14 months which at the worst could mean another 6 months before I get the EAD…not ideal but it’s great to have a better idea of what to expect! You’re a star, thank you for the information! 
 

4 hours ago, JonSeattle said:

Are you sure you can't drive? My wife and I just moved to California and we spend most of yesterday dealing with the Kafkaesque DMV here (exceeded only by the USCIS) . My wife, who is K1/AOS, was able to get a drivers license in Washington, and at the end of the day was finally able to apply for an AB-60 license in California.

 

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-licenses-identification-cards/assembly-bill-ab-60-driver-licenses/

 

That doesn't help with a job, but it will get you out of the house at least.

Jon thank you so much too!! I’ve been really confused about this, this is extremely good news that I could do this if I wanted to, but my concern is that I literally do not know how to drive and I can’t seem to work out if I need a learner’s permit to actually practice driving in order to get comfortable to take my road test. It /seems/ like CA requires a learner’s permit even for adults to be on the road, but it doesn’t seem like you can get a permit without an SSN…but the fact that you can apply for a LICENCE without “proof of legal presence” surely means you can get a permit as well? This has made me all the more determined to go and speak to the DMV to figure this out, Google can only take you so far sometimes. Thank you so much for your help and welcome to California! I hope you and your wife are settled in well! 

[K1visaHopeful 2,793]

5 hours ago, *Rachel* said:

Thank you SO much oh my gosh, that’s really helpful! It’s looking like the Green Card is between 12 and 17 months so as expected I’ve got a while to wait still probably, but that’s okay. There was an option for the EAD form too but they just have service centres rather than a specific LFO - I’m assuming mine is California and that’s looking like it could be between 7 and 14 months which at the worst could mean another 6 months before I get the EAD…not ideal but it’s great to have a better idea of what to expect! You’re a star, thank you for the information! 
 

K1 EAD and AP are processed and approved at the NBC. 

They come as a combo card so they can take the longer of the two processing times which is 10 months currently if you look it up.

[*Rachel* 2]

1 hour ago, K1visaHopeful said:

K1 EAD and AP are processed and approved at the NBC. 

They come as a combo card so they can take the longer of the two processing times which is 10 months currently if you look it up.

Sorry, I missed what you said at the top of your post, thank you! I’ve already waited 8 months so I f I can get EAD/AP in the next 2 months that would be a huge boost! 

[Charlie_SK 4]

19 hours ago, JonSeattle said:

Are you sure you can't drive? My wife and I just moved to California and we spend most of yesterday dealing with the Kafkaesque DMV here (exceeded only by the USCIS) . My wife, who is K1/AOS, was able to get a drivers license in Washington, and at the end of the day was finally able to apply for an AB-60 license in California.

 

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-licenses-identification-cards/assembly-bill-ab-60-driver-licenses/

 

That doesn't help with a job, but it will get you out of the house at least.

Hello! As a K1 applicant heading to Washington I was wondering what your wife needed to be able to get a US licence? And did she have to sit the drive test? Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[JonSeattle 202]

3 hours ago, Charlie_SK said:

Hello! As a K1 applicant heading to Washington I was wondering what your wife needed to be able to get a US licence? And did she have to sit the drive test? Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My wife had not driven before, so she got a learner's permit first, and had to pass the written test for that. For the permit we used her unexpired I-94, passport, national id card, as well as her K-1 visa. For proof of residency she used the marriage certificate and my lease, license and utility bills. There might have been some other things too. I uploaded them through their website. We made an appointment to get a photo id, which was 30 days out, by which time the I-94 had expired, but they didn't ask for much in person. No SSN was needed. It was not a REAL ID.

 

For the license itself, she took the driving test and all she needed to show was her photo id/permit, insurance and my car registration.

 

The above is all specific to Washington state.

 

In California, the only thing you can do online is enter your name, address, hair and eye color. Then you need to write down an 8 digit code from the website. Then you go to the DMV and wait in a long line. If you do not have the 8 digit code with you, they will not accept your address, hair and eye color in person and you will have to start over. They asked for a lot of documents, but after a lot of consultations, in the end they had her apply for an AB-60, which is for undocumented people. Now we wait 5 days, make a phone call, and then wait 60 more days. No written or driving test was needed because she showed her Washington license, Normally a written test would be required anyway, but because of the pandemic they skipped that.

[Charlie_SK 4]

5 hours ago, JonSeattle said:

My wife had not driven before, so she got a learner's permit first, and had to pass the written test for that. For the permit we used her unexpired I-94, passport, national id card, as well as her K-1 visa. For proof of residency she used the marriage certificate and my lease, license and utility bills. There might have been some other things too. I uploaded them through their website. We made an appointment to get a photo id, which was 30 days out, by which time the I-94 had expired, but they didn't ask for much in person. No SSN was needed. It was not a REAL ID.

 

For the license itself, she took the driving test and all she needed to show was her photo id/permit, insurance and my car registration.

 

The above is all specific to Washington state.

 

In California, the only thing you can do online is enter your name, address, hair and eye color. Then you need to write down an 8 digit code from the website. Then you go to the DMV and wait in a long line. If you do not have the 8 digit code with you, they will not accept your address, hair and eye color in person and you will have to start over. They asked for a lot of documents, but after a lot of consultations, in the end they had her apply for an AB-60, which is for undocumented people. Now we wait 5 days, make a phone call, and then wait 60 more days. No written or driving test was needed because she showed her Washington license, Normally a written test would be required anyway, but because of the pandemic they skipped that.

Thank you so much!!!

[R. Wolfe 24]

We're in a similar situation. Hearing that it would take about two weeks for the SSN to process, we filed the paperwork 8 weeks before our 90 days were up. Unfortunately, 8 weeks wasn't enough time so the visa expired and they stopped working on the SSN. So now we're waiting, jobless and bank account-less, until we get an SSN through the AoS process. :/

 

Just saying that you could well be in the same situation even if you had tried for your SSN right after getting married.

 

 

[*Rachel* 2]

1 hour ago, x3n said:

We're in a similar situation. Hearing that it would take about two weeks for the SSN to process, we filed the paperwork 8 weeks before our 90 days were up. Unfortunately, 8 weeks wasn't enough time so the visa expired and they stopped working on the SSN. So now we're waiting, jobless and bank account-less, until we get an SSN through the AoS process. :/

 

Just saying that you could well be in the same situation even if you had tried for your SSN right after getting married.

 

 

That makes me feel a little bit better 🥺 but I’m ever so sorry to hear about that for you, you’d think 8 weeks would be enough!! 
 

I was able to get a bank account at least without an SSN! We set up a joint and a solo account and all I had to do was provide an address and my ID, we did it after the 90 days had expired as well. Might be worth going and speaking to the bank the citizen out of the two of you belongs to and seeing if they allow it (if you haven’t already!). 

[elkski 28]

On 7/9/2021 at 2:59 PM, x3n said:

We're in a similar situation. Hearing that it would take about two weeks for the SSN to process, we filed the paperwork 8 weeks before our 90 days were up. Unfortunately, 8 weeks wasn't enough time so the visa expired and they stopped working on the SSN. So now we're waiting, jobless and bank account-less, until we get an SSN through the AoS process. :/

 

Just saying that you could well be in the same situation even if you had tried for your SSN right after getting married.

 

 

Wow,, S Jordan , Utah guys said 2-3 weeks for SS but said really 1-2 weeks for this easy case of K1- marriage... its been almost 2 weeks now,, still 2 weeks left on her K1 visa... I never heard they would stop your SS processing if they dont finish before K1 expires

In Utah the DMV did say we needed SS number.  what a crazy convoluted government system. 

Also  if covid is past and we dont need masks now why do you need appointments for both SS and DMV and SS has hired gun security like a bank on thee wrong side of town. 

[*Rachel* 2]

48 minutes ago, elkski said:

Wow,, S Jordan , Utah guys said 2-3 weeks for SS but said really 1-2 weeks for this easy case of K1- marriage... its been almost 2 weeks now,, still 2 weeks left on her K1 visa... I never heard they would stop your SS processing if they dont finish before K1 expires

In Utah the DMV did say we needed SS number.  what a crazy convoluted government system. 

Also  if covid is past and we dont need masks now why do you need appointments for both SS and DMV and SS has hired gun security like a bank on thee wrong side of town. 

Damn :S Hopefully there’s still time for her to receive the SSN before the K1 expires, don’t lose hope! And yeah all these systems are massively convoluted, I mean they don’t even have a “proper status” for people waiting for the Green Card which can take literal years? So we’re just “technically allowed to be here”, like people caught in a crack for god knows how long, it’s bonkers. 
 

I don’t think Covid has technically “passed”, there are still plenty of countries suffering and also some variants we should probably continue to safeguard against just in case they mutate beyond the scope of the vaccine, but I’d guess the reason they have appointments and security is because they figured out that system works in their favour and they don’t want to relinquish those benefits just because things are “going back to normal”. A lot of places realised that the lockdown systems in place work far better for them as a company - I have friends whose office essentially shut down because productivity went up so much while people were working from home that they were like “well we’d save money not having to rent a building, stay home everyone!”. Regardless of convenience for everyone else, if it works for them they’re always going to do that over customer service.  

[elkski 28]

YEs maybe us having to make online appointments has led to less wasted time at the DMV and SS.   Maybe it is here to stay.  Our DMV has a big waiting sitting area and it used to get rather full but the other day it looked like it allowed for good social distancing.  I am one to surely not think Covid is finished with us yet. I wear masks everywhere.

 

I feel ignorant that I never read you needed to get the SS card before the end of the K1 visa? Or that SS  processing stops if your K1 expires.  I find this hard to believe because I thought even people in the US without a visa can get a SS number. 

What about people who do the sensible thing and  wait most of the 90 days before getting married.   We just luckily decided to go the SS office one day we were out since it is 10 mins away from home. Then decided to try to get a ID at DMV so my wife wouldn't have to carry her passport.   Found out that both needed online appointments and at DMV she needed a SS number and two items of mail using our address... Guy even suggested sending 2 letters of  mail to yourself.  luckily we were able to get an appointment at SS  2 days later.  But 2 times after a 15 min hold with local SS  office the call got dropped ( you know it was intentional by the machine).   After 18 months you would think the website would have been updated to say first time SS filers need to have a in person interview as well as being able to schedule an appointment.   I actually sent in the application with passport copy and copy of marriage license in the mail the day before our in person appointment.  It was returned a week later with no notice or anything in a hand addressed envelope.

Edited July 13, 2021 by elkski