irishoxford

You may be able to use Deferred Inspection to get an amended I-94:

https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/deferred-inspection-sites

12 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Technically yes...although without the physical card, they won't meet the I-9 documentation requirements. So unless one is doing self-employment or something (or the employer is willing to violate federal law...), the card is needed before actually working.

They changed the rules yesterday for all those with approval notices (up to and including 20th August).

That’s why I mentioned the good news about the dates: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-verification-during-ead-production-delays-due-to-covid-19

7 minutes ago, FreyandRyan said:

Ohh that’s wonderful to hear thank you!!!

The even better news is that your approval notice should reflect the day the expedite was approved, meaning you should be able to just work on the approval notice if your card takes a while to get to you.

1 hour ago, Celebi said:

I missed that part. Meanwhile, we're still waiting for biometrics appointment

 

I mean, it's going to be a while before you get the EAD in your case regardless.  You'll have your biometrics before any approval notice, I'd imagine.

1 minute ago, Rearviewmirror said:

So I don't think this'll count for any EAD approvals after August 20.

Sure, but there are so many people stuck in biometrics backlogs that this will benefit.  

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-verification-during-ead-production-delays-due-to-covid-19

You can now work with just the Approval Notice (and proper I.D.): https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-verification-during-ead-production-delays-due-to-covid-19

19 hours ago, Cornflake said:

I might be wrong but I thought those whose EAD were approved without biometrics didn't get their cards, only approval notice. Am I wrong? 

 

My EAD combo card was approved 12 days ago and I still waiting for the card. I was lucky enough to have a biometrics appointment before everything closed. 

 

After reading all the news I have no idea what to expect anymore. 

 

 

For a *lot* of people, those without biometrics aren't getting their cards, despite approvals.  They seem to have been waiving them for I-140 cases (but I may be wrong).  

You should be fine.  May take a few weeks in total for you to get your card.

On 7/9/2020 at 9:50 AM, cw01 said:

Mine was approved back in May and I've been waiting for almost 60 days and still haven't gotten my card...My congressman asked for me and they said it was because of biometrics. My local ASC will be open on July 27th and no one knows how much more delay will come even after I do the biometrics then...

I'm so desperate because I really don't want to lose my current job offer

As far as I'm concerned, they are arbitrarily denying the benefit that they have already approved.  I'd be asking your Congressman to ask some questions concerning why the ASCs were closed so long when your local DMV has probably been open for over a month, and to ask USCIS to schedule you in immediately for a walk-in on the day that your ASC reopens.  Enough of this.  

12 hours ago, Boiler said:

nor should they have authority other than to be able to get an answer.

My Senator's Office has been really good (Rubio's Office - a Republican!)  The key with any Senator's Office is that they can ask supplementary questions to USCIS, and don't have to necessarily accept the first answer as gospel, especially if there are quirks in your case.  They've been very kind, have listened, and haven't even rushed me off the phone when they've talked to me.  The USCIS liaisons they work with seem friendly (and I personally haven't had a bad experience from the many USCIS personnel I've spoken to over the past few months).  

I've found Rubio's Office way more useful than I've found the Ombudsman so far, to be honest.  The latter took USCIS' answer (which was a form answer, and not necessarily correct either for the circumstances of my case) and closed the case without asking me if I had any further questions.  I sent back a multi-point response that has now been shown (with that Washington Post article, and other information, to have been correct).  Now I'm having to re-file the issue with the Ombudsman because 30 days have passed without relief in my case (an approved expedited EAD).  They just could have re-opened my case instead when I asked.  It's a waste of their time and my time, and, if their job is to protect immigrant petitioners against vagaries in USCIS procedures that could cause inadvertently cause harm, I personally haven't felt supported.    

I don't blame the staff at USCIS for any of this.  On a higher level though, there are decisions that could be made easily in the course of an afternoon that would result in relief for petitioners.    

18 hours ago, Donutguy926 said:

On July 1, my case status for my EAD changed to "Card is in production," but then on the 7th, the case status changed to "My Case is Approved." I recognize USCIS states you should wait up to 30 days before contacting them. However through research it seems rare that it'll take more than 14 days to arrive. However according to people's timelines, it seems people from early June are just now receiving their cards. The month before people were receiving their cards within a week. Does anyone know if the cards being produced are delayed?

Anecdotal stories (and a few case checks) would point to it taking 2-3 weeks from approval to delivery right now.  

I just about made the 125% for my household size from my 2019 tax returns, but had started a job as a professor in August of 2019 (was a final-year student for the first part of the year).  So I put in the tax transcripts (2017/18/19) + my offer letter and the August 2019 and onwards paystubs.

Similar positions, I'd imagine, and will hopefully be more than fine.

48 minutes ago, jarrod679 said:

37%

Jarrod, there are people legitimately trying to ask for help here.  You seem to be in a fairly stable immigration status right now, whereas, given the pandemic, the OP is worried about finances and is worried enough to be considering an expedite.

Your answer here does nothing to add to the thread and wastes the OP's time.

2 minutes ago, payxibka said:

There are no limits for money brought into the country.   There is a  requirement to "declare " if you are walking in with more than $10k in cash, but no limit.

I guess I was getting at the notion that if you're trying to expedite for financial reasons, saying you're about to bring over $10k into the country might create a dissonance.  

There's no general "success rate" that faces publicly at least.  It's a crapshoot, but a crapshoot that is helped by having some strong reasoning behind your request.  The general aim is to make it clear, with evidence, that it's going to cause long-term problems that will begin fairly immediately.  I.e. that you could not withstand the multi-month wait from your date of filing.      

Bear in mind that even if you do get an expedite request approved and your subsequent combo card approved, without biometrics they aren't going to actually send you the card (for AOS I-485 filers).  It's more likely that they will reject your expedite request out-of-hand right now because you haven't done biometrics (that's been the general case for March-June filers so far).  You haven't made it clear if you have older biometrics at an ASC that they could use.    

How do I know this?  I had my expedite (and case) approved on June 10th.  Card was never sent into production.  It's awaiting biometrics.  It's been exceedingly rare for expedite requests to be granted since the ASCs closed; I know of only one or two more than mine.  

Although very kind of USCIS to expedite the case, I still don't have the card, and may not by the time my employment resumes (I'm a professor).  Who knows if the non-FP expedite will cause additional problems when it comes to scheduling a biometrics appointment, or confusion applying them to the case, or confusion at the card production level?  Don't know yet.  May end up backfiring.   

In short: this all depends on how much of a rush you're in.  Given that you'll be awaiting a biometrics appointment anyway, it might be best to follow one path at a time (and begin with your lawyer).  Would strongly suggest you have a supporting letter written to send in alongside your lawyer's request.  

Also bear in mind the limits for money being brought into the country, and make sure you're under it if that's what you're planning to use as the reasoning behind the AP portion of your combo card expedite request.  

2 hours ago, David_Norway said:

Wow, seems like you have been fighting hard for a common sense solution. Sorry that you have to go through all of this! 

Given that you work a university that probably wants to follow the rules, what are your options if you don't receive your EAD card before your biometrics, and assuming that biometrics appointments for March filers like us is still a month+ away? What does your lawyer say about working without the physical EAD card in hand (but verified to work on E-verify)?

You might want to DM me on that one.

1 hour ago, David_Norway said:

Exciting! Thanks for the update! I guess the next step would be that the status changes to "card being produced" or something like that. 

But does anyone know about any people who have actually received the EAD card these last few months even though they haven't completed biometrics? I have seen a few cases where the EAD has been approved (both expedite and regular processing), but then it has been stuck, and the card has not been produced yet. 

Keep us updated! If you actually get your card, this might be something others would like to try as well.

I've talked to USCIS directly, USCIS through the Ombudsman, USCIS through my Senator, and now USCIS through a lawyer, and they are standing resolute in saying that they won't produce the card (even if the expedite---and case---is approved) without biometrics.  This seems to be only for I-485-associated EADs through the NBC.

So, I'm personally sitting here with an approval notice, and showing up on E-Verify as verified to work, and I can further tell what the numbers on my EAD will be, but I don't have the actual card.  Whether or not my employer will be fine with that come when I revalidate my I-9 later this month remains to be seen, but USCIS probably should be making it a directive to employers that the Approval Notice can temporarily stand in lieu of the card for certain approval dates until they clear the biometrics backlog.    

A pretty simple solution really.   


 

5 hours ago, massy226 said:

There's one about 15 miles from me. I filed in January. 

I don't understand why they would approved the EAD if it was reliant on biometrics. Wouldn't it state that in the approval notice?

I honestly think USCIS is trying its best to balance out workload with waiting times.  

I think they thought the ASCs might be opened a little earlier to make these pre-biometric approvals a moot point (and that people wouldn't have to wait so long after approvals to get their biometrics done, and the card sent).  They maybe figured an approval notice would have been better than nothing (and might save some jobs from understanding employers whose verification/reverification process on the I-9s might *very* loosely interpret the DHS document for List C of the I-9 document requirements).  Obviously not much use if you're only trying to get Advance Parole.  

The alternative would have been no approval, no approval notice, and waiting for the biometrics regardless.  

Did your lawyer tell you not to go to biometrics or something?  You should have had an appointment before the ASCs closed given that you filed in January. 

  

5 hours ago, massy226 said:

@irishoxford

I just checked and all it says is approved, nothing else. I never had biometrics done but was told many EAD/AP are now being approved without them. 

Where's your nearest Application Support Centre (ASC)?  Also, when did you file?  

Just trying to guesstimate how long this might take for you.  

Just now, massy226 said:

@irishoxford This is true I never did biometrics which is why I was shocked my EAD/AP was approved without it. What is NBC? 

 

I haven't had any luck speaking to anyone anytime I call USCIS. I don't have any interest in the EAD it is the AP I want more than anything. I don't want to work in the US I just want to keep my family together. My husband works in the NBA and is leaving for over 3 months. I want to be able to travel to Canada with our son for that duration but I can't without the physical card. 

Massy, check your egov.uscis.gov case status for your I-765 and look to see if they have applied fingerprints from any of your previous visas.  You should see that in your case history when you take a look there.  Update us here.  

   

If you didn't do biometrics, and your I-765 is riding on an I-130/I-485, and there's no past biometrics to use (from an ASC), then your card is most likely stuck at the NBC until they receive biometrics.  This non-production only seems to be affecting I-485 AOS (coming out of NBC).  

If you want my source for that, I've spoken to USCIS directly (multiple tier-2 officers), USCIS through my Senator's office (ongoing discussion), and USCIS through the Ombudsman.  I've communicated to USCIS that I think they should either waive biometrics for the moment for niche cases like ours (where approval predates biometrics), or allow the approval notices for certain dates to stand in lieu of employment authorisation until a little later in the year. 

I do not know why this is happening, by the way.  

Will update when I know more.  You're very welcome to call them though and speak to a tier-2 officer to confirm your own case.  

In the meantime though, if it makes you feel any better, you can check your employment status through E-Verify self-check.  Although you can't technically be employed without the EAD, seeing that I'm fine through E-Verify made me feel vaguely better.

IF you did your biometrics and the card is not being produced, make sure to look to see if your fingerprints were applied to your case history at egov.uscis.gov.  If they were, give it several more days (there have been a few instances of cases taking 2-3 weeks from approval to "card production ordered"/"card ordered" statuses).  



 

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

OP needs a re-entry permit,not Advance Parole. A re-entry permit is not something that can be issued on the spot like emergency AP.

Whoops!  Sorry!!!

22 hours ago, ProbeGT said:

I did ask for a Tier 2 the first time I called, and was told that they can't do anything if the ASC is closed.  Is this correct?  

Sounds like I need to call them again and explain how dire the situation is.  

You need to request an emergency USCIS Field Office appointment for Emergency Advance Parole:

 

Emergency Advance Parole Documents

If you are experiencing an extremely urgent situation, you may visit your local office to request an emergency advance parole document. When visiting a local office to request emergency advance parole, you should bring the following items:

• A completed and signed Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
• The correct I-131 filing fee
• Evidence to support the emergency request (e.g. medical documentation, death certificate)
• Two passport-style photos.

15 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Can you provide a source? I haven't seen anything official yet to refer to.

Greg Siskind was on the call earlier: https://twitter.com/gsiskind
 

3 minutes ago, Nnamdi said:

Have you heard anything about your card being produced? 

Nope!  Placed an SR with Tier-2.  Have contacted Senator too.  Made sure to refer to other stuck cases at NBC.