Filing for just EAD after I-94 expiry

[Simon and Janet 6]

Hello all,

My I-94 expires tomorrow and we have yet to file for AOS because of financial troubles.

Without me being able to work it's been rough on our situation and we are having money my wife earns disappear as quickly as we get it thanks to outstanding bills etc...

What i'm thinking of doing is sending in for just the EAD and then filing for AOS in a few months. I know in the long term this ends up costing more than filing everything jointly, but we desperately need me to be working so we can get this moving along.

I'm just wondering whether i should expect to encounter any problems in filing for the EAD after my I-94 has expired because it is not with the rest of the AOS paperwork.

I hate that we're in this difficult situation, and i really hate that i'll be 'out of status' for any length of time, as i take the deadlines very seriously. I just feel in a very tough situation right now.

[belinda63 3,055]

I don't think you can apply for EAD after your I-94 has expired without filing for AOS. Technically once the I-94 expires you have no status.

[Danu 19]

Correct. Even if you had applied the day you got into the states the EAD's take 2-3 months to process and are only given a validity of the end of your I-94. With it now being expired, you will not get an EAD without submitting your AOS at the same time. Thats one of the reasons we in general don't recommend filing for the EAD before AOS, as its a lot of money for maybe 2 weeks working time for most people.

[Simon and Janet 6]

Alright, so that option is out. Thank you for the information.

[Danu 19]

Alright, so that option is out. Thank you for the information.

Most welcome