What can I do while I am waiting to receive my EAD card?

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Since this was posted with an attitude. Lack of planning on your part does not constitue an emergency on mine.

I second that!! Amen!!

[I & B 273]

(quoted comments violating TOS removed)

I'll be the first to tell you that the USCIS isn't perfect. Not even close. But that's the nature of the beast: it's a huge bureaucracy (it handles a higher transaction volume than its equivalent department in any other country) that is tasked with juggling complicated financial, security, and political priorities. And it does all of that on a user fee basis, which forces it to under-provide many services in order to lower the cost of services so that they are accessible to everyone. There is no way that it will ever be "perfect." It's not that the people at the USCIS don't care about your case--it's that they cannot care about it more than the millions of other cases out there.

The OP has to step back and consider that the USCIS, for all its bureaucratic failings, is not merely some frivolous entity: immigration is not a "right" in any country; it is always a privilege that will only be granted so long as it is vetted and assured to be in accordance with the country's aforementioned financial, security, and political priorities. That vetting task is thus a very serious one and bound to take some time (especially with the low service fees charged by the USCIS). To dismiss the mission of the USCIS because their execution of it bothers you is borderline childish.

Now there are certainly times when incompetence or misplaced priorities within the USCIS leads to substantial burdens on petitioners and their beneficiaries. The OP's situation, however, really does not seem like one of those times. He applied too late--based on USCIS's published timelines--to receive his EAD by the date he needed to have it. I understand that DOMA was a harsh (and in my opinion unfair) policy for LGBT couples, and it certainly made it more difficult to plan for situation's like the OP's. But the bottom line is that it was repealed in time for the OP to file for his EAD and receive it before December 12. While the OP can certainly blame the federal law inconvenienced him to some extent, he cannot blame it entirely for his failure to get the card on time. My wife applied in early October and got her EAD card last month. DOMA was repealed mid-summer. OP thus had several months of buffer time to file.

By the way, OP, if you haven't had enough with the workings of gigantic bureaucracies yet, I suggest you hire an attorney to file a federal case on your behalf. Not only will you ultimately lose, but it will cost you much more time and money than all your dealings with the USCIS ever will because, guess what, the courts are also balancing huge workloads against very small user fees.

Government ain't cheap or easy. It never was and never will be. If you have some specific idea as to how the government can actually improve a given service, then you should advocate for it; however, angrily lashing out at the service and threatening frivolous litigation are the types of things that, if actually acted on, just make the system slower for everyone else. (As much as I like to see the USCIS held accountable, I'd rather they spent my fees on providing me service rather than defending themselves against frivolous claims--my schadenfreude above not withstanding.)

Edited December 7, 2013 by Kathryn41
to remove quote removed for TOS violations

[Darnell 8,478]

It sure is going to be a sad Christmas this year.... Actually my employer is awesome... he said he would take me back as long as this is not going beyond the end of January... We are also cutting on everything and eating frozen $1 boxed dinners from Dollar Tree every day. We knew this was going to happen and we actually planned financially. I am venting because it is wrong to put us in such a miserable situation just because of red tape. I think it is undue suffering.

is possible to expedite the EAD, and to be honest, after the biometrics is done, is quite possible to do so.

you'll need to arrange it with uscis tier 2 human, via a telephone call,

and

be prepared to send off a letter of attestation clearly outlining what is what, and what's going on with the employer. bonus points for making it bland without being acerbic, and clearly state it'll cause a financial loss and clearly state you have job offer in hand.

Go Get Em, and Good Luck !

[note I'm being repetitive here, I pray to the God and her Seven Sisters that you take action before USCIS closes for the weekend]

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

*** several posts removed for TOS violations- persona attacks and racism. OP- just because you don;t like the advice given, does not mean you get to insult others. Others- if you can;t give constructive advice, do not post. Thread bans and further admin action will be next. ******

[Boiler 43,667]

You were married on the 1st July but seemed to wait 4 months before filing?

Edited December 6, 2013 by Boiler

[devo6786 10]

OP - you still haven't responded to me. Someone who WAS in your EXACT situation. Seems like you just wanted to complain. Its your fault. DOMA was overturned and you guys waited. Your bad.

EDIT: Just wanted to add: my wife is ALSO a citizen of italy. Has nothing to do with being from italy. We are now working on my paperwork overseas and it will take EVEN LONGER than it did in the US. Should I go on to blame italy? About how I should be able to move freely across countries?

Edited December 7, 2013 by devo6786

[Darnell 8,478]

rimini - what news from you,

from contacting USCIS,

getting a Tier 2 Human,

and requesting the expedite ?

What news?

[Ontarkie 13,943]

~~moved to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas from Bringing Family Members of US Citizens to America~~