Expedited RENEWAL of EAD

[EMBELL_17 100]

Hi everyone,

 

I am currently on F1 OPT status and my EAD expires 6/27/2017. I would have filed for a work visa through my employer but I met and married a US citizen so opted to file for AOS through my US spouse. My packet was received on 5/12/2017 and I received my NOA in the mail dated 5/17/2017. In my packet, I included a request for expedited processing of my I-765 renewal. I am worried because I only have a little over a month left on my EAD and being out of a job for even just a month is scary. In my request for expedited processing (included in the mailed packet), I provided my salary information, proof of rental payments, proof of monthly student loan payments, and proof of health insurance through my employer. I have reached out to my local congressman and was told that he submitted an inquiry to USCIS. I also filled in the ombudsman form online requesting further help with my expedition request. I called USCIS customer care and was told that because I already filed for expedited processing with my packet, I am unable to request again through them. I have my infopass appointment scheduled for 6/6/2017 (21 days before my EAD expires).

 

Right now, I am just freaking out. Anyone have any experience with this? Any advice? Thanks!

 

P.S. I know the packet was filed late but I was told by an attorney (who I ended up not retaining) that as long as I file before my EAD expires I should be fine. I think he ignored the fact that my current EAD is class C3B while my class requested is C9. This makes me ineligible for the automatic 180 day extension. He also told me it would be worthwhile waiting to file my taxes before I send in the packet which made sense considering USCIS would have likely required evidence of the tax filing anyway, but at least by then, they would have been working on my EAD.

Edited May 23, 2017 by EMBELL_17
TYPO

[Nelly17 10]

8 hours ago, EMBELL_17 said:

Hi everyone,

 

I am currently on F1 OPT status and my EAD expires 6/27/2017. I would have filed for a work visa through my employer but I met and married a US citizen so opted to file for AOS through my US spouse. My packet was received on 5/12/2017 and I received my NOA in the mail dated 5/17/2017. In my packet, I included a request for expedited processing of my I-765 renewal. I am worried because I only have a little over a month left on my EAD and being out of a job for even just a month is scary. In my request for expedited processing (included in the mailed packet), I provided my salary information, proof of rental payments, proof of monthly student loan payments, and proof of health insurance through my employer. I have reached out to my local congressman and was told that he submitted an inquiry to USCIS. I also filled in the ombudsman form online requesting further help with my expedition request. I called USCIS customer care and was told that because I already filed for expedited processing with my packet, I am unable to request again through them. I have my infopass appointment scheduled for 6/6/2017 (21 days before my EAD expires).

 

Right now, I am just freaking out. Anyone have any experience with this? Any advice? Thanks!

 

P.S. I know the packet was filed late but I was told by an attorney (who I ended up not retaining) that as long as I file before my EAD expires I should be fine. I think he ignored the fact that my current EAD is class C3B while my class requested is C9. This makes me ineligible for the automatic 180 day extension. He also told me it would be worthwhile waiting to file my taxes before I send in the packet which made sense considering USCIS would have likely required evidence of the tax filing anyway, but at least by then, they would have been working on my EAD.

Those are two different classes of EAD so as far as I know it is not a "renewal". If you pick "renewal" on the application , your application will be rejected because you have to pay for a renewal. C9 is free though. Also, I believe in order to issue you an EAD you need to have your biometrics done first so that would take about 2 months after the application was filed. Meaning i dont think you ll have an ead until around 7/12/17. 

I may be wrong.

[milkypoochie 3]

READ your NOA for the I-765 application.

 

If you read it carefully, you should see within the bottom paragraph of the page, last two bullet points, it states "IF your do not receive your renewal EAD before your current EAD expires, THEN  this NOA automatically extends the validity of your EAD for up to 180 days from the expiration date printed on the face of the card..."

 

So you have up to 180 days after 6/27/2017 (your EAD's expiry date) to receive your new EAD.

[EMBELL_17 100]

19 minutes ago, milkypoochie said:

READ your NOA for the I-765 application.

 

If you read it carefully, you should see within the bottom paragraph of the page, last two bullet points, it states "IF your do not receive your renewal EAD before your current EAD expires, THEN  this NOA automatically extends the validity of your EAD for up to 180 days from the expiration date printed on the face of the card..."

 

So you have up to 180 days after 6/27/2017 (your EAD's expiry date) to receive your new EAD.

Thanks! I believe this only applies if you the class on your current EAD matched the class on the NOA. My current class is CB3 (F1 OPT) but the class on my NOA is C9 (change of status). So the 180 day extension does not apply to me. I guess what I could do is apply for an extension based on my OPT (and pay the costs) so that my classes match. I am sure this will be rejected though but it will allow me to work as long as it takes USCIS to reject me. Just thinking things through. You gave me an idea.

[milkypoochie 3]

Good point.  I'm in a similar situation, from F-1 OPT to (c)(9) AOS but my OPT EAD expires mid August.

Maybe you should consult another attorney?

Edited May 24, 2017 by milkypoochie

[EMBELL_17 100]

8 minutes ago, milkypoochie said:

I researched some more, based on the USCIS website,

https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/automatic-employment-authorization-document-ead-extension

 

this page on Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension states that: 

 

Starting Jan. 17, 2017, USCIS is automatically extending certain expiring EADs for up to 180 days for applicants who:

• Properly filed for a renewal EAD before their current  EAD expired, and
• Are otherwise eligible for a renewal, which means that:
  • Your EAD renewal is under a category that is eligible for an automatic 180-day extension (see the list of categories below); and
  • The Category on your current EAD matches the “Class Requested” listed on this Notice of Action.  (Note:  If you are a TPS beneficiary or pending applicant, your EAD and this Notice must contain either the A12 or C19 category, but the categories do not need to match each other).

And, (c)(9) is an eligible category on the list.  So I believe you are covered.  Believe me, I am in a similar situation.  OPT to (c)(9) change of status.  But my OPT EAD expires mid August.

Yes, but see the second requirement: "The category on your CURRENT EAD must match the class requested." Your CURRENT EAD is class c3b. Your class requested is C9. Therefore, they do not match and we are not eligible for this automatic 180 day extension. 

[milkypoochie 3]

Sorry, I realized what you were saying after I made the last reply and went back to edit it.

Have you tried consulting another immigration attorney?

Edited May 24, 2017 by milkypoochie

[EMBELL_17 100]

30 minutes ago, milkypoochie said:

Good point.  I'm in a similar situation, from F-1 OPT to (c)(9) AOS but my OPT EAD expires mid August.

Maybe you should consult another attorney?

Yes, have you sent in your renewal yet? You should probably send it now to guarantee it is processed in time. (learning from my own mistakes haha)

[EMBELL_17 100]

20 minutes ago, milkypoochie said:

Sorry, I realized what you were saying after I made the last reply and went back to edit it.

Have you tried consulting another immigration attorney?

Yes, and I'm an attorney myself but I do not specialize in immigration law. I just got a crappy first attorney who I relied on a bit too much. If I could go back in time, I would have went to another attorney so he could have saved me the time of completing those forms. To answer your question, though, I have reached out to 2 other attorneys who say I am doing all the right things.  I was just coming here as an additional resource. Sometimes attorneys are a whole lot of money for no real reason at all 

[milkypoochie 3]

4 minutes ago, EMBELL_17 said:

Yes, have you sent in your renewal yet? You should probably send it now to guarantee it is processed in time. (learning from my own mistakes haha)

I did, after speaking with an immigration attorney.  I filed my renewal on 3/21/2017.

[EMBELL_17 100]

On 5/23/2017 at 7:12 PM, Nelly17 said:

Those are two different classes of EAD so as far as I know it is not a "renewal". If you pick "renewal" on the application , your application will be rejected because you have to pay for a renewal. C9 is free though. Also, I believe in order to issue you an EAD you need to have your biometrics done first so that would take about 2 months after the application was filed. Meaning i dont think you ll have an ead until around 7/12/17. 

I may be wrong.

Hi Nelly, because I have an EAD already, it does count as a renewal so it will not be rejected on that ground. I think because I already had an EAD, I do not need to wait for biometrics either. We'll see. I might get my biometrics done in time anyway. Thank you!

[Hello_there 0]

@EMBELL_17  Any updates on this topic? Thank you!

[milkypoochie 3]

@Hello_there She probably got her visa. I got mine as well. I figured out that as long as you are married to a US citizen and filed for AOS and visa accordingly, USCIS won’t kick you out even if your current visa has expired. You just can’t travel outside US.

Edited November 16, 2017 by milkypoochie

[Hello_there 0]

@milkypoochie Thank you for your response. My concern is being able to continue working at my job. We submitted all the paperwork for c9 last week and my EAD (c3B) expires end of January. I was wondering what I should do if the EAD doesn't arrive in time. What do I tell my employer?

Edited November 16, 2017 by Hello_there

[milkypoochie 3]

10 minutes ago, Hello_there said:

@milkypoochie Thank you for your response. My concern is bring able to continue working at my job. We submitted all the paperwork for c9 last week and my EAD (c3B) expires end of January. I was wondering what I should do if the EAD doesn't arrive in time. What do I tell my employer?

@Hello_there  You can’t legally work or get paid once your current visa expires. You may want to talk to your employer about job arrangements. But I must say you filed your c9 application really late. Depending where you are, some USCIS officrs are super backlogged and may take them quite a while to grant your new EAD. That said, maybe you can have your employer write you a letter and file for emergency expedition. Still, it’ll take a while and Thanksgiving and Christmas are around the corner...  or maybe do what Embell did and file another application for student visa  and get the 180 days automatic extension. You might want to look it up on USCIS website if that is allowed or if there are consequences.

Edited November 16, 2017 by milkypoochie