Expediting EAD / I-765 - please review my materials

[kwoodruff 4]

Hello all. We submitted my husband's I-485/131/765 and received receipt of them on June 11, 2019. We'd like to request to expedite his employment authorization document because he just got a job offer from an industry connection here in the States. Before we do so, I have a few questions. 

 

1. Is a cover letter and job offer letter sufficient proof if we are filing under the "severe financial loss" category? Right now, I am a salaried employee, but the bills are weighing quite heavy on me now that there are two of us. I'm not in the poverty range by any means though and I do have some money in savings (nothing major, a few thousand dollars), so I am wondering if they'll say "No, you make enough money - your husband doesn't qualify for the expedite request because of this." Any feedback on this?

 

2. I have seen people post that they get their local Congressman/woman involved in the EAD expedite process. When/why is this necessary? Can someone explain? I've dug into numerous threads and I still don't think I have a good understanding of it. If we just submit the expedite request with USCIS, is that sufficient, or do we need support from our local Congressperson?

 

3.  Since my husband got a job offer from an industry connection, they said his start date was flexible since they understand his situation. They basically said he can start whenever he gets his approval for work authorization. I read that a definitive date in the job offer letter is important to help move the process along. If we ask his potential employer to list a start date that is 1 month from the day we request the expedite, is that reasonable?

 

4. I copy/pasted my husband's cover letter below. If anyone has any comments or improvements, please let me know.

 

------

USCIS

Street Address

City, State, Zip Code

 

Date: <Insert Date>

Re: Request to Expedite I-765 Employment Authorization Document

I-765 Receipt #: Insert Number

A-Number: Insert Number

 

Dear USCIS Team,

 

Please find attached requested proof of my active job offer for <job title> with <company name> to give weight to my request to expedite my I-765 Application for Employment document. This job offer is valid until Monday, August 19, 2019.

 

I would very much appreciate the opportunity to expedite this case under financial hardship, which will allow me to commence this role and become an immediate tax-paying member of American society, and in doing so, alleviate the financial burden of single income on my spouse.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Name

Address

Phone Number

Email

[Peot 128]

1. It's on a case-by-case basis. You need to prove that if you are without the EAD you would suffer "Severe financial loss to a company or person". This can often be shown in the form of debts, bank account in arrears or overdrawn, if one of you has lost their job or suddenly undertakes a financial burden (medical, funeral, loss not covered by insurance). Having a salaried position, a bank account in the black, and a savings account might be evidence against the urgency, but again it's all subject to interpretation on a case-by-case basis by the USCIS. If they need more evidence, they'll send an RFE.

2. It's not required to speak to your congressman to file the application. Usually when the application for expedition has exceeded 90 days or there's been zero to no correspondence and people get nervous about the status they reach out to their local government. This often happens if the financial loss (or other reason for expedition) is immediate or has already occurred and the application needs to be processed as soon as possible. Many people submit the entire expedition request through their congressman which is an option available to you.

 

3. If you're asking whether or not you should be truthful in your correspondence with the USCIS, you know what the answer will be. The flexible job offer will again be a negative towards proving "financial loss" since the job offer isn't going to disappear without the expedition.

 

4. Though the cover letter mentions there will be a financial burden, a job offer doesn't show this. The burden of proof is on you to show that via bank statements, letters from creditors, invoices, etc. You would still need to provide the job offer, but it's not going to prove your burden very well.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by Peot

[kwoodruff 4]

1 hour ago, Peot said:

1. It's on a case-by-case basis. You need to prove that if you are without the EAD you would suffer "Severe financial loss to a company or person". This can often be shown in the form of debts, bank account in arrears or overdrawn, if one of you has lost their job or suddenly undertakes a financial burden (medical, funeral, loss not covered by insurance). Having a salaried position, a bank account in the black, and a savings account might be evidence against the urgency, but again it's all subject to interpretation on a case-by-case basis by the USCIS. If they need more evidence, they'll send an RFE.

2. It's not required to speak to your congressman to file the application. Usually when the application for expedition has exceeded 90 days or there's been zero to no correspondence and people get nervous about the status they reach out to their local government. This often happens if the financial loss (or other reason for expedition) is immediate or has already occurred and the application needs to be processed as soon as possible. Many people submit the entire expedition request through their congressman which is an option available to you.

 

3. If you're asking whether or not you should be truthful in your correspondence with the USCIS, you know what the answer will be. The flexible job offer will again be a negative towards proving "financial loss" since the job offer isn't going to disappear without the expedition.

 

4. Though the cover letter mentions there will be a financial burden, a job offer doesn't show this. The burden of proof is on you to show that via bank statements, letters from creditors, invoices, etc. You would still need to provide the job offer, but it's not going to prove your burden very well.

 

 

Thank you so much for your reply. This helps a lot!

[Lebanese23 303]

Just like Peot mentions, it's case by case basis, I didn't have to show proof of financial hardship but i did explain why i need to expedite for multiple reasons. ALSO you didnt mention if you did your biometrics yet.  I would wait until you have completed your biometrics before you submit an expedite, I believe they can't give you EAD without completing biometrics.

 

1. I made enough above poverty. my income was great when i lived with my parents, but now that i moved out, the bills were piling up and one income wasn't enough.  I also mentioned we live in the suburbs and my husband wasn't able to drive without an EAD or go grocery shopping, etc. it was a very difficult situation, especially in the winter months, he was going crazy sitting at home, he started applying for jobs and got a job offer letter and i used it to expedite.

 

2. I reached out to my congressman office only because calling USCIS was a total fail at the time, you can try it but they weren't even picking up the phone.  The Congressman staff has more power I guess, they asked me to fill out 2-3 papers to email back and I attach the job offer letter for proof of expedite.  They were very willing to help, within 2 weeks, card being produced. got card in mail a week later, so a total of 1 month if they are quick.

 

3. do not say your job is flexible, give them an end date, it will make them work on it quicker.  give them a month from when you submit them.

 

Like i said, i didn't provide proof that i was struggling financially, but i did explain that i bought a condo and I'm paying off the loan and bills, which was a lot on my shoulder, we desperately needed another income to help ease off the stress. I was also paying for wedding party at the same time. but i didn't mention that. but the driving in the suburbs might have helped.....who knows. or maybe the congressman staff that worked on my case was really persuasive. she even called me to tell me how committed she was to get me the work permit. so it's really all luck at the end.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Lebanese23

[kwoodruff 4]

3 hours ago, Lebanese23 said:

Just like Peot mentions, it's case by case basis, I didn't have to show proof of financial hardship but i did explain why i need to expedite for multiple reasons. ALSO you didnt mention if you did your biometrics yet.  I would wait until you have completed your biometrics before you submit an expedite, I believe they can't give you EAD without completing biometrics.

 

1. I made enough above poverty. my income was great when i lived with my parents, but now that i moved out, the bills were piling up and one income wasn't enough.  I also mentioned we live in the suburbs and my husband wasn't able to drive without an EAD or go grocery shopping, etc. it was a very difficult situation, especially in the winter months, he was going crazy sitting at home, he started applying for jobs and got a job offer letter and i used it to expedite.

 

2. I reached out to my congressman office only because calling USCIS was a total fail at the time, you can try it but they weren't even picking up the phone.  The Congressman staff has more power I guess, they asked me to fill out 2-3 papers to email back and I attach the job offer letter for proof of expedite.  They were very willing to help, within 2 weeks, card being produced. got card in mail a week later, so a total of 1 month if they are quick.

 

3. do not say your job is flexible, give them an end date, it will make them work on it quicker.  give them a month from when you submit them.

 

Like i said, i didn't provide proof that i was struggling financially, but i did explain that i bought a condo and I'm paying off the loan and bills, which was a lot on my shoulder, we desperately needed another income to help ease off the stress. I was also paying for wedding party at the same time. but i didn't mention that. but the driving in the suburbs might have helped.....who knows. or maybe the congressman staff that worked on my case was really persuasive. she even called me to tell me how committed she was to get me the work permit. so it's really all luck at the end.

Thanks for your reply. It's such a stressful process so it's nice to hear if/how others were successful. My husband did have his biometrics appointment on July 10, so we're good there.

 

How did you go about contacting your local Congress staff? Just looked them up online and reached out by phone or email? I have heard it's very difficult to get in touch with USCIS even through the hotline and that even when you do - half the time they are not that willing to help. This is is why I am trying to gather everything possible before we try to get in touch with them. Hopefully it will make the process quicker!

[Lebanese23 303]

19 hours ago, kwoodruff said:

Thanks for your reply. It's such a stressful process so it's nice to hear if/how others were successful. My husband did have his biometrics appointment on July 10, so we're good there.

 

How did you go about contacting your local Congress staff? Just looked them up online and reached out by phone or email? I have heard it's very difficult to get in touch with USCIS even through the hotline and that even when you do - half the time they are not that willing to help. This is is why I am trying to gather everything possible before we try to get in touch with them. Hopefully it will make the process quicker!

yes I looked them up online and i emailed them explaining my issue, they responded with 2 attached sheet, depends on your congressman, they will give you the sheet that you need to fill out, mostly privacy release sheet, so i filled both sheet out and i attached the job offer letter. if you wanna send proof of your hardship, maybe send a bill of a loan or rent, along with your monthly bills, maybe credit card bill. but i honestly didnt send any of that. so it all depends on whos working on your case.