AOS under section 245A approved in March, card production delayed due to Covid-19

[JonY 0]

My Adjust of Status under section 245A was approved in the court in March, my lawyer said that green card would be produced and mailed to me after a few month. 

 

Didn't happen. Sent email to ask why, the lawyer said that due to Covid-19, everything was understandably delayed (he also mentioned that a lawsuit was launched against Gov/USCIS).

 

Meanwhile called USCIS multiple times, the agent said that while local offices had opened, they were operating on the emergency-needed basis. Given that my EOD wouldn't expire until Oct, it's not deemed urgent.

 

To be clear, I don't really need the physical card right away - but I do need some kind of form of working permit after Oct.

 

What are the solutions to  my problem? What I can think of are:

 

1. Keep calling and pushing USCIS so that they would eventually arrange an infopass interview for me so that I can ask the local USCIS official to order the production of my greeencards;
2. To arrange an interview so that I can have my passport (which expired already BTW, but consulate is not open for business yet) stamped, so that it serves as a form of work permit;
3. Apply for the renewal of my current EAD, if USCIS sends back a notice of receipt, it can serve as a work permit as well. 

 

Which one of the above would be viable, given the current situation amid a pandemic and much paralyzed government agencies?

 

Thanks

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

You can either not change jobs after October or apply for a renewal of your EAD.

FYI in non Covid times you’d only be able to get an infopass appt 30 days prior to expiration I believe. Calling and “pushing” USCIS isn’t going to get you an appointment;just probably piss them off honestly. You can’t arrange an interview on your own. What did your lawyer suggest?

[geowrian 22,335]

1) Unless there is evidence that they are intentionally delaying your card from being printed, I can't see how they can do anything here. The underlying issue is that they switched to an in-house solution a few months ago, but with the pandemic causing both staffing issues and significant funding issues, they are way behind on card production. It's not just you...there are many people who are waiting for physical cards still. That said, I have heard that they are catching up on the backlog now. So hopefully you get the card "soon". You have 2 months before it's needed, so I would presume you'll be fine there unless there is another shutdown.

 

2) I'm not sure if they will stamp an expired passport or not (I used to know this off the top of my head but I can't recall off-hand now, sorry). But they can stamp another form and that acts as a green card for up to 1 year.

That said, generally they will only do this ~14-30 days before needed. Under current conditions, they will only provide the stamp in emergency cases - so you would need to present evidence of the urgent need (like an employer needing to reverify work authorization, or a trip abroad).

 

3) Technically, if your I-485 was already formally approved, filing an I-765 renewal would be improper.

No idea if they would actually catch it or not in their system. If the system has your I-485 flagged as no longer pending, I would assume it would be rejected.