Expediting AOS and EAD

[highvoltage 9]

HI All,

 

Can anyone please share expediting AOS and EAD? Any experiences? I am an active duty US army member and my fiance is currently on a K1 visa here. We have filled for AOS, EAD and AP. I just have the receipt numbers starting IOE, how do we know as to where my EAD is being handled? What would be the process for expediting AOS? is that even possible? We filed in Feb 2022.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

From a previous post.

 

 

EDIT:. It seems expedites are approved if you have orders for deployment overseas

Edited March 6, 2022 by SteveInBostonI130
Added info

[Boiler 43,429]

Anybody can apply for an expedite, you need a reason to get whatever you are looking to expedite approved.

[highvoltage 9]

Hi All,

 

We have K1 to AOS, post finishing the biometrics how long does it take to get the background checks finished. We can only expedite AOS after that right?

 

When does the case arrive at the local jurisdiction? All the case numbers now are IOE right, how does this work ? Does NBC work on our case or else the local office?

[milimelo 4,193]

The only thing you could potentially expedite is EAD/AP. Not AOS. 

[K1visaHopeful 2,661]

NBC processes and approves EAD and AP.

NBC previews I485 and sends to LFO after preview to await interview.

 

As above, you can't expedite I485, only I765 and I131 seperately and with each their own qualifying reason.

 

 

 

[Ontarkie 13,915]

~~Duplicate thread merged. Please only start one thread for similar or related questions. As you are active duty the AOS forum may not see your related question in the Military forum. Some situations change things and best to keep questions to one thread and forum.~~

[TimmahTimmah 2]

Active military here. We filed all three (AOS/EAD/AP) in October 2021. I was notified I'd be PCSing to a remote assignment (no dependents) in May. We requested an expedite on all three but the combo card (EAD and AP) were approved. We had to call a few times and some agents were more helpful than others. I knew I had them on the ropes when they asked me to FAX my orders over (Redacted PII). I don't think the AOS expedite was approved since there has been no movement on it. USCIS only seems to take action for military members if they deploy or are  about to be separated from their spouses. (CONUS/OCONUS with dependents they don't seem to do anything for) 

[highvoltage 9]

On 3/7/2022 at 3:23 AM, K1visaHopeful said:

NBC processes and approves EAD and AP.

NBC previews I485 and sends to LFO after preview to await interview.

 

As above, you can't expedite I485, only I765 and I131 seperately and with each their own qualifying reason.

 

 

 

Understood thank you, question does the local office process my application apart from the interview? Question is that does nbc perform majority of the work on the case related to i485?

[K1visaHopeful 2,661]

As per what?

I485 is previewed for completeness at the NBC.

Nothing is processed anywhere for I485 as the interview is the only process.

[highvoltage 9]

3 hours ago, K1visaHopeful said:

As per what?

I485 is previewed for completeness at the NBC.

Nothing is processed anywhere for I485 as the interview is the only process.

So in this process where does the background checks happen. Is it after reaching the local office or else at the NBC stage? I thought we had to finish the pre processing, Background verification, K1 to AOS prerequisities completion and then the interview part at the local office right?

[Villanelle 4,121]

11 minutes ago, highvoltage said:

So in this process where does the background checks happen. Is it after reaching the local office or else at the NBC stage? I thought we had to finish the pre processing, Background verification, K1 to AOS prerequisities completion and then the interview part at the local office right?

May I ask why you seem to have such concerns about the background check? Is your spouse from a region they consider high concern or works in a specific field? Either way the background check is one part of the process that can not be sped up by any one regardless of the circumstances.

 

I can try to find you some links about the specifics of the background check but basically its done by the FBI. Several systems are checked. Starts with biometrics, fingerprints search in data base. And then a name check search for ANY records containing the name, variations of the name and even phonetic versions of the name.  This search is not only for records in which the name was the subject of interest but any records that contain the name in any capacity.  

 

So poor John Smith may have an extended delay. Jon Smith. Jon Smyth. John Smyth. Jahn Smith. Etc etc.  If the records are from regions that don't freely share information it takes longer. (think non esta countries). Unbelievably a large portion of records are not electronic. Talking papers in file boxes, shipped back and forth as needed. So if the agent doing your background check needs box 1234a and box 1234a is with an agent across the country,  your guy has to wait.  There may be 2 or 3 other agents in line waiting for box 1234a, so it might be quite a wait! All for them to check a random case im which a John Smith name appears. 

 

The pandemic made it worse. I remember reading a news article, think it was posted on VJ as well about how they were having huge delays because pandemic protocols of stay 6 ft away from each other was a big issue in how they could access the storage room to get the boxes they needed. 

 

But all of the background processing starts in a way  the moment you submit your package as your names are immediately entered into the system but the crux of it won't occur until after biometrics are captured.

 

Officially they say the checks should take 2-3 weeks but it can take a year or more. So for most people the background check is completed during the time the service center is processing your package.  You submit your package and it goes to a service center. When they are done it goes to NBC. NBC is basically a pit stop where its checked for completeness prior to being sent to the local office. They are the gatekeepers and manage the flow of cases depending on workload as well. 

 

As a K AOS applicant there may not be an interview. The decision to waive the interview can be made at the service center(it still goes to NBC for final review), decided while at NBC (either approved or sent to the local office) or even by the local office who does get the case from NBC and is supposed to interview but decides for various reasons they aren't. 

 

As a member of the military there is a special 800 number you can call USCIS with questions.  Experiences with it vary. I believe also there should be someone on your base or otherwise available to you that is a liason of sorts? I'm sorry, I am not familiar enough with the military structure to give you the specifics of who exactly. 

[K1visaHopeful 2,661]

2 hours ago, highvoltage said:

So in this process where does the background checks happen. Is it after reaching the local office or else at the NBC stage? I thought we had to finish the pre processing, Background verification, K1 to AOS prerequisities completion and then the interview part at the local office right?

At the moment there is no process as since Covid, biometrics (which usually were completed shortly after applying) can be scheduled at the start, middle or after you are Ready to be Scheduled. RTBS usually signifies your case has already been transferred to your LFO.

[highvoltage 9]

On 3/21/2022 at 9:26 AM, K1visaHopeful said:

At the moment there is no process as since Covid, biometrics (which usually were completed shortly after applying) can be scheduled at the start, middle or after you are Ready to be Scheduled. RTBS usually signifies your case has already been transferred to your LFO.

Thanks a ton for the information. Question anyway to reach out to NBC for the EAD information, mine has been stuck for many days with the same information regarding saying actively reviewing the case even though i expedited the case many days ago.

How can i know if its being looked at by a real person or else it is just in the queue?

[K1visaHopeful 2,661]

5 hours ago, highvoltage said:

Thanks a ton for the information. Question anyway to reach out to NBC for the EAD information, mine has been stuck for many days with the same information regarding saying actively reviewing the case even though i expedited the case many days ago.

How can i know if its being looked at by a real person or else it is just in the queue?

There is no way to know when your expedite will be looked at by an officer.

You followed the procedure to expedite EAD? 

Ie. You called after you received your Noa1 receipt notice for I765 and they asked you to provide evidence of a job offer and you provided it?