AussieBC

I dont know about whether or not you should be getting an interview but it is QUITE COMMON for EAD/AP to be in initial review even after you have received your interview notice. 60 days seems to be the quickest people are getting their EAD/AP notifications but it can take as long as 90 days. You may call after 75 days. Mine came around day 70.

I certainly would not try to stop you from trying to figure out what your ead/ap case status is, but it is no cause for you to be worried yet.

I received my EAD (didn't apply for ap) 3 days AFTER i was approved for AOS. How useless is that?

Ben received his EAD/AP combo card last night in the mail So happy...but I do have a question (tried to look here, but couldn't find what I was looking for)...The card expires in one year...even after AOS is approved and we receive the green card...do we "still" have to reapply for EAD/AP before this current card expires??? Any feedback would be most appreciated. I apologize if this answer exists somewhere

Yes, we will definitely have a thread while going through ROC together...that works for me.

Congrats, Im not sure if your case is any different than mine but as I understand, your ead/ap becomes useless after you receive your green card.

Your ead allows you to work. Your AP allows you to leave and re-enter the US (as long as you did NOT overstay). Your Green Card allows you to do both of these things (even if you had previously overstayed).

Since you don't have a lease you should try getting them to type up something and have it notarized, stating Sister and Bro-in-law are owners of said house and are renting out a room + shared use of common area to "you AND your husband" for X amount each month, util included etc. In a way, that also shows that you are living together at the same address because the 'lease' is out in both names.

Yes, not really a traditional lease, but it does account for your living situation and more evidence never hurts.

You call the number on the bottom of your paper, the Uscis hotline number and you do it over the phone. Keep in mind I never actually got to say 75 so I don't know what happens when you start one. But supposedly they look into what's holding up your ead case. Good luck.

After 75 days you are eligible for a service request for your ead. I have read of one case where the lady was nice and initiated a service requested after 65 days but that is an exception.

Yes 60 days seems to be the mode right now but I got my notification around day 70.

*count from your priority date

Hello all,

So people get multiple email/text notification for the EAD production stage?

I dont think you are SUPPOSED to get multiple card productions for the same card, i believe it is an error on their part but it has happened to me and apparently pot as well.

Sorry but you are completely wrong. I'm a letter carrier for USPS for 15 years in New Jersey and the RULES are if the name is not on the mailbox we don't deliver the mail. Anyone can ask that to any mailman and they will tell you that they cannot deliver any mail if your name is not posted. Specially when is something very important like a check, immigration papers, court notices, and so on. The mail that doesn't get deliver and we send it back as UNKNOWN so EVERYONE PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS ON YOUR MAILBOX BECAUSE YOUR MAIL WON'T GET DELIVER. As letter carriers we have the power to send it back UNKNOWN...if you still in doubt you can ask any carrier.

For Sean86 I believe you have a letter carrier who didn't follow the rules and risk delivering a very important piece of mail in a mailbox with no names.

However, if you live in a one family house, you have 50 percent chance your mail will get deliver to a mailbox with no name. But if you live in a building you'll have ZERO percent chance to get your mail delivered to a mailbox with no name unless you have an irresponsible carrier. If you don't have your name on the mailbox and you are friends with your regular carrier don't think that you will be fine. Because what if on that specific day that you are getting your GC or EAD your carrier calls in sick and someone else is on that route that day...he or she will send it back UNKNOWN because your name is not on your box and he or she doesn't know who you are...I'm letting you know because I've done it. I have send back immigration papers.

I wish USCIS would mail to PO Box but they really want to make sure you live in the address provided.

I wasn't going to get in on this bc it doesnt benefit me at all but i feel like i have to clarify here. No disrepsect to your rules and regulations and I am sure in NJ most if not all carriers follow the rules but in my town, that is not the case. I've lived in my town for 6+ years and have only had my name on 3 of the 6 different apts i've lived. I havent dealt with SS since I got that a long time ago when i lived with my parents but I have received numerious EADs and even my my green card at my mail box a couple days ago, again, no name in the box. I also live in an apt community.

Im not sure what the system is, but if the mail carrier adds my name to the box voluntarily, im certainly not going to take it off, but if he doesn't do it, then I am not aware that I SHOULD add my name.

Either that regulation is limited to certain cities/states or there are a lot of carriers who overlook that rule especially in my town.

So i guess the ruling is, just go ahead and add your name to the box just to be safe (but be aware that important mail HAS been delivered to boxes without names).

You got it 3days after the 2nd card production? Not after the EAD

approval notice mailed update? I know some people here in VJ get update about EAD approval notice mailed and then they receive it 3days later.

Congratulations on your Green Card!!!

thanks!

correct, i got it 3 days after a 2nd card production. I received the card 2 days after my EAD approval notice. Check my sig. The only thing that is missing is on 11/14 I received EAD card production for the 2nd time. I omitted it as i thought it would be confusing. Btw, i received my EAD approval notice on the 21st.

Oh okay. How long did you get your card after that second card production update again?

9 days from first card production, and 3 days from 2nd card production. When they ordered card production for my greencard, i received my 2nd card production on the same day 11/14. I feel like it was just a duplicate error in the computer system.

I got another update today Nov. 23 about the same update last Nov.18

They ordered card production again of my EAD???? What is that suppose to mean? Im worried.

Please help! Thanks

i got the same thing. I still got the card though so I don't think it is anything serious.

we never got an approval letter then for our EAD lol. O well! Doesnt it feel great having it all done

yeah i gather USCIS is very inconsistent with what they issue lol

and yes it feels wonderful, now I need to find a good career. It was so easy before to just say "oh i'll have a good one but let me get a green card first", but now the time has come, i need to figure out what that 'good' career is.

Ok august filers, FINAL UPDATE!!

The wife and I went to visit my parents these past few days so when we got back last night, i received 2 goodies from USCIS. Got my green card in hand as well as an EAD Approval notice (useless at this point).

So for those that say that the approval is the same letter as the physical ead card letter, that is wrong. It does say you have been "approved" when you receive your EAD physical card but the approval notice is printed on the official USCIS template that we all know all too well. Funny how out of order everything came for me. Will i even receive a welcome to america letter? I have no idea.

But it has been a crazy journey for me and I want to thank VJers for letting me have a place to vent and figure out the crazy things USCIS does. Does it speed the process up? No, but it definitely helps the nerves!

Good luck to all those remaining in the process and congrats to those who have also received their green cards.

I'll probably still stick around for a month or so to help people if anyone still has any questions about what I experienced.

Thanks! but why does the email says different? AP is approved and EAD is in production? Is that normal?

Not to add more confusion to the fire, but to my understanding...

Yes, AP and EAD is a combo card, so it is one physical item.

If they ordered Card production today they couldnt have mailed it out today.

So based upon my own experience (and i never did apply for AP, only ead and aos), I was issued a card production for the ead on the 8th. then on the 14th, i received ANOTHER card production for my ead again. (idk why), 15th, i received an approval notice (which i have read means its been mailed).

You can interpret that however you wish lol, sorry.

as for your address questions, i am unsure as I did not change my address during my process.

Just received this:

Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Your Case Status: Decision

On November 18, 2011, we mailed you a notice that we had registered this customer's new permanent resident status. ETC ETC ETC ETC

For those of you who have already received their GC's, does this mean they have mailed anything? Mailed the Welcome letter? Mailed the GC? Or is it just a mundane step?

I ask because it is DECISION, not POST DECISION ACTIVITY. I noticed that when they mailed my EAD, it was definitely POST DECISION ACTIVITY.

Thanks.

Tried to edit this post but for some reason it won't let me.

After doing some searching, for those wondering the same thing as I am, DECISION is a normal step supposedly which is the notification letting you know they have mailed out your "Welcome Letter".

Hey, I know I haven't been posting but I have been watching closely and I see a lot of people have gotten their EAD and Green Cards already. I applied in August but I had to send additional evidence and they postponed my date I assume.

Today I checked the status online and although my EAD and everything else is in "Initial Review" stage, my AOS has moved and apparently I have an interview on Dec 22nd. "On November 18, 2011, we mailed you an appointment notice for an interview for December 22, 2011, at NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER" - this is what it says, now my question is if the interview will be held at the local office which is Portland OR. Thank you so much

congrats on getting an interview date.

Seems like your case is being handled by the national benefits center (nbc) so yes their default wording will say NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER online. Once you receive the actual physical letter, it should list the location/address near the bottom of the sheet, of where your interview will be held at (presumebly your local office you've been dealing with)

Update!!!

At 9:16 pm this evening I got a txt notification that they ordered card production for my EAD/AP!!! I can't believe they are still working at this time. Lol

I'm so happy!!! Any idea how long it will take to get my card in the mail? Thanks!

10 days seems to be the average from card production.

Don't forget you should receive another Email/Text which says your i765 was approved. That is when you know they actually MAILED it (via Priority mail.)

Got our email/text letting us know we finally have an interview coming up! Finally!! It's on December 21st Talk about being close to Christmas time

What do I bring? I have photos of the wedding, our joint bank account checks and statements, the lease to our apt. in our name. Anything else? I'm not sure what else to bring.

For fear of telling you the wrong thing or under preparing you i'm going to provide you with a link of someone's post (on another forum) that helped me get a grasp on what i needed to bring. NOTE: This is not me, just another guy's experience that i found.

http://forums.immigration.com/threads/325683-July-2011-Filers?p=2555110#post2555110

just remember to make copies of all your documents including your photos that you will be presenting at your interview as they keep everything.

Also a tip from my lawyer was he told us that my wife and I should remember to bring each of our house keys bc sometimes they ask to see if you each have a key to your place.

Sometimes interviews are extremely thorough and they look through everything and sometimes its a short 20 mins of re-confirming your biographical info. As always, your mileage may vary, but good luck on your interview. Honesty is the best policy, and remember body language (even before the interview when you are waiting in the lobby) is half the battle.

Last tip, if in doubt whether you should bring a particular document: bring it.

Just received this:

Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Your Case Status: Decision

On November 18, 2011, we mailed you a notice that we had registered this customer's new permanent resident status. ETC ETC ETC ETC

For those of you who have already received their GC's, does this mean they have mailed anything? Mailed the Welcome letter? Mailed the GC? Or is it just a mundane step?

I ask because it is DECISION, not POST DECISION ACTIVITY. I noticed that when they mailed my EAD, it was definitely POST DECISION ACTIVITY.

Thanks.

The EAD is still valid...we still have my husbands because they told us to keep it after our green card interview...it is not needed though after you get your green card. You can get a job with it my husband had a job before we had our interview so you can definitely start looking. In many states if you were to get your license with your EAD card, your license will only be valid until your EAD expires...something to look into to see if where you live is like that.

PS-Green card will come in priority mail as well

I was so confused but your answer clears everything up. In florida, your Drivers License expires when your EAD does so I think I'll just wait it out and apply with my GC so I don't need to have it renewed so soon. But I'll probably start looking for a job now.

Glad to know the GC comes priority too! Thank you again for the information!

Just updating again to let august filers know i JUST recevied my EAD in the mail today but since I was was approved for my Green Card this past monday (11/14/11), I wonder if the EAD is even valid. On a side note, since I am technically a permanent resident with conditions now, would using the EAD (ie: to get a license, apply for job, etc) get me in muddy waters?

Also surprising to see, it arrived Priority Mail. I hope my GC does the same.

Hi everyone,

I applied in Sept. and received e-mail confirmation for all applications on Sept. 26. Days later I received the hard copies confirmation. Did my walk-in biometrics on Oct. 7 and my case still shows under "initial review" online. I hope to receive some news soon. I'm getting a bit impatient.

If it helps, mine showed initial review for 80% of the process

Then for a couple of day it showed that my file could not be found because of incomplete information.

Then jump straight to card production.

I would get used to looking at initial review.

nice congrats. Sounds like a lot of running around turned into a happy ending.

Just wanted to let August filers know we just came out of our interview and we were approved for my conditional green card as of today. I was told my card would arrive within 10 days and I asked about the passport stamp. He said it is policy not to give it out anymore Bc they are issuing the cards quickly right now.

Still haven't received my EAD though it is kind of useless now. I will update again when I receive my cards.

Good luck to all those awaiting interviews!

Wow Congrats!!!! I did my my biometrics 5days after yours. I hope they did not skip mine. :/

No nothing at all. I guess because i did my biometrics almost at the end of Oct. So maybe I should expect to get something by Dec. :/

This is not fact, but from what I've seen around these forums, early or late biometrics doesn't really dictate the timeline of your ead/aos interview. You should count the days from your Priority Date.

Can a walk-in biometric speed things up? Yes and No. If your file has been processed already and is only awaiting finger prints/background check, then yea a walk in will help because as soon as they receive your information, your file will pretty much be sent out for card production. But if your file hasn't been processed yet, or is in the middle of being processed, an early biometrics isn't going to do anything simply because the file has not been done yet.

For example, look at my dates, I did my biometrics on the scheduled date, LESS THAN ONE MONTH after my priority date and yet my EAD Card production took about 70 days! That's about 10 days longer than people in this september and august 2011 AOS threads.

Just something to think about. Basically what im saying is, keep calm and don't get paranoid, your EAD card production will arrive when it arrives. If you are absolutely convinced something is up with your file however, you may call USCIS hotline if you have been waiting more than 75 days from priority date for them to look into it. I tried calling around day 65, and then told me to call back in 10 days. Low and behold 5 days later i got my ead card production.

Congrats

thanks, yours should be right around the corner if our case timeline similarities keep up.