AnnoyedAtTSC

Glad you had better luck. It's still been 45 days since we got the notice that the "card was in production." We just got the interview notice in the mail for AOS so wouldn't be surprised if we had the green card before the EAD.

Ring 1800 number and ask for tracking number. If first line don't have it ask for tier 2. I was told a lot do go missing. If it has then they will send out a new one.

I concur. The only thing you can really do is make yourself i right pain in the butt. Did you contact your congressional office yet and get them on the case? If they're anything like mine they really dislike you bugging them, so keep doing it

The 30/60/90 day stuff is often thrown around to cover them. I was told the target for responding to expedite requests (good or bad) was 5 days. They didn't hit that target for me but it was under 2 weeks

So, did you finally get your card in the mail? I finally was informed that my EAD was approved on the 19th, but the online case status hasn't updated yet. Honestly I won't rest easy until I have the card in hand!

Yes, i got my card on Friday May 12th and started work the Monday after

My status didn't update until the day before my card arrived. I actually rang a couple of times and the 1800 number people told me "this hasn't been approved, who told you it had been?" which worried me at first. But once i got through to a tier 2 they had the correct information.

If you've been approved you can ring and ask for a tier 2 in order to get the tracking number for your card. I was recommended to do this. I was unable to get the tracking number until the card showed up however.

Glad you finally heard something. Looks like they are trying to play catch up. I got a status update last night that they "ordered" our "new card" on May 2nd. LOL. We never got the "old" card. Perhaps that is just the language they use. But nothing since then. So, great they ordered it. Will it be another 30 day day wait to get it?

I was actually told mine went to the printers twice because they forgot the biometrics the first time. Maybe something similar happened with you but they just chose a different status for you willy-nilly.

Tier 2 says no tracking number for my card yet. They have to wait for that from USPS. So i'm guessing that USPS haven't actually picked it up yet, or whatever system they have going on.

The guy said it was coming from Kentucky so fingers crossed it will only be a day or 2 for delivery after it goes (i'm in TN)

5/12 - Email at approx 5am saying my case status had been updated to approved. Status now confirms it was approved on 5/9 which was the date i was told it was sent to the printers. So online status caught up with internal USCIS status after 1 week.

About 2 hours later i got another mail saying the card had been mailed.

I'm now awaiting a tier 2 callback in order to get the tracking number for it.

So, i've been approved! Yippee. I still don't have a card and my case status is still at 'Case was received'.

I've been told by 3 different people that it was approved on 5/5: Congressman's office via USCIS, USCIS tier 2 who i spoke to today and also the CIS ombudsman who i contacted for help.

The tier 2 i spoke to today basically told me the NBC are so busy they're not updating the online statuses! She also suggested i ring back daily to ask for a tier 2 until i can get a tracking number for my card because "a lot get lost in the post". Couldn't make it up.

Oh dear You definitely need biometrics for the whole application. It's possible to get EAD without it, but you will need them at some point, and they tend to send them out almost immediately.

Edit: It used to say, at least, on the NOA1 that you will receive a biometrics notice in 30 days and if you do not, give a call.

Luckily I kept pestering and the 3rd time I got that info and a service request created to get biometrics. I'm still not sure whether biometrics are required for EAD, first 2 times I rang they said no and the 3rd they said yes.

The NOA1 for AOS says they will schedule biometrics but doesn't say when to expect, just not to turn up before you have a letter.

The EAD NOA1 just basically says to wait.

USCIS gives out very little information and the stuff you do get often contradicts. That must be the cause of so many issues. People would be more at ease if they knew they were on schedule and not missing anything.

Just notice to all: if you have not received a biometrics appointment in 30 days, you can call and tell them. They expect you to have one in 30 days, so if it is more, they do consider this a problem and will be responsive.

Should be responsive ;-)

I hadn't got one after 75 days and the first 2 times I rang about it i was told i might not need biometrics and nothing whatsoever was done.

So an update...

Really went to town this week with hassling people. Daily calls/e-mails to the 1-800 number (always demanding tier 2), senators, governors,any USCIS person we could find and also the CIS ombudsman.

Eventually one replied saying I had been approved. Case status still not updated so I was a bit hesitant to believe it.

Then, despite saying it would take 45 working days to respond, the ombudsman replied. They also said that it had already been approved and card produced on 5/5/16. Having a second person from outside USCIS say that makes me more hopeful. I do wish the status would update though, what is the point in having it if the data isn't correct?

All I can say to others also over processing time is to hassle hassle hassle. Make yourself a real pain in the butt.

Fingers still crossed!

Ridiculous they can be this disorganised.

I just got a call back from a tier 2. He said that they didn't send me a biometrics appointment on Feb 17th like I was previously told.

He suggested i mailed my biometrics confirmation back to the local USCIS office so they don't reschedule me another appointment. Why they'd do that when my biometrics are in the system i have no idea, he really didn't make any sense on that regardless of how i worded my question.

He said my service request for expedition had a target date for a response for yesterday (pretty sure they don't work sunday so no idea why they'd have a sunday target date). Said i should expect some sort of communication by email either today or tomorrow (not holding my breath).

He said there was no indication that any correspondence had been sent out on the 27th and no RFE or anything was on the case. So i still have no clue what this means:

On April 27, 2016, we requested information on your case to best respond to your inquiry about the status of your Employment Authorization application, referral number T1DXXXXXXXXXXMSC

Aly - sorry for your pain. If you have not done so already ring the 1-800 USCIS number and ask them to expedite your case based on it being outside of normal processing.

No idea if it actually helps but it can't do any harm. Keep us posted

That is the only thing i could think of, but is that not an RFE? Should the status have changed? They took my email and phone number when i submitted the expedite request and I've heard zero from them.
The way its worded doesn't actually mean they've requested information from ME though. This is just another one of the seemingly endless list of issues/questions that would be completely avoided with better information coming out of USCIS.

If i ring USCIS should they be able to tell me that they've sent me a letter? The woman i spoke to yesterday was so not interested in helping me and basically kept repeating "wait 30 days"

I don't think it is a RFE though. Infopass lady said they had everything and wouldn't the case status change like it does for the visas?

I've now got this on my case tracking for my i765......

On April 27, 2016, we requested information on your case to best respond to your inquiry about the status of your Employment Authorization application, referral number T1DXXXXXXXXXXMSC.

Anyone know what information they might need at this point in time? I rang the helpline and they couldn't tell me what it was.

Went for my infopass appointment, what an utter waste of time and energy that was!

First off they pulled up my file (woo, they have my file i thought), closely followed by "was this filed with an i-485 as we don't have that on the system"......WHAT?!?!?

Luckily i had my NOA1 for it and they were able to find it and linked them together, apparently that should have been done at the beginning.

Next she sees i have a service request on the application and says "i see you have a service request already, that is more than i'm able to do". From that point onwards i know i'm wasting my time. A few more questions and answers and its confirmed that she has no authority or ability to do anything of any use. The best bit of info i got was that my biometrics were indeed on file.

So i got home and rang the 1-800 number for what feels like the thousandth time. They were able to create an expedite request for me. They did it on the grounds that its been over 90 days and put in the notes that i have a job offer waiting and that i can provide proof if needed. They said they try and reply to expedite requests in 5 days, which is positively light speed for USCIS. Then added on the caveat that it could take 30 days. Sigh.

I dunno if i'm making progress or not tbh. Part of me feels all this effort is just snake oil and USCIS will just continue in their crappy ways regardless. We've got half the elected officials of Tennessee watching the case and requesting info now :-D

I would ring. I didn't receive a biometrics letter and only chased it when 3 months was up. Thusly my i765 is now outside normal processing.

They'll normally have to open a service request for an officer to look into it and it can take 30 days for them to reply.

I've come to the conclusion that it's best to bug these people as much as possible because if you don't they will mess up your case

Good news, i like to think some rapid action was prompted due to our hassling of USCIS but i'm aware that is probably just coincidence....

Got a new biometrics appointment for 3rd May through the post today! Yay. Read online that people have had luck getting it done early so i took a chance and went over to the Nashville USCIS office. There was absolutely nobody there, other than employees. Asked if i could do it early.... "of course, not a problem".....filled out a form, got a number and took a seat.....immediately got called due to being the only person there. Wham bam, Bob's your uncle, biometrics done in 10mins flat.

Anyone know what sort of timeframe i'm looking at before the next case status update? I've got an infopass appointment on tuesday too so i'm gonna go to that and hopefully keep up the pressure. Fingers crossed i might even have a job offer by then that i might be able to use to persuade some further action.

My case will be outside normally processing time next thursday so as soon as that comes around i'll submit one of those enquiries online.

Am i right in thinking there is nothing else required from me now, other than hassling USCIS at every opportunity?

Agreed about USCIS being a ridiculous agency. The lack of accountability is the most frustrating part for me.

I was so sure your problem would be the same as mine, considering your NOA1 date! Did you manage to reschedule your appointment? I'm suspicious of them saying they had your correct address if you never received the notice. I'd advise calling back and insisting to speak to Tier 2... they are supposed to transfer you, especially if you insist right off the bat. I had to argue with them a few times but did manage to get transferred the last few times I called. I'd ask Tier 2 to verify your address, just to be on the safe side. But that's me, after this debacle I don't trust what they tell me anymore! Especially the customer service folks who first answer the phone. I'd verify all the info you got with an actual immigration officer (tier 2).

Good luck!! If nothing else an infopass appointment might help. Keep us posted!

I might get my wife to call, she's nicer than me and might be able to extract the next round of contradictory evidence. The person I spoke to gave me my correct address without me giving it to them first.

This could all be avoided by better case tracking and time schedules. Eg, this is where we're at, this is what we need from you next, you should get X after this many days etc etc.

They don't even need to get better at their jobs, just make information available

Ok, so i was unable to get to a tier 2 person, was told they would have no further info on my case than whoever i was talking to. However, this person did actually seem to have more details on my case than others i have spoken to.

She had my correct address. She could also tell me that according to them they sent a biometrics appointment on the 17th Feb, that is news to me. Alas, because of that they've blamed USPS so i can't even apply to have the rest of the process expedited due to "mistake by USCIS".

So, it looks like i could be looking at another 2+ months before its all done. So depressed.

Hi! As your NOA1 is dated January 29th, I think you're one of the missing-address victims of whatever technical glitch happened on that day. There are several of us who had this same issue, all with NOA1s on the same date. Basically there was a problem with the way our addresses were entered (or not entered) in their system so that no address appears on our files, which makes it impossible for them to schedule the biometrics appointment. All of us did receive our hard copy NOA1s in the mail so obviously they have the addresses somewhere, just not in one specific section of their system it seems. Who knows exactly what happened, but the bottom line is that they made a mistake on that day and most of the people I've talked to about it don't know how to fix it.

You could call and talk to an immigration officer (tier 2) and ask them to verify your address. They are supposed to be able to update it manually if it's missing, but even after they did that for me I didn't receive my appointment letter. The only thing that worked for me (and several others it seems) was to reach out to my congressman and explain the details of my situation. They were able to put pressure on USCIS to fix their mistake and schedule the biometrics appointment. I see you've already contacted your congressman, but I'd call his office again and give them more detailed information about your case if possible. Stress that USCIS mishandled your case, made a mistake, and that they have put no real effort into fixing the issue. You could also get one or both of your senators involved. Otherwise the infopass appointment might help too, even if that is a few weeks away. I didn't have to get that far (yet!).

I was finally able to do my biometrics last Monday, after fighting USCIS since the end of February. Hopefully my case will get back on track now! Another fellow missing-address VJer just got their EAD/AP approval 10 days after their biometrics, so there is hope that we won't have to wait too long for them to catch up on our cases.

Best of luck! Sorry you ended up in the unlucky group like I did!

You have GOT to be kidding me? Just when i thought USCIS could not sink any lower in my estimations i hear something like this! This is really great info, thanks so much.

Unbelievable institution/agency, complete joke.

Hi,

I filed i465 and i785 back in January. Other than NOAs for each i've not heard a peep regarding either of them. The EAD timelines here suggest they are processing Feb filers now and my NOA was Jan 29th.

I've not received a biometrics appointment for either EAD or green card. Some places say i might not need one as they can use biometrics taken from my visa process. How do i know if that applies to me? I've tried ringing USCIS, utter waste of time as the people can't even see my file. I've contacted my local congressman's office and they are supposedly looking into it, but that's all gone quiet too.

I've opened service requests with USCIS for both my i465 and i785 but naturally i can't do anything with those until they've had a whole month to respond.

I started looking for jobs because i foolishly believed the 3 months processing timeframe given by USCIS but now i'm concerned that i might not even be close to getting at EAD because of the biometrics.

I'm booked in for an infopass appointment, but again the wait is a few weeks.

What else can i do? I just want to be able to work. I've done my time waiting and i'm kinda getting sick of being treated like a piece of dirt on the US government's shoe.

Who else can i harass about this?

Anything similar happen to anyone else? Outcome?

Thanks people.

I ended up stashing a load of stuff at work and going without it overnight. I went as bare as i could to the embassy. Turns out all in vain as everyone else had backpacks, tablets, etc. Ha!

Still, approved! USA here i come!

Can the storage places take a bag, or is it just small items like phones and keys? I can't spend the whole day in london with just a folder and papers.

Thanks. Sigh.

What about a backpack? I gotta carry all my documents in something.

I've seen 2 pieces of info on the US embassy website. One said no laptops:

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/cons-visa/prohibited_items_2014.pdf

and another also says no mobile phones:

http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/callcenter/security.html

What's the deal? Is one of these out of date?

I do quite need my phone and would rather not have to put it in storage unless i absolutely have to.

Is a regular backpack allowed too? Again, conflicting info.

Thanks