WAtoIA

Received my EAD/AP in the mail over the weekend! So thrilled, and such a relief.

Started work up again today and feel a lot better being able to contribute financially.

However...it does raise additional questions: I arrived on a J1 Working Holiday Visa, but the J1 expired on November 14th. I am applying for an Adjustment of Status (Spouse) and working under an EAD - does this mean I need to pay FICA taxes now?

Got an email/text earlier that my EAD went into production! Nothing about the AP though, hopefully it is the combo card !

Good luck to everyone !!

Congratulations!

Our timelines are so similar. I didn't receive an email, but my EAD case status updated to 'in production' today too!

Going to keep a close eye on your progress from here on out, EA x TrueHollywood!

I meant a confirmation from the machine - I didn't hear back from USCIS until they approved my request, exactly a week later

That makes sense. Well, I've got the printed confirmation from the machine right in front of me, and that's all I can really ask for.

The fax went through yesterday, so I will just relax for the rest of the week and start waiting for an email early next week. I spoke with a Congressman representative yesterday who has contacted the National Benefits Center too, who in turn emailed the adjudicator requesting that they get it expedited. So there's a few approaches pushing for it right now, of which I am very grateful.

Thank you for your prompt response, you've certainly put my mind at ease a little.

You should receive a confirmation message. The first time I did it, it didn't go through. I went and did it again the following day and received a confirmation it had been received by the other end!

If you're worried, I sent it twice and my expedite request was approved so... It's better to be safe than sorry! But when I called them to ask about it after I sent it the first time and didn't get a confirmation, the lady was very nice but said if it had gone through, I'd have received a page to say so

Thanks, MandEJ!

I'm new to faxing, and didn't realize for this specific machine I needed to put a 1 in front of 8162512290. But once I did that my machine gave me a receipt saying it was 'OK'.

Did USCIS send you a receipt? If so, how long did it take you to receive that (via fax or mail)? Or when you say confirmation do you mean a confirmation from your machine?

Hi all,

Do you know whether there is a way to check whether your fax has gone through to USCIS? I applied for an expedited EAD, and they required proof of a job offer. I tried faxing it through (to the correct number) but it said there was no answer; however, I've read that that can mean it went through, but just didn't provide a receipt message.

No.

Thanks, Georgia. Short, but to the point.

This will probably get lost in the sea of people celebrating their EAD/AP approval (congratulations!), but I have a simple question people may be able to help me out with.

You can refer to my timeline, but basically, I never received a letter about my original Biometrics Appointment (despite calling USCIS multiple times), so I missed the original appointment on October 11th. The actual letter arrived TODAY, letting me know I had an appointment at 10am. So I finally got to complete my Biometrics Appointment, request an expedited EAD, and contact my local congressman (who I had already been in contact with, but asked me to wait until I had finished the Biometrics) to petition on my behalf.

So, today was productive. However, there were roughly 24 days between my original appointment I never heard about (October 11th), and today (November 4th).

Is this likely to delay my case by 24 days?

The next step is basically just a waiting game. The status won't change from that to accepted or rejected. If they reject it they would send another RFE/RFIE and if they accept it it would continue on to adjudication.

Double check your mailing address used on all the forms.

Download the USCIS mobile app and you can set it to check the status automatically for you and you would receive push notifications on your mobile. Mine is set to the minimum 2x a day.

Hi Maria,

I did double check the mailing address on all forms before submitting. Somehow they changed my mailing address for the I485 for one digit (from 2980 to 29580), which of course rendered it undelivered. The moment I realized their mistake I made the call to USCIS (10 days ago), put in a service request, and also put in a service request for not having received my Biometrics Appointment Notice yet (they asked me for a postal address, which I gave the correct one for). I know service requests take 15+ days to process, but it kind of irks me that they couldn't change my address over the phone...they wouldn't even confirm over the phone what address they have on file.

Have now submitted an e-request.

42 days since my initial filing date, and I just received this nonsense:

On October 19, 2016, the Post Office returned a notice we sent you for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status, Receipt Number XXXXXXXXXXX, because they could not deliver it. This could have a serious effect on your case. Please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request a copy of the notice immediately. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Yeah man, I feel you. We would probably be okay financially but we were just getting into a position where we were comfortable financially, so I would hate to lose my income for a month++.

I don't have the letters on me but I believe my notification letters came around a week after submitting. I was feeling optimistic at that time, but it hasn't reflected the time it has taken for everything else, if that's any consolation.

Be grateful you didn't send in the wrong check amount like me! That knocked us back about three weeks...

Hi all,

Just thought I would give an update on how I am going in the process in case there is anyone with a similar timeline to me.

Timeline is reflective of where I am at the moment. Everything feels like it has come to a halt. It has been 40 days since my filing date for my EAD/Travel Document, and I still have not received a letter for my Biometrics Appointment. Which means there are now only 25 days until my current Working Visa expires, and I am almost guaranteed at this stage to be without work for some time.

I anticipated a gap between my work visa and receiving my EAD (we had to scrounge together the money for the application, otherwise we would have submitted it earlier), but it's looking like the gap is going to be more and more financially stressful.

After roughly 25 days and not receiving the Biometrics Appointment notice, I called USCIS and they said it had not been sent out yet, but to wait 5 more days before they can put in a service request (I realize that they often say it has not been sent out yet when it has in fact been sent, so I wasn't too disheartened at that stage). I called back after 30 days and they put in a service request, asking me to call back 15 days later if I had not heard anything, email, text, letter, or otherwise. So I guess my next step is calling up on October 26th (which will be 47 days after the filing date, and 18 days before my working visa expires).

Is anyone else experiencing such delays with receiving the Biometrics Appointment notice? I know there is a lot you can do to speed up the EAD arriving (contacting your local congressman, request for expediting, contacting at 75 days), but it's my understanding all of these things require you having first attended your biometrics appointment...something which feels a long way away from me.

Any advice or words of encouragement wouldn't go astray - feeling the stress more and more each day that letter doesn't arrive.

File an I-129 request to extend. If it's an H1B, it keeps you going until you get your EAD. That's what I did. Likely that the extension would get rejected, but you would likely receive your EAD before that notification comes through.

I came in on a J1 Working Holiday - I presume that doesn't fall under the H1-B umbrella?

I am 46 days in and have had my biometrics appointment already - from my understanding, you need to have completed it in order for them to consider the expedite (because essentially they rush out the FBI's check)

I called the National Customer Service Centre line. Spoke with a tier 1 officer who was a *total* delight and worded my request far better than I managed to! She read the request back to me, made sure everything was set and gave me a reference number for the request. And I did triple check with her, that a denied request won't impact my case in any way (it's just a request, if they deny it continues as it was).

I find it hilarious they emailed me asking for the additional information but then want me to fax it to them... why not let me respond electronically? Haha!!

Thanks so much for your prompt reply! I'm still waiting on my Biometrics Appointment Notice (it's been around 36 Days, but I understand a lot of people from early September are experiencing delays), so I can't do these steps just yet. I'll be sure to follow your steps the moment I'm done with my (hopefully walk in) appointment.

I'm also planning on getting my local congressman to submit a request for expedition - are you doing this as well? Again, waiting until I have Bio Appointment before I can go for it..

All the best to you! Exactly one month until my work visa expires...wish me luck.

I called yesterday and requested an expedite for my EAD - they just emailed me about 20 minutes ago asking I fax additional information over (so my offer of employment, I'm also going to attach a cover letter explaining the situation). So I'll go find a fax machine somewhere and try to do that today!

Hi MandEJ,

How many days were you at when you requested your expedited EAD? Did you have your bio appointment finished yet? And who did you call?

All very relevant to me. My timeline has halted, but my current working visa is set to expire soon.

Deleted.

Hi Texas,

I saw your original post. Does you deleting it mean everything is okay?

Can I ask what you did wrong? I'm sending my package next week and I'm super nervous lol, maybe it's something that could help other people

Of course you can ask! We submitted the wrong fee for our combination of forms. $1070 instead of $1490. So it was a bit brutal getting the double whammy of a rejected application and having to scrounge together $420 more.

Double and triple checked everything except the fee, apparently.

Pretty much posting because I've put together a signature, and I have enjoyed reading everyone else's...

Hi all,

Have been lurking these forums for a few months now, but this is my first post! Hoping I can contribute to the community now that I have submitted my AOS.

I was religiously following the August 2016 Filers thread as we originally submitted my AOS package on the 18th of August...however, we were rejected on account of a foolish mistake, so after re-submitting our NOA1 sits at September 8th, 2016.

Most disappointing event thus far was definitely receiving our package back in the mail, but I have to say, it felt really good getting the NOA1 Text and Email to confirm we are now on the right track.