murple87

20 hours ago, gregcrs2 said:

I also had my biometrics appointment first and have not received the hard copy I-797 yet.  So you are not the only one.

Just wanted to quickly follow-up on this. I finally managed to get a USCIS representative on the phone and it turns out that my I-797 was lost after all. The rep just filed a request to resend it which may take up to 30 days. Seeing that you only got your confirmation text in January, this may not be the case for you. But just wanted to keep you posted (for reference, I filed my I-751 and got my receipt confirmation text in November, so I guess I should have suspected there's something wrong...). 

17 hours ago, gregcrs2 said:

I also had my biometrics appointment first and have not received the hard copy I-797 yet.  So you are not the only one.

Glad to hear this is not out of the ordinary. Thanks for your quick input! I just checked my case status and it says they completed fingerprint review and are working on Form I-751. I will try calling later and see if my I-797 was already sent or is still being processed. If I don't get it in time before my greencard expires, I hope the receipt number will be sufficient for my employer. Good luck everyone! 

Hi all, 

I hope the removal of conditions process is moving along smoothly for most. My GC  is expring on Feb 02, 2019. I sent my I-751 package on Nov 05. I received a text receipt confirmation on 11/11/18 indicating that I'd receive a hard copy confirmation (I-797) in the mail. Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten it.

I did receive my biometrics appointment in mid-December, but had to postpone the appt to January because I was in Germany for the holidays. I did an early walk-in on Jan 04 instead of waiting for my appointment on Jan 11 (which went super smoothly). 

Has anyone else gotten a biometrics appointment before their I-797? I'm getting a bit nervous that the I-797 may have gotten lost -- just realized that it usually comes before the biometrics appointment. I guess calling USCIS would be the best course of action. But since they're closed today, I wanted to check with you all first.

And apologies if this question has already been asked. Did not make it through all the 50 pages in this thread...

Thank you very much!

Alright people...I'm seriously ready to go home and not come back.

Got back from vacqtion and called the USCIS this morning only to get an incompetent person on the phone that annoyed the ####### out of me as soon as he answered the phone (at this point I believe they are trained to be incomprehensible and have a low voice, so if you misunderstand something and call back the next time, it'll be on you!)

Anyway, after listening to his bs he did eventually transfer my call to a tier 2.

This officer was very nice (probably 100 years old, but nice). He told me that the hold up on my card production was due to the amount of applications (yeah right) and I should not look or compare my case to others that have already received their cards....true, but pffff..who doesn't!!? Also he told me to call back in a week or two if I haven't received the card by then (that's what I've been told last time as well).

When it comes to my I-485...this case has been transfered to my NBC center on Aug. 18th. He did mention an interview, but whether he saw that on the screen or just assumed I'd be scheduled for one, I don't know.

Well, at least I got a little more information this time. Though it doesn't really help or put me at ease. Especially when I see new people chatting in the forum because everybody I know is already gone and don't have to be bothered with this sh*** for the next two years. meeehhhhh

Ha! I'll be back too whining and bit*** about the same ridiculous stuff again.

I'm so sorry, Buzzz and know exactly how frustrated you are! I had my infopass appointment today and received some gamechanging information!

1. The officer handling my case at the NSC apparently made a mistake and never "pushed" the production of my EAD after approving my case. I.e. basically, to them my case is considered closed and they haven't even noticed that I haven't received the EAD -- in spite of several calls to customer service, tier 2 officer and service request (all of which assured me my case is fine and I need to be patient). So without this infopass visit, I probably could have waited for months until they would finally put me through to someone with actual information. The field officer was very nice and she sent the NSC an e-mail to rectify the situation but said that it could still take a while, because they are very unresponsive and she has no way of reaching them directly.

She also said verbatim: "Don't get me started on the customer service. They have no idea what they're talking about. All they do is spread misinformation....do not waste your time calling them."

So Buzzz, I highly encourage you to get an infopass appointment to talk to someone in person. Who knows if it really helps to speed things up, but at least you know what the problem is. Check out service centers in cities nearby (Philly? Boston?) if NYC is booked out. That's what I did and though I'm totally exhausted after this day -- it was worth the drive and traffic.

2. The field officer also told me that since my EAD has been approved since September 8 and I am showing as approved in the system I can LEGALLY START WORKING WITHOUT THE PHYSICAL CARD with the information I've got. Receipt number etc. She said employers can check your status in the "E-Verify" System to get verification that you are legal. I couldn't really believe that, since I've read everywhere you need the physical card and even HR of the organization that offered me a job said they can't get me started without the card. But I just spoke to their HR department again and apparently it's true. So, I'm going in tomorrow to settle the details.

One more thing, the officer I spoke to also said that my AOS case just got passed on from the NSC and that all branch offices are completely focused on naturalizations before the new administration moves in. So I shouldn't expect an interview before February 2017. So one more reason for me to get that advance parole moving...

Anyway, good luck everyone with their cases! This process is so tiring!

Just got off the phone (a second time) with USCIS, I was calling them to inquire about the status of the EAD and AP which was filed with the AOS on June 19th.

We filed I484, I765 and I-131 for my wife, and her two daughters.

After I called USCIS 2 weeks ago, my wife has since received the I-797 notice that her EAD and AP have been approved, and we even received the official letters in the mail that the cards will be ordered and mailed.

So I called USCIS back today about the daughters status to find out what's going on.

The lady I spoke to told me that because I received an RFE on one of the daughters I-485 application, that her EAD and AP application have been reset to day 1. That was back on August 19th, so we are only 45 days on her application.

For the other daughter, since there were no RFE's she said we could file to have her EAD and AP looked into to find out what the delay was, then the operator sounded surprised and say's oh wait, no we can't do anything yet because your case is with the national benefits center and they are only just now processing applications from May 3rd 2016. They have a really heavy case load and so they are way backed up.

After she told me that I asked if I can speak to a Supervisor. The supervisor I spoke to confirmed everything the previous operator told me, that the case load at NBC is backed up to May 3rd, but despite that backup he would put in a request to have the EAD and AP looked at and he gave me a confirmation number. He also seemed real surprised that my wives EAD AND AP have been approved after I called to ask about it.

So there you have it. The kids are still pending, according to USCIS one of the girls EAD and AP is over 3 months away from even having her case looked at again since the new file date is August 19th, due to the RFE I received.

Best wishes to the folks that sailed through the application.

stfiii, that's really discouraging news on your daughter's AOS. I'm really sorry to hear that and hope that the officers may be mistaken in this assessment (i.e. that even though the RFE mean USCIS theoretically has more time to process the case, they may still move it along more quickly. So fingers crossed that will be the case.)!

I also received an RFE pretty late in the game (because USCIS misspelled my name and then requested further evidence when I had it corrected during my biometrics appointment) -- so I really hope it isn't true that this will add an additional 100 days to the process. When I asked customer service about the delays that would be incurred by the RFE, they said the processing would continue at its normal pace as soon as the evidence has been submitted and processed. So if that's true, in my case it would have added only a week.

I'm also not sure how accurate the statement that they are now only processing early May submission can really be, if numerous people who filed their AOS much later already have their EAD in hand. It all seems very intransparent/random. In any case, I hope the cases for all your family members will move forward quickly!

Unrelated to this, I have another question to the forum: I did not file for my advance parole document when I filed for AOS because I understood that a specific reason (sick relative etc) would be necessary to obtain advance parole. However, I would like to go visit my family for Christmas and am doubtful I'll have my Greencard by then. Does anyone have any experience filing for advance parole while EAD and AOS are processing? I don't want to hold up my EAD card process under any circumstances. I'm nervous that if I send in something now, they may hold my EAD until this additional request is processed. In that case, I'd rather skip Christmas in Germany this year.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!

As I understand it, everything goes from Chicago to NBC (outside of Kansas City). They process the AP and EAD themselves, do some processing on the AOS but then that is eventually sent to the field office for interview. I don't know how much work is done at NBC and how much at local office, and if any is done at the field office if you are approved without interview. I have also read of cases being sent out to other offices (not local) due to overload. Point being, this is all for AOS.

For AP and EAD, as I understand it, it is all done at the NBC. This is where my rub is, the amount of inconsistency case to case at the same facility for what essentially is a rubber stamp process. In Buzz's case, how come his case status never updated to approved and then to card in production, it has been a month and he has the approval letter. In my case how come it took one week to go from approved to production? I don't buy the "backup". If there was backup, people at days 60-80 wouldn't be getting approved then receive their cards 10 days later. Presumably they are printing all of these cards from the same place (MO and/or KY) with photo scans, so everyone should be suffering the same if there were a "production backup". Something is screwed up here. My experience with the call center is that they are inconsistent in what they tell you and the end goal is to get you off the phone, so they tell you what you want to hear sometimes. My speculation is incompetent and/or disgruntled Service Officers handling the cases. Simple pushbutton operations are not occurring in a reasonable timeframe.

Thanks for the explanation, tortuga. That's what I thought originally. Perhaps I'm better off to just give them the benefit of the doubt thinking that regional differences could create the backlog. But yes, something in their processing seems quite messed up/arbitrary and it's frustrating for sure. I'm glad to hear that it worked out more quickly in your case, though!

It's a frustrating process as most bureaucratic processes in foreign countries (I just lived in Belgium for a year, and what I've experienced there in bureaucratic incompetence is hard to match). But once we'll have all our documents, we'll soon laugh this off. It's worth it in the end, right?! So everyone, hang in there!

Ugh...I meant 'pissed as hell' and substitute with

Haha, looks like visajourney is autocorrecting/censoring your emotions, buzz... Exactly, don't let it ruin your vacation. Just enjoy yourself and hopefully by the time you get back you have better news! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Good to hear you did talk to a tier 2 officer! At least you now know it is coming even though you would have liked it sooner. The uncertainty is nervewrecking at times!

I think it all depends on what office you are assigned to, and it can be different from state to state and case to case. You are in a busy area, that might make a difference.

Hopefully you get some more news at the infopass appointment.

I have no experience with those but it's probably wise to prepare, bring whatever you need to bring and know exactly what you want to ask.

Good luck!

I think you're right about the office/region making a big difference, Soley. And yes, I'll make sure to be prepared for the appointment. You get 15 mins and not a minute more according to the scheduling tool -- so I better be on point.

I'm hoping that maybe my case status will even be updated to sent before the appointment, in which case I would probably just cancel it (if that's possible). Looks like I haven't learned my lesson about being overly optimistic yet...Not giving up hope!

Thanks so much for your quick responses, Soley and Jordan&Dan. That's good advise.

I actually was just able to get a hold of a tier 2 officer and she told me that everything was fine with my case but apparently there is a lot of backlog on EAD production at the moment. She said I should expect that the EAD will be on its way within the next 2 weeks.

That's still a while (I was originally supposed to start this week and given my approval NOA of Sept 8 thought I had a good chance of making that happen -- but I guess that was over-optimistic) but it's good to at least know that there wasn't any major screw-up with my case.

I also made an infopass appointment for a week from now (earliest appointment available). Good call, Jordan&Dan! I didn't even know of that possibility. I made the appointment in the DC field office, even though I'm based in Baltimore (b/c Baltimore didn't have any appointments available). I hope that's acceptable.

Still, it's so frustrating to see how most people who filed after me already have their EAD Very happy for them, but it's annoying to see how random this process can be at times. I think I was just very unlucky. Several of my notices got returned as undeliverable (at two different addresses) even though the address USCIS had on file in both cases was correct (still is a mystery to me - perhaps the postman is to blame?) -- and that delayed the process to begin with. (For reference, I filed May 31 and had my biometrics appointment August 3 and now EAD approved September 8 - AOS is still pending). So, I hope my status will change to EAD sent any day now.

In any case, this forum is a great resource and I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and giving advise!!! I wish I had discovered it sooner...

I will give you an update once the EAD is on its way.

Thanks again for your feedback!

You're definitely not alone. My EAD & AP were approved on 8/29 and that's the last thing I heard about it. Same thing here, people who were approved after me already got their EAD and I'm still waiting - very frustrating and extremely annoying

I'm sorry buzzz! That's really discouraging. From what I've heard online, I would definitely call in today or tomorrow -- since it's been 30 days without an update. Maybe they can give you more info? Can't hurt to pester them, right?

What city are you living in? Maybe it does have an effect on the times, as Soley said. Still don't really understand how the processing works. Do they process in the field office in your region? I originally sent my package to Chicago, but I assume they reassign it by region?

This morning I received an unexpected and nice message: the interview for the AOS is being scheduled for November 3.

Adjusting from a B-2 visa I think it's within a pretty good time period. It would be awesome if it would be approved!

As to your question, murple, I don't have any answers other than try to call again . I think you have the right to talk to a tier 2 officer and have them clarify why you haven't received the card yet. 60 days sounds as too long.

I would recommend scheduling an InfoPass appointment. Bring a copy of your job offer (contract/offer letter/some kind of proof) and your NOA for your EAD approval. The InfoPass officer will be able to tell you way more than the reps on the phone. We did this when our RFE didn't come in the mail and he was able to fix it.

If this doesn't work, contact your Congressman or Senator. My husband had a job offer and his EAD wasn't approved yet. We sent them a copy of his contract and she was able to get it approved within a week. She had a contact within USCIS that she went through directly. They might be able to find out why your EAD hasn't been produced and speed things up again.

Good luck!!

Thanks so much for your quick responses, Soley and Jordan&Dan. That's good advise.

I actually was just able to get a hold of a tier 2 officer and she told me that everything was fine with my case but apparently there is a lot of backlog on EAD production at the moment. She said I should expect that the EAD will be on its way within the next 2 weeks.

That's still a while (I was originally supposed to start this week and given my approval NOA of Sept 8 thought I had a good chance of making that happen -- but I guess that was over-optimistic) but it's good to at least know that there wasn't any major screw-up with my case.

I also made an infopass appointment for a week from now (earliest appointment available). Good call, Jordan&Dan! I didn't even know of that possibility. I made the appointment in the DC field office, even though I'm based in Baltimore (b/c Baltimore didn't have any appointments available). I hope that's acceptable.

Still, it's so frustrating to see how most people who filed after me already have their EAD Very happy for them, but it's annoying to see how random this process can be at times. I think I was just very unlucky. Several of my notices got returned as undeliverable (at two different addresses) even though the address USCIS had on file in both cases was correct (still is a mystery to me - perhaps the postman is to blame?) -- and that delayed the process to begin with. (For reference, I filed May 31 and had my biometrics appointment August 3 and now EAD approved September 8 - AOS is still pending). So, I hope my status will change to EAD sent any day now.

In any case, this forum is a great resource and I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and giving advise!!! I wish I had discovered it sooner...

I will give you an update once the EAD is on its way.

Thanks again for your feedback!

Hi all,

I am new to the forum but in a similar situation as some of you.

Got married on May 20 (went on honeymoon same day), then sent AOS application express on May 31, received by USCIS on June 8.

...and I am still waiting for my EAD. I am not even too worried about the Greencard at this point but I have a pending job offer and am afraid that I might lose it if I can't give them any clearer indication as to when I will be able to start.

My employment authorization got approved on September 8 and I received the NOA a few days later but since then the case status has not updated.

The NOA stated that my EA application has been approved and that the EAD "was sent under different cover to the beneficiary." So I assumed they already sent it out.

But to this day no EAD card and no change in status online. I tried calling USCIS twice to get more info and two different customer service reps told me that they can see no indication that my EAD was even produced and cannot tell me how long it will take until it is produced and sent. They also refused to connect me to anyone else and said I cannot file a SR until a period of 60 days has passed -- apparently that is because I received an RFE (because USCIS messed up the order of my name and then asked for a sworn affidavit proving that my name really is my name (even though that name is listed on all my official documents)). I overnighted that sworn affidavit back the same day I received the RFE -- so it didn't hold up the case for longer than a week.

The case was approved shortly after. So, I assumed that everything was back to schedule. But now I'm wondering why it is taking them so long to produce my EAD. From, what I've read, it seems like most people have received it fairly soon after being approved.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of delay and can give me some advice on next steps? I am just really hoping that it will not take the full 60 days - that would be disastrous.

Thanks so much for your help and good luck to everyone else still waiting for EAD or Greencard!