MsVi2

What's the process of the EAD like? Do they ask you to go get biometrics done before a card is made if you've never done biometrics? 

I was told today by the non-profit attorney to expect EAD approval 90-150 days from when my Vawa was approved and when I asked if we can send an expedite request they said to just wait.  Um, no.  I have a pending employment opportunity that is literally waiting for me to present my EAD and an extreme financial situation.  I wrote a letter today to request to expedite my EAD based on these two things.   Crossing my fingers that they say okay.  

@sandranj What does it mean when an approved VAWA case is updated with "Post Decision Activity" status? I didn't submit my I-485 with my vawa, only the I-765.

6 minutes ago, NICOLA2017 said:

As far as I read on here it all depends on your field office because everything in NYC is taking way longer ....EAD which use to be 90 days is now 150 days ...like I don't get it ...people want to work hurry up for crying out loud...Thanks to the 45th

I didn't file AOS though, my EAD is based on VAWA approval category c(31), so I don't think a local field office will be involved until I file my adjustment of status. 

Now my only question is, how long does it take to receive your EAD once your Vawa is approved?

Here's my timeline and what I included in my original petition. 

11/08/2016: Receipt Received, Fees waived.  (Filed I-360 & I-765 only)  
11/15/2016:  Prima Facie granted. (Letter was kept from me, never knew I was given Prima Facie)
11/02/2017: Inquiry Sent, No response
12/01/2017: Enlisted Senator's help, Inquiries sent out throughout December.

12/20/2017:  Found out Prima Facie had been awarded and never given to me by me reps. 
12/21/2017:  Prima Facie Renewal request Sent.
01/12/2018:  RFE mailed out. 
01/22/2018:  RFE response received.
02/26/2018:  Inquiry sent again due to no response to Prima Facie Renewal Request. 
03/05/2018:  VAWA Approved.  (16 months, not updated online.)
03/12/2018:  Senator's help enlisted again (No Response had been received yet + no updates in online status.)
03/16/2018: Approval Notice mailed out.
03/20/2018: Inquiry response received letting us know of approval! 

RFE:  Request for Good Moral Character:  Needed self affidavit stating in my own words that I did not have a criminal record.  Needed background letters from each city lived in, stating all of my alises ON THE LETTER ITSELF. (Background check was done in my married and maiden name, but only married name was listed on the letter.)  Or state fingerprint background check.  I submitted city backgrounds again with all names listed AND state's bureau of criminal identification background check (fingerprint). 

What I originally submitted for VAWA: 
Proof of abuse: 
-Self affidavit explaining relationship from beginning to beyond arrest, included incidents of psychological, emotional and physical abuses.  (I was able to list specific dates of incidents because I took pictures and videos sometimes. If video was available, I stated the video of incident existed.)

- 3 police reports, including arrest for DV in presence of children.

- Photos of bruises, handprint on myself, photos of home after incidents.
- Pre-trial protective order

- Sentencing protective order

- Psychological evaluation letter from my therapist.
- Affidavits from his parents and some of my close family. 
Proof of bonafide marriage: 
- Marriage license.

- Children's birth certificates

- Joint rental agreement
- Joint Car titles
- Joint bank account

- Joint car insurance

- Joint utilities

- Photos of us together
Evidence of good moral character: 
- Letters from police departments in cities I lived in.

- Letter from my In-laws

I hope my info helps someone out!
 

Guys!  I just go an email, my Vawa was approved March 5th!  

The case status has not been updated online at all, it took several inquiries and the notice hasn't arrived via mail either yet.  I'll post my timeline in just a bit. 

1 hour ago, Peppermint said:

USCIS updated processing time!!! VAWA - November 21, 2016

I always wonder if this means that cases up to Nov 21st have had an ACTION done on the case (such as RFE), not necessarily approval, because there are still early November 2016 filers waiting for approval. 

2 hours ago, iwillsurvive said:

@rza @Behuman December 2016 filers on this forum don’t have a response yet, so I don’t think VSC would prioritize 2017 cases even with congressman inquiry. 

Don't forget us November filers. D:

1 hour ago, NiceGuyXLE said:

If i understood correct, if i would get a notification for a Prima Face approval , i would be able to get a work permit in case i submitted all 3 at the same time (360,765, 485) ?

No, 765 is only approved after I-360 approval if it was filed under category c(31), if you submitted 485  and you filed 765 under category c(9) then it could be approved before your I-360 is approved. 

Your Prima Facie letter states that it can be used to apply/receive public benefits.  Such as medicaid and Snap(food stamps), ect.   Depending on your state, you may get more or less benefits.

On 2/15/2018 at 10:17 AM, LCCF said:

He is not planning on pulling the application out. 

Honestly, dont think he even knows he can do that. 

He has expressed wanting to work it out. And i am open to the idea. But would like time to make sure he understands what happened was serious. 

I have seen the threads on VAWA. But, again, we may work it out. I still love him and i know there have been other things in his past that he needs to work out first before we try to work on our marriage. 

 

I was paroled back in August 2017. 

 

Thank you for your concern. I appreciate your comment. 

VAWA can be filed up to 2 years after a divorce, so please don't feel like you HAVE to stay with him.  I know so well how hard it is to leave an abusive relationship, specially when you have children.  I can't tell you what to do or not do, but if you decide to work things be aware that domestic abuse always follows a cycle of the "honeymoon period" where everything is great, then to "tension" and finally "explosion".  Do not get trapped in this cycle because things get better after they get worse. 

My advice is "Hope for the best, plan for the worst" keep copies of your police reports/arrest, protective order and everything you may need to file a VAWA if you eventually need to go that direction. 

Above all, stay safe.

5 hours ago, FocusedFemale said:

Ask the SENATOR’S office, not the congressman. 

Ah, I always mix my titles up, when I say congressman I meant my Senator, and they have already been helping me since December, it's because of them that I finally got my first RFE beginning of January, they've started bugging the Congressional Liaison AGAIN after we've got no responses to our requests. 

1 hour ago, iwillsurvive said:

If you are a November 2016 (or before) filer, you should ask your congressman to inquire on your behalf because November filers should have gotten responses by now. 

Yep, I have my congressman and my rep sending requests and they are going unanswered beyond the timeframe they were given to receive a response by.  I'm officially outside of the processing timeframe now.

Edit: They never replied to our request to Renew Prima Facie sent late December either.  It's kind of messed up they didn't even respond to that. 

Nov 8th, 2016 here, nothing but radio silence since they received my RFE response on Jan 22nd.  They never responded to my request to renew Prima Facie either, an inquiry was sent 3 weeks ago and we were told we would receive a response to the inquiry within 14 business days, well no response has received by the attorney, so I called my senator's office again and they are more than happy to start pestering them again.   It was thanks to my senator that we got them to send my first RFE.  This wait has me so tired.  

7 hours ago, #Godgotthis said:

I dint think it would affect your AOS, but I wouldn’t agree to that if I were you. You will have no proof that you are paying rent. And God forbid if they should lie that you have not been paying your rent, it would be your word against theirs in court. 

Pay them with a personal check. They gives you proof you've been paying your rent. 

1 minute ago, gramercy said:

Very lucky??? Some of us are facing death threats or suffered miscarriages or further abuse! Just pray and assume nothing plz

Gramercy, I don't think she meant lucky in any ill or offensive way.  I think it goes without say that most of us on this forum have suffered abuses that no one should ever have to be put through.  Everyone's situation is different, let's support each other, not tear each other down.

6 minutes ago, Kleenex12 said:

You guys are very lucky, someone like me I’m depending only on the 1-360 to be approved before I can apply for work permit!itssad i’ Almost losing my mind can’t even take care of my self and the baby depending on the food stamps I get through prima facie😒😒😒😒

I hear you!! I've got 2 little ones and I have to wait for Vawa approval for a work permit. (My AOS is going to be tricky so I was advised not to file it together)  You can always message me if you need ideas on how to survive, we are probably not in the same state but I've gotten good at finding local resources in order to survive and have learned a lot, and I'm always willing to share the stuff I've learned!

6 hours ago, Kleenex12 said:

@MsVi2 when did u get ur rfe?

Receipt date Nov 8th, 2016, first RFE issued Jan 11th 2018 for good moral character (state fingerprint BG check showing no criminal history.) they received it Jan 22nd, and haven't heard anything since. 

Niniadara's worker must be faster then mine, since my dates are all before hers, it's kind of funny actually. xD

25 minutes ago, Niniadara said:

Today

 My i360 was approved 

 

i’m November 2016 filler

 

I read your last post:

My vawa is pending since 10th of November 2016 .i’ve got Rfe 01.18.2018

My dates are literally like 3 days before yours, both original receipt date and RFE date! Was your online status updated when it was approved? 

1 hour ago, mariposa2 said:

My VAWA I-360 receipt is dated October 3 2016. My case still pending. not RFE. Any advice??? my congressman is not responsive.

Your state should have more than one senator who can help you, either keep bugging your congressmen to bug the Congressional Liaison for a response, or find another Senator to bug them.  Dealing with Government entities when they aren't responding is one of their duties to you as a resident of their state. 

It took over a month for the Congressional Liaison to reply to my senator's staff and a day after his response I got my first RFE in January 2018.

Keep bugging them. I'm still waiting for decision, I filed Nov 2016.

7 hours ago, Godblessme said:

Yes. Since January, I thought we would have most November, 2016 petitions adjudicated but it is actually not.  None of the November, 2016 filers have got approved on this forum. 

Arrrgghh, I know.  They got my response to their RFE about a month ago, it was the easiest RFE ever and they are taking over a month to make a decision? It's super frustrating. 

Will be hitting 16 months here. 

54 minutes ago, Kleenex12 said:

Thanks for the update,but didn’t Sandra said that she already have some cases approved for January already??even December so why bring up this processing timeline that is inaccurate?

It's the official/latest timeframe directly from USCIS. 

As of December 2017, they've responded to up to Oct 31st, it means that as of February 2018 they should have responded to all of December 2016, which they haven't.  There are still alot of November 2016 still pending even though Sandra has some January 2017 approvals, so yeah it shows a slow down again. 

Cases are taking over a year, I would not worry to much if you are at 12/13 months. 

There are tons of November /December 2016 petitions still pending. (and some Octobers I heard)  

I've been waiting over 15 months now, and this was with help from my congressmen. 

4 hours ago, Cindygodisgood1 said:

I submited the 2016 marriage because the 2014 wasnt valid since my previous marriage in my country wasnt finalized n yes uscis asked why i had a military id n its bc i was married without knowing my marriage in my country wasnt finalized  tgats why uscis said he abused me before legal marriage  but he nvr stopped abusing me really i just didnt get police involved after 2014 

I'm a little confused.  Were you married to someone else in your country, and the divorce wasn't finalized before you married your abuser the first time?  If the original marriage wasn't valid and isn't recognized then USCIS would be correct in stating that the abuse didn't occur while you were legally married, therefore you didn't have a qualifying relationship when the abuse took place. 

The US recognizes foreign marriages as valid, if you were married to someone else and then married your abuser before the divorce was finalized then you would have been committing bigamy, therefore any marriages before your divorce was finalized would end in annulment.   However if you were married to your abuser then it would be recognized.

I'm just trying to understand your situation. 

Did an attorney help you with your VAWA, or did you do it yourself.  I would think if an attorney helped you they would have realized the conflict before filing anything.

1 minute ago, vawaprotectant said:

Hi Can someone help me answer this question. Can a vawa application be denied without a Notice of intent to deny? I reached out to my Congressman and they just told me my case has been recently decided and I should get something in the mail. 

You can check the status of your petition online if you have your EAC receipt number, if your case was decided it should display it in the case status. 

https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do