Artuicune

I had the actual letter already, but as long as they can find the info they need, I don't see why they would be difficult about it. I guess if your field office allows early walk-ins, you should be fine.

Don't assume that. You can ask emma I think. But nothing in our portal changed, however the field office sent us a courtesy email letting us know our case is with them and to send in more proofs if we want. From what I know an email from the field office does not happen every time, so if you are lucky the field office will email, otherwise try emma. Our case number starts with IOE

Thanks!
 
I think if the beginning three alpha characters of your number are "MSC" that means it went to the National Benefits Center.  I would think you would see a status update of being forwarded to local field office if that's the action that was taken on your case...but I'm not any sort of expert.
 
Also, update, we got our I-797 notice of approval in the mail on Friday 3/23.  So it legitimately took almost exactly 2 months from our submission to receiving approval letter in the mail.  Unreal turnaround time in a good way for once!

We also submitted an RFE, it was received on 02/08. Then had our biometrics on 02/17. We are not approved yet either. I’ve seen people getting approved within 1-2 weeks timeframe of the biometrics too, which is still a very good outcome. Here’s to hoping we don’t get left behind.

I had an appointment for biometrics on Feb. 23, but did early walk-in on Feb. 14 (12.40 pm). 
Status changed to actively reviewing immediately after, but unfortunately no changes since then. I'm afraid we will not be one of the lucky ones to get it approved quickly.
 
 

250 Broadway in San Francisco, CA. It was no trouble. Staff are nice but strict about not using your phone there. I posted a review. https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=31772

It’s different everywhere.  You need to check with the jurisdiction in which you will marry.   I have never heard of being able to expedite a marriage certificate.

Biotech job is not supermarket. Being a CEO of a biotech company, I can tell you that it is very hard to find qualified employees. 95% of the positions require at least college education. 50% of the positions in my company require MD or PhD. The lowest paid person in my company makes $75.. Median salary is $125k.  You cannot compare. Biotech or high tech jobs are not only in high demand but also very hard to qualify for due to highly specialized skill set. So the case is very strong. 

Good news is that I have seen some recently filed EAD's come through pretty quick.
 
Expediting is effectively just part of the process now, you do not seem to have a strong case but you never know and I have seen some odd approvals. It is free so give it a go.
 
Job offers are easy to get, certainly where I am all the Supermarkets seem desperate for staff.
 
Lawyer or not as always is a personal choice, your money, this is a DIY site but obviously there are situations where legal help is needed. This does not seem to be such a case. Be aware that Lawyers have staff and it would be odd for a Lawyer to deal with a simple case. Assuming you are comfortable dealing with the paperwork it will inevitably be quicker if you do it yourself, a Lawyer is not going to have it as their prime focus.

Are the courthouse and SSA connected then, otherwise how would they even know? 
 
Anyway, we now are planning to self-marry. We can get the forms before, first get SSN and then submit the paperwork afterwards.

Just wanted to chime in with my own data point that might be helpful. We filed my husband’s AOS (from a non-K1 visa) on October 19th of this past year, and his EAD was approved 5 weeks later (one business day after his biometrics appointment) and card received in the mail one week after that. No expedite request or any special circumstances. We were shocked it was so fast, and we personally know another couple who also received their EAD within 2 months in 2022. Obviously it’s very different from case to case and there are no guarantees, but I hope that gives you a bit of hope, at least! 

You can expedite EAD based on the job offer. I would prepare AOS package as much as possible now. Get married immediately after arrival, get urgent marriage certificate, send the package along with EAD card. Once they issue NOA on the EAD, apply for expedite based on the job offer. This is absolutely 100% valid reason for the EAD expedite. You may actually make it for March deadline. 

1. I look for immigration lawyers that are top rated in Google maps and Yelp.
 
2. Then I eliminate the ones that aren’t exclusively practicing immigration law.  
 
3. I narrow it down to top 5
 
4. Eliminate the ones that are not listed at aila.org
 
5. Eliminate the ones that are not members of the state bar. Note that in NY State there are multiple bars so this can be trickier yet it is doable. Of the lawyer claims to be a member of a particular bar you can find that bar’s website and verify. 
 
6. Next read every negative review of every lawyer.  The negative reviews will either be from high maintenance customers who complain about meaningless stuff. And negative reviews about material stuff. If the latter  reviews ring true then eliminate lawyer.  
 
7. Next the positive reviews. You want to look  for reviews   that refer to EADs and litigation. 
 
 

I finally got my K-1 visa mid-november, after starting the process back in April 2021, and I will enter on January 12 (POE will be IAD). So soon we will be in the last part of the process!
 
Even better, I got a job offer in the biotech sector, valid until March 31. They are willing to be flexible for my start date to a certain extent, but of course they won't wait the full process of EAD being currently over 5 months. I have read posts on this forum, but I wanted to get some opinions about meeting that deadline through my own post.
 
In an effort to streamline the process as much as possible, ideally to make the deadline of the job offer, our plans are to get married at the courthouse on January 13. Afterwards, I will wait to get my SSN before submitting AOS paperwork. Once I did that, getting biometrics done so I can apply for the expedited process of EAD after getting reception notice of the AOS package at USCIS. 
 
A couple questions I had with this, since not everything is 100% clear to me:
There is no issues with marrying a day after entry as far as I know, as long as we have the marriage license beforehand? I know guides say that for the SSN, it's best to go the Social Security office after 2 weeks in the country. Is it worth a shot to go check already after 7-10 days if I'm already in the system? I know that if they can't find me, it is better to say that I will come back and they should not do a manual search. Am I correct in my understanding that I need the SSN before submitting the AOS paperwork? Or do these two processes not implicate each other and can be executed independently? Biometrics are not needed for the AOS filing, but are required for the expedited process? If I understood correctly you can either wait for the invitation after filing AOS, but it is possible to go without an appointment and try to get them done that way? How early could I go without appointment? Do I need the reception notice of the USCIS, or could I theoretically go after getting married already?  
Thanks in advance for the input!

I’m not familiar with  the application or request for expediting but it wouldn’t hurt to say you not working is delaying groundbreaking research for cancer 😊

Correct
I’d go after 2 business days
 
You do not need SSN to apply for AOS.
 
Biometrics are going to be done as part of the overall AOS and EAD process . It is true that in order to request an expedite, you would need your biometrics to be competed. You cannot go as a walk in if you do not have a biometrics appointment notice from USCIS. Once they send it, you can try to come as a walk in before your appointment date but you might be turned away. Depends on who you get at the door I guess. 
 
 
Just being realistic here - you should be ready to let that job go if you do not receive an expedited EAD. It is not a guarantee it will work 100% and be ready by your deadline. This is the downside of choosing the K1 path (which I have myself gone through). There was someone who posted the other day who requested an expedite for their EAD but hasn’t received it. Perhaps you can message them and ask questions:
 

Hi,
 
What is the expedited process? You are definitely not going to make your deadline. Though I’m not familiar with the expedited process so I’m not taking that into consideration.
 
- you can marry whenever legally possible in your state 
-I don’t think it would be worth your time but I guess all you lose is gas money 
-you are not correct, you don’t need a social to execute AOS paperwork 
-I don’t know the answer to this because I’m not familiar with the expedited process