I entered the U.S. on an F-1 visa for grad school and later applied for EB-5. I have a pending I-485 and received my EB-5 EAD combo card two months ago. I applied for an SSN using the EAD and was told it would take 4 weeks because of the SAVE response. The same day, the SAVE system website showed my case as “returned to agency.” so apparently is not pending.
It’s now been 8 weeks with no updates. SSA told me to wait another 4 weeks for DHS/USCIS, but they have never requested more info or documents. Researching on forums I noticed that my I-94 lists only my first name and last name, but my passport and EAD are assocaited with my first name plus two middle names—could this mismatch be the cause?
I’ve never used my EAD for work or travel, so my I-94 still shows F-1 status. I urgently need my SSN to renew my driver’s license (expiring soon), and my I-20 will expire in about 2 months.
Questions:
Which agency should I contact to move this forward?
Could the name mismatch be blocking my SSN?
Would a lawyer needed to help resolve this faster?
