EAD and AP have been "sent"

[I love Sunshine]

The good news is Sunshine's EAD card and AP are in the mail as of the 18th of April.

 

The bad news is we are moving out of state on the 29th of April and we have a trip scheduled back to China on the 13th of May. This raises concerns that things could get lost in the mail and not get resolved before our non-refundable flights depart.

 

1. How long does it take to get the EAD card and the AP letters once USCIS has mentioned they sent them?

 

2. For those who have received their AP and EAD cards recently, can they be forwarded to a new address (is there anything on the envelope that prevents them from being forwarded to a new address)?

 

3. Assuming that the AP papers don't arrive by the time we leave, can she simply go down to the consulate in Shanghai and have them generate another AP document to allow her to return? Or will we be entering a bureaucratic nightmare?

[Guest Mike and Lily]

The good news is Sunshine's EAD card and AP are in the mail as of the 18th of April.

 

The bad news is we are moving out of state on the 29th of April and we have a trip scheduled back to China on the 13th of May. This raises concerns that things could get lost in the mail and not get resolved before our non-refundable flights depart.

 

1. How long does it take to get the EAD card and the AP letters once USCIS has mentioned they sent them?

 

2. For those who have received their AP and EAD cards recently, can they be forwarded to a new address (is there anything on the envelope that prevents them from being forwarded to a new address)?

 

3. Assuming that the AP papers don't arrive by the time we leave, can she simply go down to the consulate in Shanghai and have them generate another AP document to allow her to return? Or will we be entering a bureaucratic nightmare?

 

It took us about two months from filing to get AP and EAD. The USPS generally doesn't forward anything from the USCIS. We had our NOA2 returned to the USCIS. It took 6 months and $200 to get a replacement.

[Sebastian]

Do you have a friend, neighbor, or relative that can receive the mail at the 'soon-to-be-old' address? I'd trust 'that method' over any usps mail forwarding.

[dnoblett]

Do you have a friend, neighbor, or relative that can receive the mail at the 'soon-to-be-old' address? I'd trust 'that method' over any usps mail forwarding.

USCIS tends to mark all mail "Return Service Requested" so USPS will not forward the mail they will just return the mail undeliverable, if you have a forwarding order already in then the items probably wont even make it to your old home.

 

Moving while anything is being processed at USCIS can cause these problems.

[I love Sunshine]

Thank you, everyone, for the information and good advice. I can give a neighbor my mail key and ask him to check my mailbox. Or I can have my mail held at the post office and come back to retrieve it before we depart.

[Sebastian]

Thank you, everyone, for the information and good advice. I can give a neighbor my mail key and ask him to check my mailbox. Or I can have my mail held at the post office and come back to retrieve it before we depart.

 

I *think* you'll be ok with a 'hold' - you've jogged my memory about it. When I've done holds in the past, all the mail was held at the local PostOffice, nothing was 'returned undeliverable'.

[LeeFisher3]

Thank you, everyone, for the information and good advice. I can give a neighbor my mail key and ask him to check my mailbox. Or I can have my mail held at the post office and come back to retrieve it before we depart.

This will work, but be sure the post office KNOWS she is receiving mail at your address. I know of someone who had everything returned because the specific post office required notification of all persons who lived at the address.

 

They are not to forward mail from the USCIS, sometimes it happens, but usually not.

[yuehan123]

So, you have not filed a change of address yet, right?

 

What you want is a PS Form 8076, Authorization to Hold Mail. It's yellow and about 5 x 8. As Lee pointed out, make sure to put everybody's names in the Name(s) block. Then, I recommend you use option B. "I will pick up all accumulated mail when I return and understand that mail delivery will not resume until I do so."

 

Post Office warning: "We can hold your mail for a minimum of 3, but not more than 30 days."

 

I would fill out two forms, if I planned to be in China less than 30 days. Fill out one with a beginning date prior to your moving date. Then, after you return to pick up your EAD and AP, and before you go to China, fill out another.

 

I always hand my form to a window clerk at the Post Office that delivers my mail. However, I have a roadside mail box. If you have a locked mail box and somebody you trust to give your key to and to collect your mail you don't need to do this.