A quick note about EAD's

[Bobby]

Greetings all, sorry its been a while. My wife has been in the country since March 2 and things are going great! I just wanted to let you know our status and let you know about something that I didn't know of before-hand..

 

We applied for her AOS and EAD on April 30, 2004.. We did the fingerprinting on June 22, IIRC.. the AOS is still being processed, and it looks like Atlanta is working on 485's from March 2002, so its going to be a little while.

 

We're still waiting for her EAD. Let me tell you about a little "gotcha" that I didn't know about. If you have not recieved an update or EAD within 90 days of your NOA (our's was May 19) you can go to your local field office and request an interim EAD (which is free, issued very quickly and good for -- I hear -- 8 months or so). The trap we fell into, however, is in that our EAD was approved on July 30, but they sent it to the wrong address (yes, they used the correct address when they send us our NOA, they just mis-typed it when they mailed her EAD). So, the rule says that if they have approved it and you have not yet received it, you must wait 30 days from the notice that they mailed it (available online or by calling the office) before they can request a revisit of your case to see if it was returned to sender or to have them re-issue the card.

 

So, we're still waiting. We requested last monday that they revisit our case, and there's been no update. I'm going to give them a call next monday (to give them 2 weeks to do what they need to do -- seems reasonable to me). My wife is going insane with cabin fever. I'm starting to think volunteer work would be the thing for her until this is cleared up.. Now just to convince her that there is some value in working but not getting paid

[Guest Gene]

Thanks for the tip Bobby

[frank1538]

The temporary/interim EAD turned out to be a gedsend for us. Jingwen's and the kids' EAD applications are still pending, and we were able to get interim EADs through the walk up service at the local Atlanta office. Because I had not gotten SSNs immediately upon their arrival, we were able to use the interim EADs for work related SSNs.

 

Sorry to hear that your lost approvals have created a problem. And, you thought your immigration challenges were over when she got her visa.

 

On the subject of work without pay, I have always told Jingwen that her work at home is just as important as my work away from home. My labor gives us the money, and her labor gives us a home. Each is important, but neither is enough without the other.