hi guys,
i had been to the Dallas DO for iEAD. They denied the request. they said that they donot process OPT - EADs (i.e., category - c 3 i ). After clearly explaining, that its an interim EAD request, showing letter from employer, letter from international councellor, and that 90 days has passed since i had applied for EAD and acc. to the USCIS website, am eligible for iEAD ( i even showed the USCIS issued public notice (july 28)) - they said they no longer take in interim/temporary OPT/EAD requests. there were otehr students in line with me - they were denied too.
I fixed an appt immediately with the houston DO (the houston DO check in officer was pissed that i got an infopass appt at houston when i belonged to the dallas jurisdiction but after an earful, he let me in to talk to the immigration officer but told me that they will not process my application here). but atleast, i got to talk to the immi officer.
the houston DO told me the same thing. they said a lot of f1 students are asking for iEAD as the process is taking long - but unfortunately, they no longer give temp EADs or interim EADs. I also met some students with May 1st RD in houston DO. they got the same answer.
When i told them (both dallas and houston do) that there are other district offices that are still issuing iEADs....they said they donot know anything about other DOs. but their DO will not issue iEAD.
I asked them what are students supposed to do? even after the 90 day period, it seems unfair that some students are getting iEADs while some are not. they asked me to mail a letter to the TSC (mesquite,tx) where i had initially filed the application and find out why its taking long.
I have faxed an expidite request to TSC from me (july 27th), a request from my international councellor(aug 2), a request from my employer (aug 9th). when i asked the DO about it, they said tht that i just have to wait.
on asking about the processing times on the website, and how come ppl with june dates are getting processed but dates in may are still left out - i was given a shrug and was asked to leave.
In texas, Dallas DO and Houston DO donot issue OPT - EADs or iEADs for sure.
i have no idea what am i supposed to do now. my empoyer has been holding my position since july. am exhausted, frustrated and feel totally helpless