Interim EAD Issues in California

R

rgoyal

Registered Users (C)
I-140, I-485, EAD, and AP were filed jointly in the end of May 03 to California Service Center for my wife, a daughter, and me. I have no RFEs and no approvals for any of the above applications. First three years or my H1 expires on Dec. 11, 03. My employer wants me to be on interim EADs and EADs until I get my green card. My wife and I went to USCIS office in San Bernardino to get my interim EAD as my EAD application has been in pending for more than 90 days. The officer there looked into my case and said there is a hold on my application. He will get back to me in few days. I am waiting for his call back. I am surprised that there can be holds on EAD applications. Case status online (https://egov.immigration.gov/graphics/cris/jsps/caseStat.jsp) has no information on my case other than the application was received. Is there any one else out there with similar situations and have some things to share?
 
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A nice idea is to check the I485 California forum also.

It's a good idea to maintain your H1B status as a backup.

Search the forum for the specific 'words'.
 
Rgoyal: Exact same thing

We were at the california BCIS (LA) today, friday Nov 28th to get an interim ead because 90 days had passed since reciept date, and were told the exact same thing. (there is a hold on the I 140 . We were confused as to what this hold would be and came home and called the 1800 number on the reciept. they couldn't see anything (except "recieved on..." on our I 140 in their system, but the I 765 (application for work permit) seemed to show a processing hold in their system. We(us and the operator at the 1800 number) concluded that the hold was because of a proessing hold on our I 140.

Our lawyer does not work this friday, so we have not written to laguna nigel.

There are a couple of other concerns that this brings up: 1. will this mean we have to get a 7th year extension (H1B expires in Apr 04) 2. What is a processing hold? why hold at all? dos it mean they have sent out queries or does it mean they are processing the application (rd mid august 03)3. does anybody else have any experience with the CSC about interim EAD which matches ours/ matched ours but they subsequently got an EAD?

will be happy for any information.

Thanks.
 
Too bad to know that

Popsy,

Sad to know that. I will be going to CIS, San Bernardino again on Monday (Dec. 01). The officer has not called back to tell me what the reason is and what is the next course of action for me. Keeping our fingers crossed. If I don’t get an interim EAD, I will have to quickly get my H1-B extension filed.

In your case, seventh year extension is possible as your I-140 is pending.
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Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, my knowledge in immigration topics at best may be half-baked, and their correctness is not guaranteed. One should go by their immigration attorney for correct advice.
 
Thanks Rgoyal,..

and Best of luck.

Could you also find out when you go if 1. there are many cases they are doing this to(ie, denying interim EAD pending I140 clearance) 2. If they still say your case is on " Hold" , find out wether the hold means your I 140 file is curently being processed (which may be good news, because if cleard quickly, there will be no need to get an Interim ead) or if it means they are generating queries(in which case timefame for the "hold" to be lifted would be the next logical question).

I wish this is only a procedural thing on BCIS' part, and is in no way related to our (both) particular cases.
 
Alarming Situation!!

My concurrent filing (CSC) RD is Aug 25 '03, and the UCIS processing report says they are handling EADs w/ RD of Aug 11 '03.

I was thrying to get an idea on this forum, whether I should wait a few more days for the EAD, or I should go to the local office (NYC) for the iEAD. The only reason I was hesitating about going to the NYC local office is that, it's a nightmare!!!

But after reading your postings, it seems like, even if i go to the local office, I'll find out that there's a "hold" on my case!!! Seems like, CSC is not approving any EADs for "pending I-140" cases. If that's true, I'll be in BIG trouble, as my 6 years will expire very very soon!!!

Now, do you know if we qualify to apply for 7th yr H1B extension, while the pending I-140 has been pending for LESS than a year?? I thought it needed to be PENDING for a year.

Will appreciate your feedbacks.

Thanks.
 
To Kabir

You will be eligible for 7th year extension - The one year rule is for 'labor' and not I-140 - In other words, if your labor cert application is pending for more than a year, you automatically qualify for 7th year extension. You have gone past 'labor' but I-140 is pending - you should be eligible for the extension.
 
To rgoyal:

Hi, I was just curious as to why you are going to the EAD office again?? Aren't you trying to figure out through your lawyer(or company's lawyer) as to what the hold is? In my case, the EAD office clearly said that they cannot determine the cause of the hold and that I would have to fax a letter to the local service center (Laguna Niguel office) that processes the I-140 application. I have requested my lawyer to do it.

Also, are you EB2 or EB3? In my case, there is a slight confusion - I clearly qualify for EB2 whereas my I-140 receipt notice says EB3 - couple of months ago, I brought it to my lawyer's attention and they sent in a letter to BCIS requesting a correction, but as per my lawyer, there is no response yet - I wonder if that is what is causing the hold in my case - maybe, I should've left it alone and not asked for the change... This whole process is so frustrating and is so not consistent... Hope everything turns out ok in the end.
 
Because the officer on Monday (Nov. 24, 03) told me that he will get back to me with the reason in few day, and he did not. I want to just check back and arrive at a conclusion regarding my interim EAD. If I don't get interim EAD, I will ask my attorney to apply for H1 extension for another three years. I am in EB2 category.

I totally agree with you that it is totally inconsistent and frustrating. I wish that they were processing applications quickly.
 
Got one

I went there today and the officer said that CSC has not replied back to him hence he does not know what to do for my EAD. He had no knowledge for the reason for the hold. He told me that I should wait for his call on this issue. I told him that (1) 90 day rule on form I-765's instructions only talks about receipt date, not hold or pending status, (2) my present H1B is valid till Dec. 10th, and (3) I want to speak to his superior. I asked the officer, can he give me in writing what he is saying, he said no I am not supposed to.

He talked to his superior, and after few hours of wait, he called me and said that the superior wants to issue the EAD. I was given a nine month EAD. Relief!

I don't know whether to be happy or sad about it. The reason to be happy is that I got what I requested. Reasons to be sad are:

A. What in the world the hold is about. My attorney inquired and as per my attorney, there is no hold. There was no reason for the officer to say no for EAD even in the last week. Officer says there is a hold, attorney says there is none. Whom should I believe on it.

B. Now that I have been given EAD, my employer will less likely extend my H1 for another 3 years. I could have otherwise applied for extension, and I wanted to do so. If CIS denies my I-140 for some reasons that I can’t think of as I can’t think one for the hold, I will not be able to work. At that time (1) my employer will have to file a new H1B and (2) I could be out of status subject to the dates of events and notices, (3) the new H1 will be subject to the quota and (4) who knows what happens at that time. Impression is that extending H1B is somewhat easier than getting a new one.

On my question that are many applications on hold these days, the officer told that it is all case by case.

Overall pretty confused and frustrated about this process.
 
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EAD on Hold some info..

I'm not sure this is the reason, but sounds logical. But it obviousely applies for concurrent filers only.

EAD on Hold, this one may throw some light..

In response to a request for clarification made by the American Immigration Lawyers' Association, the INS Immigrant Services Division provided the following information:

"ISD reminds us that concurrent filing refers to an I-485, I-765 and I-131 filed with an I 140 as well as an I-485, I-765 and I-131 filed to join a pending I-140. If the I 140/ I-485 are filed concurrently, the service centers must take the following steps:

(1) Conduct a prima facie review of the I-140 petition within 45 days of receipt or adjudicate the petition within 60 days. If a center determines that an RFE is required, the RFE must be issued within 75 days of petition receipt. Where the center is adjudicating cases within 60 days, it is possible that an RFE will be issued for “additional evidence”, rather than “initial evidence”.

(2) Maintain a 60-day processing time for concurrently filed I-140s. As indicated above, if an RFE will be issued, it must be issued within 75 days. Once the service center decides to issue an RFE, the RFE will cover any and all evidence. It will not be limited to “initial evidence”. Per 8 CFR 103.2(b)(10)(ii), interim benefits will not be granted based on an application or petition held in suspense for the submission of requested “initial evidence”. In addition, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(10)(i) provides the regulatory basis for restarting the clock at the time the Service receives the response to the RFE. The center then has an additional 90 days to adjudicate the I 765 before an interim EAD will be issued. Therefore, where “initial evidence” is requested or where “initial evidence” and “additional evidence” are both requested, the clock stops on the EAD processing. If the RFE is issued for “additional evidence” only, the clock will not stop and the interim benefits (EAD and advance parole) will be processed.

(3) If there is no processing hold due to an RFE for “initial evidence” or for both “initial evidence” and “additional evidence” and if the 90 day processing is not met at the centers, District Offices should continue to process the I-765s."
 
rk4gc,um , isnt this info somewhat outdated and irrelevant considering that we are looking at processing times close to a year for i140s?
 
this is an excerpt from Murhty's site. My case is concurrent filing and EAD is being on hold. RD is Apr 25 ND is Apr 28.

CSC confirmed that I-485s filed concurrently with I-140s are adjudicated in the order they are filed, whether filed concurrently or following the approval of an I-140 petition. Therefore, for many people, the concurrent filing is often beneficial in this regard. As we have noted on prior occasions, however, some of the Service Centers review an I-140 before issuing an EAD or AP if the I-140 and I-485 are filed concurrently. It may be beneficial to consider filing the forms one after the other, namely filing the I-485 about a month after filing the I-140, to enable speedy receipt of the EAD and AP.
Click to expand...
 
Ofcourse, its an age old notification. But this is the only logical reason I can think of.
 
I think this is how it works - on the way to bathrooms, they pick up a file as reading material (sometimes they flush it away along with toilet paper and thats when you get requests to resubmit original LC etc) and shove it back on the way back to their chairs. After a few months(this number is arrived in a very idiosyncratically heuristic fashion), they arrange the racks holding the folders and the ones that have been their reading material so far goes on hold and a fresh set becomes their reading material.I think the racks on their way hold files later than April since kenboo's April file is on hold now.
 
My EAD got approved

RD: 8/19/03
AD: 12/1/03

Concurrently file I-140, I-485, I-131 and I-765
My wife's EAD was approved on the same day.

Cheer up....
 
congratulations,candie. Could you give us some info on your app? how many ppl does your company employ/profit making etc etc?am wondering if working for big cos is making a difference.. any RFE's yet? also which category - EB1/2/3?
 
EAD

EB2
No RFE
Currently filed
I-140 still pending
Company size: ~4000 employee
Still profitable, although not as good as booming time.
 
Thanks candie..I think that ~4000 number is the key. I remember my lawyer telling me that if the co size>100, no tax papers,other financial docs are needed and only a letter from any financial officer is needed..i think thats working in your favor..congrats again
 
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