anjafromsweden
Registered Users (C)
I just came from my InfoPass appointment at the Washington DC service center, where I (like so many of you) had gone to beg for an iEAD before the 90 days had passed. Here's my story, which differs a lot from other members' experiences:
I told the USCIS officer I needed an iEAD, because my H1B expires in ten days and I can't afford losing my job. He asked if it had been 90 days, and I said no, but I'm here because I don't want to lose my job. He looked at my I-765 receipt and said "Your employer should be fine if you just give them a copy of this receipt. It shows that you have done everything you can to remain legal, and it's not your fault that we're taking so long processing the applications."
Baffled, I asked whether FOR SURE it's legal for them to employ me even though I do not yet have my EAD card. The guy said yes. Still not quite believing what I heard, I asked whether working before the EAD was approved would somehow jeopardize my (marriage-based) greencard application, and he said no, it wouldn't.
Then he said that if my employer still insists on terminating my employment in the absence of an iEAD, I should come back with a letter from the employer. If I did, he said, they would give me an iEAD because they "don't want me to lose my job." He then checked the status of my file, and said that the application had in fact been approved, and that they're just waiting for my biometrics (my appointment is March 1) before producing the card.
I made sure to remember the officer's name, because what he said goes against everything I've read on this forum. I still am not convinced that he's correct--in essence that you can work as soon as you have a receipt for your I-765 application--but I am definitely going to continue working seeing as my application has been already approved (even though I won't have the card for another few weeks), and because I have the name of a guy who told me I can indeed continue working.
Well, needless to say, that just made my day.
I told the USCIS officer I needed an iEAD, because my H1B expires in ten days and I can't afford losing my job. He asked if it had been 90 days, and I said no, but I'm here because I don't want to lose my job. He looked at my I-765 receipt and said "Your employer should be fine if you just give them a copy of this receipt. It shows that you have done everything you can to remain legal, and it's not your fault that we're taking so long processing the applications."
Baffled, I asked whether FOR SURE it's legal for them to employ me even though I do not yet have my EAD card. The guy said yes. Still not quite believing what I heard, I asked whether working before the EAD was approved would somehow jeopardize my (marriage-based) greencard application, and he said no, it wouldn't.
Then he said that if my employer still insists on terminating my employment in the absence of an iEAD, I should come back with a letter from the employer. If I did, he said, they would give me an iEAD because they "don't want me to lose my job." He then checked the status of my file, and said that the application had in fact been approved, and that they're just waiting for my biometrics (my appointment is March 1) before producing the card.
I made sure to remember the officer's name, because what he said goes against everything I've read on this forum. I still am not convinced that he's correct--in essence that you can work as soon as you have a receipt for your I-765 application--but I am definitely going to continue working seeing as my application has been already approved (even though I won't have the card for another few weeks), and because I have the name of a guy who told me I can indeed continue working.
Well, needless to say, that just made my day.
