working after EAD expiration

R

Ramana77

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,
My 485 is pending. I have applied for my 3rd EAD renewal before 3 months of current EAD expiration. There was an RFE that my supporting docs were not available. I have mailed all docs immediately. Current status is still pending. My EAD is going to expire in couple of weeks. Do I need to stop working till I get approved? I dont have H1b.

Thanks in advance
 
Go to local office and ask them to issue you temp EAD. They used to do that earlier. As long as you have filed your application well ahead in time they should provide you with a solution.


Ramana77 said:
Hi All,
My 485 is pending. I have applied for my 3rd EAD renewal before 3 months of current EAD expiration. There was an RFE that my supporting docs were not available. I have mailed all docs immediately. Current status is still pending. My EAD is going to expire in couple of weeks. Do I need to stop working till I get approved? I dont have H1b.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the quick reply. When you say local office, what sort of office? Where can I find it? Please share any info that you have.
 
and also please take your receipt with you when you visit your local office.
As mogambo said, they used to do this, but at the same time I was hearing that they had stopped doing this for some reason. But you never know with USCIS anything is possible and you got to try it - just do it.
Now it brings to me why don't the same logic for H1 be ued here?
Suppose you change your employer and a new H1 is initiated, you can start working with a receipt and not the actual approval - that is even while your H1 is still pending ( at least in an University setup, where there are no caps on the H1 as they are under non profit organizations). So why don't USCIS allow you to work while your EAD is pending? Just a thought.....fell free to add.
Rama
 
In case of EAD unlike H1 it's required to be approved, I dont think you can work using the receipt notice, talk to your lawyer on this.

you can do few things here

1. setup an appointment, goto Local USCIS with your EAD receipt, and tell that you are working on EAD. it's a 50/50 chance.

2. Call USCIS (POJ method) and clearly tell that you are working on EAD.

3. You can definately send a FAX to TSC to expedite your EAD with a cover letter explaining the reason to expedite. The FAX number is available in this forum, this again is worth trying

4. Talk to your local senator office,and clearly tell that you are working on EAD, this is also worth trying

I AM NOT A LAWYER, THIS IS JUST MY OPINION
 
Thanks a lot for your valuable information. I found the following information in USCIS website. I think I can still go to local office using Infopass, but they will forward the request again to USCIS service center, which might expidite...I will give a try.

Info from USCIS site:

Local Offices no longer accept nor adjudicate Form I-765 “Application for Employment Authorization.” The Service Centers or the National Benefits Center are responsible for adjudicating any, pending Form I-765 and issuing interim or non-interim documentation.

If USCIS does not approve or deny your Form I-765, Employment Authorization Document (EAD) application within 90 days, or within 30 days for an asylum applicant, you may request an Interim EAD (Note: Asylum applicants are only eligible to file for EADs after waiting 150 days from the date of properly filing their original completed asylum applications).


To request an Interim EAD, you must schedule an INFOPASS appointment, on our website, to visit this office in person. You must bring the following items to the office: proof of your identity and any documents that USCIS has sent to you regarding your Employment Authorization application.

Once you make your request at the Local office, the local office personnel will forward your request (send a referral) to the Service Center for processing and inform you of the next steps.
 
I was in similar situation few months ago. You do not have to stop working right away. You can work 180 days without EAD. Work another day after that and you will jeopardize your GC.

Now the employer can refuse to keep you employed if you do not have valid EAD. But you really do not have to tell...
 
My 2 cents --- DON'T WORK

amitkoh said:
I was in similar situation few months ago. You do not have to stop working right away. You can work 180 days without EAD. Work another day after that and you will jeopardize your GC.

Now the employer can refuse to keep you employed if you do not have valid EAD. But you really do not have to tell...
Click to expand...

Folks,

Please seek the opinion of a trained immigration attorney to work after EAD expiry. The rule of the thumb is DO NOT WORK!!!.

If the EAD renewal does not come in time take a vacation and comeback to work afresh with new EAD. Don't jopardize the GC at this stage of processing and risk to start all over again.

Purely my opionion, not a legal advice!
 
I concur with CaliGC

amitkoh said:
I was in similar situation few months ago. You do not have to stop working right away. You can work 180 days without EAD. Work another day after that and you will jeopardize your GC.

Now the employer can refuse to keep you employed if you do not have valid EAD. But you really do not have to tell...
Click to expand...
 
if you had a valid EAD and you filed for renewal before it expires you should not worry. I had the same situation for 1 month after my first EAD expired and my lawyer said that I cans till work with expired EAD and pending renewal. it does not hurt if you consult with someone but I guess you are ok as long as you EAD is pending

Ramana77 said:
Hi All,
My 485 is pending. I have applied for my 3rd EAD renewal before 3 months of current EAD expiration. There was an RFE that my supporting docs were not available. I have mailed all docs immediately. Current status is still pending. My EAD is going to expire in couple of weeks. Do I need to stop working till I get approved? I dont have H1b.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
 
Analogy with H-1

CaliGC said:
Folks,

Please seek the opinion of a trained immigration attorney to work after EAD expiry. The rule of the thumb is DO NOT WORK!!!.

If the EAD renewal does not come in time take a vacation and comeback to work afresh with new EAD. Don't jopardize the GC at this stage of processing and risk to start all over again.

Purely my opionion, not a legal advice!
Click to expand...


Had this been true, we should not have been able to work when we apply for a H-1B renewal after the previous H-1 expired. But that's not the case. Also, an EAD can be renewed upto 6 months after it has expired. I did this couple of years and got the new EAD with no issues and within 4 weeks (This was from Vermont Service Center, of course). Therefore, as long as the renewal is applied in time and there is a receipt number for the application, it is fine. If the renewal gets rejected or denied, then there is a problem.
 
I am of the opinion that gap in EAD will cause some additional scrutiny automatically during adjudication to verify that your total "out-of-status" days are within the 180 day limit (whether you were employed or not during the gap). The officer looking at your case may ignore the gap if it is within some reasonable time or may send it to the local office for personal interview. If you do not have any additional complications like H1-B employment gap/bench etc., you need not worry much about this. They are not going to deny based solely on this.

I had the same issue for second EAD, I had an RFE for FP that came just 20 days before the old EAD expiry and I submitted the reponse within two days. I got my EAD two days before the expiry. Normally the approval takes place within couple of weeks of RFE response. So there is still hope for you. (They also know your situation - Did you add an expedite/urgency letter with your RFE response?).
 
By law , you cannot work until your EAD it is aproved , but there are some exceptions , wich depend on your employer rules , but legally you cannot work without EAD !!!
You can use some info provided above , wich i think it's helpfull , but try to make they right decision available to you and your specific case !!! Good luck , and hopefully you'll get your EAD sooner !!!:)
 
How do the adjudicator knows that you worked or not during that expiration period?
I lost the faith about USCIS working ethics especially when I saw the approvals with out RFE's last few months before the current retrogression.
 
Ok, everyone "advicing" people to go ahead and work without a valid EAD - stop! Just because you took a risk and got away with it....

The thing is, you never know what the USCIS may decide to ask you - they recently asked me for proof that I maintained legal status .... so somehow I am supposed to come up with I-94 copies from SEVEN years ago!!!

For the OP - talk to you lawyer. It does not depend on your employer - according to the laws of the land you HAVE to have valid work authorization, otherwise your employer is liable to pay the US govt. tons of money. Some time down the road, they may ask for your W2s and tax documents - and then ask to see valid employment authorization for that time. You just never know.

So bottom line - talk to you lawyer and find out what the law says. My lawyer told me that I might have to stop working - so he sent a fax to TSC asking to expedite and it came through. But he did tell me there was a grey area if you have applied 3+ months before EAD expiration, and the local USCIS does not give you an interim EAD (but you have to have proof that you applied and were refused).

Good Luck!
 
Hi All,
Thanks a lot for your advices. I talked to attorney and he said, I can work for 120 days. I have applied 3 months earlier than the expiration. In any case, I took an Infopass and try to get interim EAD.
 
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