notaclue

Right here, but good luck nonetheless. It was made crystal clear to me at the time that it was only available in cases where severe loss was to the employer IF they had already went through steps to hire you etc. The loss to an individual was apparently mitigated based on 'being well aware of USCIS processing times'.

Maste

Well I didn't mean literally any job, so apologies for the confusion there. These are jobs my masters I am working on are needed for (as part of the qualifications for the job) and that my undergrad is needed for too, so ones I'm qualified for, plus ones where I might be a company's best hire for the position (hopefully). Plus there are a couple of other unique opportunities out there being advertised so I don't want to miss out on those as these positions are long term career type of jobs and don't often appear too often.

Rete

Maste, I do hope you get the job offer. I believe that you have the right to ask that the EAD be expedited. First point would be that at the time of applying for the benefit the timeframe was 90 days maximum or you could ask for expedition if you have a job offer and there is a financial hardship caused by the inability to work. Since your wife is still a student and not working, and you would be the only breadwinner in the household, the need for gainful employment is paramount. Second point is that your skillset is such that the market for your skills is limited. If the job offer is within your skillset, then the first and second points make the request for expediting your EAD legitimate. Good luck.

Maste

Rete, thank you for this. I mean, my wife does get a stipend, but being a student it isn't much, especially for a household of 2 (she only just me the financial requirements for a household of 2 with her stipend for filing) and I've not got my own income! She's essentially currently paying for most things for us both, so me getting a job offer would take a lot of the burden off of her on paying for most stuff. Also, I don't think I'm able to get my scholarship next year (international office said I won't get the international student scholarship I got this year because I'm now married and the school see me as a pending resident now), which puts me in further financial hardship, which is something I could possibly mention too, do you think? My masters covers the skillset for the job I applied for - however they may be creating a role that matches the skillset of both my undergrad and current studies - which would be awesome and perfect for me, and it is something they're considering because of my resume and experiences, which would make the job pretty unique to me and my skillset, right?

I won't hear back until end of this week or early next week. I was the first person they interviewed - not sure if that's a good sign or not!

Rete

I honestly don't feel that you will be asked to give specific financial spreadsheets or even show them tax returns to explain financial hardship. Simply the fact that neither of you are wage earners, a stipend is not an earned wage, and as you don't have the ability to work but have an employment offer (verified in writing) when the offer is made and you have accepted, should be all that is needed.

While your wife's stipend meets the 125% of the poverty guidelines, it is not a wage and has not been accepted as a financial sponsorship for your permanent residency. It can be denied at the time of the interview, if there is one, but (and this is a big BUT) if you are working, your income can be included in the new I-864 to be used towards your own financial sponsorship. How cool is that

What readers need to bear in mind at all times when dealing with the USCIS, with the replies and experiences posted here, is that there are rules and regulations that must be followed in applying and completing applications but that there are also many variations and deviations from those rules and regulations in some instances and particular circumstances. Notaclue had one set of experiences which were quite out of the normal for 85% of the people posting here. Tom169 had a slightly different experience. So did BenK. While each case is similar in filing, each case is also individual. That is the plus side of forums such as these. Giving your experiences for prosperity for others to read and learn from might help one or two people down the line who are in a place such as yours.

Maste

Bad news from the job interview - they decided they didn't want to go ahead with it due to uncertainty of my situation and they didn't want to take any risks of me not having my EAD in time for the start date they needed. That's fair enough; I was open and honest with them about my situation. This sucked, but the interview went really well and they said they did like me and my skill set a lot, so there is a silver lining from that! But I'm a firm believer in I'll land where I need to be!!

Good news - EAD is in production as of this morning! So I got lucky and got it within the 4 months timescale and not 6 months or even longer that I'd read about on other forums! How long can I expect to wait? And once I have the EAD (hopefully combo card), I can just apply for anything and show my EAD card, right? I already have an SSN card.

Now I don't mind waiting for the interview - so long as it's before my EAD expires!

michaelr711

Congrats on the EAD! It's about time!!!

Maste

Thank you! Current waiting times are 4-6 months so we got in at just over 4 months. I'll take that!

Also if it's a combo card, a Christmas trip to family may be on the cards to celebrate and have some British time! I miss home already!

michaelr711

Haha understandable. I'm looking at visiting in October for the first time in two and a half years! I need a chippy in my life.

Rete

WTF Maste. There will be other opportunities in the not to distant future for your career here in the US.

You did extremely well with getting your EAD in only four months. Bet there will be many here envious of your speed when they read this while they are still waiting.

tom169

Your EAD is what you will use for completing an I-9 when you land a job. Some states allow you to use it to extend your drivers licence. That's about it.

Maste

I'm looking at the positive side of the interview - it went extremely well, they liked my experiences, they liked me, and I personally feel I aced all the questions. Just one tiny thing they didn't have an understanding of but it is what it is, I'm sure my career will eventually take off!

What's an I9? I got my license on my F1 so it's valid until 2020 thankfully.

Noorah101

Google "I-9".

Rene

notaclue

Maste

Updated again today with AP approved and EAD card now mailed. I'm guessing I can expect to have it within the next week?

notaclue, that would be awesome if so! I'm just happy to be able to work soon, once I find a job, of course!

Exciting thing is now we can potentially plan a Christmas trip home to visit my family, which would be nice!