rusty1

This is according to the BCIS customer service woman I spoke to. She was pathetically funny with her ambiguous terminology in the way she avoided directly answering any questions. The best phrase was "BCIS is an ever evolving organization" and "what I say now may not be the case in 3 months" - pathetic.

(1)Is there any way to calculate a rough estimation as to when we might get our interview or are we suppose to just wait with no idea?

I don't have the exact date but I believe we filed our I-485 in June or July 2003.

(2)Regarding EAD renewal. The BCIS website states that you should apply for renewal EAD 6 months before it expires. The customer service woman told me 3 months and that my wife is "getting ahead of herself". She was very condescending and I told her to relax as we got the info from the website. I told her to make note of the mistake on the website so that nobody else "gets ahead of themsleves".

mrsm

Thanks for that info, I thought at most you could apply 120 days before EAD expired. But it looks like I can apply for my EAD renewal in April. I filed AOS in May 2003 in NYC, but I'm not holding my breath re: interview.

Rete

LOL I absolutely love it ;-)

Score 5 for the OP; Score -68 for the USCIS Mis Information Line.

Rete

Matthew Udall

Both statements are true.

rusty1

I don't doubt they are true which is exactly why it is pathetic.

rusty1

MRSM,

Firstly, your welcome for the info, however...

I'm not sure if you understood my original post.

The USCIS website states that you "You should apply for a renewal EAD six months before your original EAD expires".

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/ead.htm#ead

The National Customer Service flunky I spoke to said not to apply for renewal until 3 months before the card expires so I'm not sure who to believe.

I think I'll file for renewal this month too as that is what the website states and I'd rather file early to ensure a timely receipt of the renewal. What is the worst that could happen if we file early?

I'm going to call the customer service line again just out of curiosity and see what another cs rep says. I'll post as soon as I get an answer.


By the way, we filed for AOS just a few days after you did (5/22/03). I don't think we'll get an interview before our 2nd wedding anniversary either the way it's looking. At least we won't have to apply to remove conditions.

Lastly, I was researching the EAD renewal instructions on the I-765. It looks like we have to pay the $120 fee again, send a copy of the pending I-485, and submit 2 more ADIT photos. I believe we are in the (c)(9) category which means we are to send the application to 26 Federal Plaza - where we sent our AOS application.

katesuiter1

I had the same opinion as you. I refuse to listen to the dumb-asses at the 1800 number now, as every time I call them, I get conflicting answers, or the completely wrong info. At least if you print stuff from the website, you have something to fall back on. What can you prove with a conversation with one of those people?

My EAD runs out in June, and I e-filed my renewal online on Feb 20th. NBC are currently working on Oct 2003, so you really have to get your application in quickly in order to be covered if they keep working at that slow pace. What if you didn't file in plenty of time, and they decided they didn't want to issue an interim EAD? You're screwed!

I haven't had anything to state that I filed too early, my application is in the online case status, and I got my NOA, so I'm not anticipating problems. (Fingers crossed!)

Kate. xxx

rusty1

Thanks for the feedback Kate. So you applied for renewal about 4 months before expiration. I wonder if they process e-filing faster than snail-mail. But you had to mail a copy of your I-485 and ADIT photos anyway didn't you?

katesuiter1

Hi. I was a bit leery about processing online, and they don't process the cases any faster than snail-mail, but I at least had a receipt to print off there and then. The application showed in the online status about 5 minutes after I filed, and I got my NOA about a week later. On the application form, it also says that if necessary, the applicant should mail supporting documents. I sent copies of my AOS receipt, front and back of current EAD, birth cert, marriage cert, and the receipt I got from my EAD filing. Some people here said that they didn't send the docs, and thought it best to wait until USCIS requests them. I don't want to take the chance of the app being held up even more, so I went ahead and sent mine a couple of days after filing.

I also had to schedule a biometrics appointment with my local Application Support Center, and it'll be on April 7th. The receipt instructed me to not send adit pics, as those would be taken at this appointment, along with my fingerprints.

Kate. xxxx

candy wy.

i e-filed mine and didn't send any support documents in. my ead has just been approved.

katesuiter1

Congrats!!! What's your EAD timeline?

Kate. xxxx

candy wy.

a long time. filed 11/07/03 approved 03/12/04

katesuiter1

Just over 4 months. As of March 4th, they were processing Oct 30th apps, so your filing date was just ahead of that. Nice to see that they are actually moving! Thanks for the info.

Kate. xxxxx

rusty1

Great Information, thanks. Maybe the ADIT photos they list as evidence in the instructions only apply to first time EAD applicants.

So, were you prompted to schedule your biometrics appointment on the receipt after you applied for the renewal EAD online?

katesuiter1

Yes. I called the 1800 number, and they said that all the South Florida offices were fully booked for the next month and a half. I could either go to an office in Tampa, ( crazy woman!!!) or I could just call every day first thing in the AM to see when I could get one. I did the latter, and got the first available appointment.

Kate. xxxx