Mother’s Day is coming up – on May 9, 2021. If you need a nice gift idea for the mother(s) in your life, and you’d like to support a worthy cause at the same time, check out this “gift of goodness” from AsylumWorks, a Washington, DC-area non-profit that provides support for asylum seekers while they wait for resolution of their cases.
AsylumWorks offers a host of services to asylum seekers (whether they are mothers or not), including help with employment, referrals for social services, legal assistance, trauma recovery, and housing and food needs. The organization also helps connect asylum seekers to the wider community and to each other. Through their Mother’s Day Campaign (which ends on April 30), you can send a tin of alfajores, delicious sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut flakes to a mother in your life, or to an asylum-seeking mom.
Also in honor of Mother’s Day and AsylumWorks, here are the asylum stories of two mothers, who also happen to be AsylumWorks clients (thank you to Prof. Lindsay Harris for sharing)–
Paola and Alex: Paola from Honduras is the mother to Alex, her five-year-old daughter. They were forced to flee their country after becoming targets of a powerful gang. Paola and her daughter traveled 2,000 miles by foot, train, and car to seek asylum in the United States. After crossing the Rio Grande, they were apprehended by ICE. Soon afterward, Alex was taken from her mother and put in a separate holding facility for minors. After weeks of not knowing where her daughter was or if she was ok, Paola was thankfully reunited with Alex, and they began their journey to seek asylum in the United States. A distant family member agreed to take Paola in temporarily, but the landlord was wary of new tenants and threatened to kick her out. To make matters worse, young Alex experienced multiple traumatic events in the care of ICE and emerged from detention severely traumatized.
When Paola came to AsylumWorks, she felt very alone–trying to care for her young daughter, who was struggling mentally–as a single mother with no network of social support. Back home, she had lots of neighbors, family members, and community members to help look after Alex during work hours. Here, she struggled to fathom the cost of childcare while waiting for her EAD card, which would allow her to work legally.
AsylumWorks’ team quickly referred Paola to a child psychologist who could help manage the ongoing effects of Alex’s trauma. When COVID-19 hit and Paola’s landlord refused to let her stay, AsylumWorks connected the family with temporary housing. They also provided an emergency rent subsidy to help cover the costs of a security deposit for a new apartment. Paola is planning on attending an upcoming Job Readiness Training workshop this year and is working on childcare with a fellow mother she met at an AsylumWorks community event. While the road ahead is long, she feels hopeful for the first time in a long time.
Emelda and Olivier: Emelda from the Democratic Republic of Congo lives in Virginia with her seven-year-old son Olivier. After her husband was kidnapped for investigating local human rights abuses, Emelda was forced to flee the country with her young son. They have been waiting in “legal limbo” for over two years and the current backlog of asylum cases (made even worse by COVID-19) has only made matters more difficult.
Desperate to earn income as a single parent and struggling to supervise her son’s daily virtual school, Emelda took a job as an around-the-clock live-in caretaker for a cognitively compromised patient. Soon after starting, the patient began to be physically abusive towards Olivier. Emelda didn’t want to leave and upset the family that took her in, but she was also scared that the situation could turn into something worse.
Now that AsylumWorks’ Job Readiness Training has gone virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic, Emelda was able to participate from the patient’s room and graduated with a whole new outlook on life. A few weeks ago, she was hired to work at a senior living facility, and last week, she began her new job. She told Nick, AsylumWorks’ Employment Program Manager, that she felt very safe because there was a lot of personal protective equipment, unlike at her old job. Emelda and Olivier are planning to move as soon as she has enough money for rent. Emelda is also looking to enroll her son in an in-person elementary school with the help of an AsylumWorks Community Support Worker!
You can see that these mothers–like many hundreds of parents stuck in asylum limbo–were able to persevere and are working towards stability and safety for themselves and their children. A donation to the “gift of goodness” campaign will help families like these and provide a delicious dessert to someone you love.
Check out the AsylumWorks website to learn more about this worthy organization, and if you are an asylum seeker, how they might help you. Oh, and don’t forget to call your mother…
Hi Jason, I have traveled to third country on Advance parole and got married there, I brought the legal documents of our marriage and Than I talked with my attorney to add my wife into my pending asylum case as Im still waiting for the interview call from immigration. My attorney said she can add my wife on the same day when I have a interview in immigration office , I wanted to make sure if that is the right thing to do. Let me know your thoughts!
Thank you very much in advance.
If your wife is outside the US, that should be fine. Typically, though, asylum offices require you to submit evidence a week or two in advance of your interview. When you submit the evidence, you should submit the marriage certificate and other evidence of the marriage. When you go to the interview, you can update your form by adding your wife. You do that verbally with the officer. Take care, Jason
Jason and Everyone … College Access for Asylum Seekers
I want to share a positive story today. I’ve been mentoring a high school student who came to the U.S. from Venezuela at age 13 with her mother, seeking asylum. She spoke zero English. In May, she will graduate from a Tennessee high school as an Honor Student with a 3.94 out of 4.00 grade point average. Her dream is to become a doctor but as you know, pending asylum applicants are not eligible for any government-sponsored college loans or scholarships and in most states they are not eligible for in-state tuition, but must apply as international students and pay much higher tuition rates, even for many community colleges.
We found a list of the top 50 private colleges and universities that give the most money in scholarships. We made a list of 15 that fit her goals. She went through the lengthy and challenging process of applying to schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale as an international student. Because of her mom’s low income, she didn’t have to pay any application fees. She wrote a fantastic college essay and answered each school’s individual questions, filled out all the online forms, asked teachers to write recommendations and even hunted down a teacher during Christmas break who forgot to upload hers, which would have meant missing the application deadline for most schools. This month we found out that she got into one of the top private colleges in Massachusetts with a 4-year scholarship. She is beyond thrilled.
If she had not gotten into one of these top colleges, her counselor at school had helped her track down small private schools in Tennessee that offer financial aid for students in her situation. She applied to and got into one of these schools, and they offered her some financial aid. Her counselor also found a Tennessee scholarship called Equal Chance for Education. It is open to Tennessee residents like my friend whose immigration status has the effect of denying them access to college.
What have we learned from this process? It’s hard but not impossible to get a college education, even if you have a pending asylum case or are undocumented. Ask everyone for help from the school counselor to your ESL teachers, family friends, churches, synagogues, mosques, immigration advocates, even your immigration attorney! Someone knows someone who will help. All the private schools my friend applied to had special programs for undocumented and DACA students. None of their websites mentioned students with pending asylum cases but most considered her in the same category as undocumented when deciding on financial aid, so don’t let status stop you.
International students have to pass the TOEFL, an English exam, to attend an American university. My friend will graduate from an American high school and took all her coursework in English. Every school said she didn’t need the TOEFL. One last thing: There are two college entrance exams, the SAT and the ACT. You only take one. We worked hard on the ACT for months, but as a student who had only been speaking English for 4 years, she was not able to read fast enough on these timed tests to get high scores. This year because of COVID, most colleges made reporting test scores optional. This may continue. She did not report her test scores.
Start early, in the junior year of high school. This takes time! Good luck!
This sounds great, and it sounds like we are lucky to have her here in the US – Thank for sharing. I have also seen many of my clients find ways to attend school and get good jobs. It is not easy, but it is the prototypical immigrant experience – come to America, work super hard, and achieve great things. Take care, Jason
Hi Anna,
First and foremost, I would like to thank you for sharing this important story that may help many of pending asylum applicants. I wish this outstanding girl and her mother the best and a life full of success.
Secondly, I have the same situation the mom and her daughter had. My daughter is going to the 12th grade next school year and I am confused, not sure how to start, when to start or where to start.
While reading your comment, some questions came to my mind, such as:
1- Why applying for the private universities not the state ones?
2- Did she contact the university, explained her status before applying? and as I understood, she applied to the whole 15 universities and schools, am I correct?
3- I would highly appreciate if you could list the entities, organizations or the donors who we may contact for a scholarship help.
4- The girl will start in a science collage in one of the majors that will allow her to apply the the medical school in the future, Am I right?
Thanks in advance,
Anna,
You are such a nice person that you are sharing such a valuable information and inspiration to everyone. I am glad everything worked well for your pal here. I wish my best future endeavors. I am sure she will be extremely successful cause she knows how it feel when you have no power to change your life
Thank you once again
Dear Jason
I have submitted my I-485 package based on my grant of asylum, and I am getting married to a US citizen soon, will I be able to apply for naturalization in 3 years instead of 5 years since my spouse is a citizen? or will I need to wait 5 years since my green card is asylum based? thank you!
If you get the GC based on asylum pending, the GC will be back-dated one year (so if you got it today, it would say April 28, 2020). You can then apply for citizenship 5 years after the back-dated date, so in this example, if you got the GC today, you could apply for citizenship in 2025, and actually, you can mail the form 90 days early, so you could apply on about January 28, 2025 (3 years and 9 months from now). If you applied for another GC based on the marriage to a US citizen, maybe that would get you to citizenship more quickly (but maybe not). Even if that was faster, I doubt it would be much faster and is probably not worth the expense or the potential trouble if USCIS gets confused about 2 pending GC cases. To be clear, though, you can only get to naturalization in 3 years if you got your GC based on marriage to a US citizen. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Should I send my medical exam at the same time I send my I-485 or should I wait for RFE ?
If I wait for RFE to do it, do you think it would somehow impact the wait time before getting the GC /
Thank you,
I don’t think it makes much difference either way, and if the RFE causes delay, it is pretty minimal (assuming you don’t take a long time to get the exam done). If you do the exam and send it so it is received within 60 days of the doctor signing it, supposedly it will remain valid for the duration of the case. I am not 100% confident in that, but I think that is what USCIS claims. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason,
My father is dying, he is in his last days because of bone cancer.
I have my RTD as an asylee and my GC is still pending, is there any way to travel to the country of prosecution and not have an issue by explaining the emergency of this? How can someone proceed to show the grounds that this travel is so important and not have issues coming back? thank you
Pain, I am so sorry to hear this. Please accept my condolences.
I am not Jason. He’ll respond soon; continue to check for his response. In the meantime, here is what I know… You can travel to your country as an asylee- if the reason for the travel is extenuating, dire, urgent, extreme, or a matter of life-and-death. Your reason for wanting to travel back to your COP seems like it meets this criteria. You must, however, be prepared to explain WHY you went back and HOW you were able to stay safe while you were there. If you claimed, for example, that your government persecuted you, or wants to persecute you, the onus is on you to explain HOW your government allowed you to enter and leave the country freely. Obviously, if the country conditions changed, and there is evidence of such change, you can provide this evidence. As well, if the persecutors are a group/segment of the population, you can mention this as well.
It is extremely important that you get a copy of the death certificate, the hospital records (preferably signed by a doctor), and letters from family members and friends. If you stayed in hotel, especially if the hotel is located far away from where you were persecuted, or would be persecuted, you might want show proof of this. With all of this, the burden of proof- the responsibility of producing enough evidence to prove an assertion or claim against you- would hopefully be on the U.S. government.
I am sorry for this news. In terms of travel, I wrote about that on January 6, 2016 – maybe that would help. If you do not fear your home government, but fear terrorists, that makes it easier to explain to the US government how you went back and stayed safe. If you fear the government itself, that is more difficult to explain. In any event, you should be prepared to explain why you went back (and get some evidence of your father’s condition) and how you stayed safe while you were there. I have had clients return under these circumstances, and no one has yet had a major problem, but if you are prepared to explain your trip and have some evidence, you will be ready in case you are questioned about this. Also, I highly recommend that when you return to the US, do not travel through an airport that has US customs inspection overseas (like Dubai or Toronto, for example). If you go through inspection overseas and have a problem, it might be worse than if you are inspected upon arrival on US soil. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I was reading your response to a question asked by an asylee. I didn’t understand the effect of usign airports like Dubai or Toronto vs direct flight to USA on flying back to USA after briefly staying in COP. Can you briefly explain this and share us if any of your client had experience in this regard. Does the recommendation also applied to green card holders through asylum.
Thanks
In some overseas airports, you have to go through US customs before you get on your flight to the US. If something goes wrong, it seems to me that it would be easier to deny you entry and you will be stuck overseas. In contrast, if you come to the US and do your inspection here, and if CBP wants to deny you re-entry, you are at least physically here and have some rights (for example, asking for asylum). I have only once had a client have a close call (I think in Dubai), but that person got here, and so if there is a situation where you fear you might be denied entry, it may be better to do your CBP inspection on US soil, as opposed to an inspection point overseas. Probably this is overcautious, but you never know. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I’m going to apply for green card by September. As my brother has attempted to get a copy of my birth certificate in my home country, he has found that my birth date is March 25, whereas the date on all my government IDs, including my passport and all the IDs I’m using here in U.S., is March 15. The agency had told my brother that this date of birth needs to be updated on all my documents.
I’m wondering if that would create any problem when I apply for green card at USCIS? Thanks!
I think it is going to be a pain and will likely cause delay (in addition to the normal delay). I would be very sure that the birth certificate is correct and the other documents are wrong before you start on this path with USCIS. But if the old documents are wrong, I guess you will need to inform USCIS and explain what happened, and then provide evidence. I suspect it is going to be a bit messy and so you might want to talk to a lawyer about how to present this. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason. Applied to volunteer for career advice and mock interviews.
Dear Jason and asylum community,
Our I-730 approved on March 8, we got the receipt for approval. Now the online case status shows that they have sent the case to department of state for visa procedures.
Anyone has experience about the next steps, how long it will take to get the interview/visa from consulate, how can we get in touch with NVC ??
Thanks!
It probably takes a couple months before the NVC sends the case to the embassy, but it may depend on which embassy. If you feel it is taking too long, you can inquire with NVC here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason!
If a person has been granted asylum and his EAD expires, does he need renew it? Or approval letter is enough?
The I-94 (which should have come with the approval letter) is enough to work (see https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/handbook-for-employers-m-274/60-evidence-of-status-for-certain-categories/63-refugees-and-asylees). You should also be able to get a license/state ID. That said, it is easier to have an EAD, as employers and DMVs understand that document a lot better. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason and everyone, i hope all of you doing well, i have a question if i want to do motion in advanced is there any specific forum if yes how can i find it?, my wife had medical condition and she has paper from her doctor on December i gave it to my attorney to do it but he has nit do it so far then i decided do it by myself i read your article on April 17 nut i could not find my answer i would appreciate if you help me,
My best.
If you are talking about a court case, you really need to do that through your lawyer if you have a lawyer. If the lawyer won’t do it, find a new lawyer. Or if that does not work, probably you should fire the lawyer and do the whole case yourself. The problem is, if you expect the lawyer to do the case and you file a motion to advance, the lawyer may not be ready to do the case once it is advanced (assuming the motion is granted). I think you really need to be on the same page about this. You may be able to find more about a motion to advance in court if you Google “Immigration Court Practice Manual.” I think that has example motions. Take care, Jason
https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/more-info
Hi Jason. Please comment on above link of USCIS for testing a new method to calculate processing times. How beneficial is for Asylees. Thank You.
It seems they are trying to give a more accurate idea about how long these cases take, but I am not sure this is all that helpful. They need to review how they process cases and make that more efficient (especially for asylees, who have already been vetted). But I am glad they are making an effort to keep people informed – that is a positive step. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason and asylum seeker friends,
I just checked my I485 case online and I saw the case is updated to [ Case was approved -On April 23, 2021, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status]. My question is how long is going to take for the green card to be received after the approval date?
Thanks in advance for any info.
Could please tell me when you filed your application?
03/14/20 TSC
Usually it is pretty quick – a week or two, but it could be longer. Anyway, it sounds like good news and you should have the GC soon. Take care, Jason
When did you submit your application, I submit March 27, 2020 still waiting
Congratulations on your approval!!! Can you share with us how long after the USCIS received your application did you receive your biometrics? And did you expedite your case?
Hello Everyone,
Has anyone who has been interviewed in the Arlington office in 2021 received their decision? If so, can you please share when you had your interview? Thanks.
We’ve had a bunch of interviews there in 2021 (maybe 10 or so), but I think we have not received any decisions on those cases. I am not sure, but I can’t recall any of our 2021 cases receiving decisions. Take care, Jason
I was interviewed by the Arlington office in February 2018, still waiting.
Hello Sir Jason,
Thanks so much for all you do and hope you are safe? I am renewing my EAD and I need your help with the following questions please.
1) My EAD will expire on 11/15/2021, when should I send in my application for renewal please?
2) On the I-765 form, Question 25,what should I write there as my current status given that my Affirmative Asylum Application is still pending at the USCIS office and I have not yet received a letter for an interview?
3)Please should I answer to question 30C given that I was not arrested?
4) What should I write on sections that no not concern please? Should I put NA or leave the spaces blank?
5)Please do you know where I should send my application for renewal to ?Which USCIS office please?
Thanks so much for all you do and God bless you
1 – The soonest you can file to renew is 180 days before the old card expires. 2 – I do not recall the question, but if it asks for current status, you can put asylum pending or you can put any other status you have (or you can list your status and note it has expired, if that is the case). 3 – For asylum pending EADs you have to state whether you were arrested, but I think the questions after that can be left unanswered if you were never arrested. You have to carefully read the questions, as I am not sure. 4 – If you are leaving a box blank? You can write N/A. 5 – You have to check the mailing instructions on the I-765 page at http://www.uscis.gov. Take care, Jason
Hello,
I am not sure if anyone posted this news here. USCIS seeking for public opinion.
https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/dhs-seeks-public-input-to-identify-barriers-that-limit-or-prevent-access-to-immigration-benefits-and
Thanks
Thank you for posting – I originally thought comments were only accepted for a day or two, but I see now that you can comment until May 19, 2021, so that is good. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason for all you do for us. May God bless you always!
Alena,
Thank you for sharing this. I just submitted my comment there. I hope other fellows reading this blog also submit their comments so that Biden administration bring positive changes in the immigration system.
Just an update on timeline from Asylum to Naturalization
1. Admitted into the US on F1 visa in 1994
2. Applied for Asylum in Chicago Asylum office in 1995 while still on F1 visa.
3. Application for Asylum was denied by the Chicago Asylum office in June of 1995.
4. Renewed asylum application with Asylum office again in 1999 while out of status .
5. In May of 1999 the Asylum office in Memphis denied my application again and since I was out of status my case was referred to the Immigration court in Memphis.
6. In December of 1999 my application was granted by Judge Pazar in Memphis Immigration Court.
7. In July of 2001 I applied to register as PR.
8. In 2010 I was informed by the Immigration after many inquiries about the status of pending application, that my case was put on hold because of TRIG.
9. In March of 2014 I got my green card after a wait of 13 plus years.
10. . in Feb of 2018 I applied for citizenship and finally in Feb. of 2021 I attended the swearing in ceremony and received my naturalization certificate.
11. Today (April 22, 2021) I received my US passport.
It took me about 27 years to get US citizenship. In the past 27 years I was able to obtain 2 college degrees and established three successful businesses…paid hundreds of thousand dollars in federal, state and local taxes…. created 32 jobs for other Americans…Now because of the pandemic I am unable to travel out of the country…and today I have decided to retire early…April 30th 2021 is going to be my last day of work….
What a life…
Amazing. Once you retire and have some time, you should consider writing an article about your story to help people understand how this process works (or doesn’t work). Take care, Jason
I guess it will be interesting to write about my three decades of experience in dealing with the US asylum system. It is obvious in my opinion that the current US asylum adjudication system simply no longer works…my advice to those of you with pending applications is to be patient and never give up hope…. there are still so many good and caring people working in the system…appearing before an AO or the judge you try to be consistent and don’t try to sound too rehearsed during interview or the hearing…in other words you shouldn’t lack spontaneity…during the interview or the hearing the first thing you have to do is to establish your credibility by answering in a consistently patient and detailed manner…I will also strongly urge everyone to retain an attorney in dealing with USCIS…laws and regulations are changing so frequently that even some attorneys are struggling to keep up with the changes…for me despite of years of difficult days and obstacles, America has been and will continue to be a place called hope…
Hi Jason and members
I’m a dependent in my husband’s asylum case which he filed in August 2018. No interview yet.
I have a job in International Development and my job involves a bit of travel.
Can one apply for an Advance Parole for work related travel? It would be to other countries and not the COP.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Please kindly share.
TIA
I have not applied for AP since Biden came to office, and so hopefully the situation has improved. However, you need to give a “humanitarian” reason to get AP. Maybe a job in development might apply, but typically, you show that you are going to visit a sick relative. I wrote about AP on September 11, 2017 – maybe that post would be helpful. Take care, Jason
Oh my goodness!
This is better than any cup of coffee in the world, as you just woke me up with your story.
You are a great source of inspiration and encouragement.
Thank you so much for sharing your story here to encourage others.
Enjoy your retirement!
Good source of inspiration
This 27 years, wow! you must have a very strong will power! How did you handle the psychological aspects of your life? It must have been nerve wracking.
Hmmm….that’s not very good…may I ask are you from a muslim majority countries ? It seems to me USCIS has a strong anti muslim bias ?
Similar story
I came as student and still waiting for interview. I am in usa 14 years
psychological destroyed. waiting in vain
i don’t have any hope dream of life. They were taken away because of my status
The wait is very painful. I did a post about that on January 9, 2018. Maybe that would be of interest. Take care, Jason
Dear MMZ: Hats off to your willpower. I cannot even imagine how many friends and relatives you missed in these 27 years while you were away from them. Thanks for sharing your story.
Hi everyone!!
Just an update on timeline of EAD Renewal from Texas.
Application Sent: 15 Jan, 2021
Application Received: 21 Jan, 2021
Acknowledgment Letter Received: Feb 1st, 2021
Approval Received: April 20, 2021
EAD Card Received: Will receive in 4 to 5 days.
So total time took 3 months or 90 Days… Stay positive and please pray for all of us that we get our interview and get succeed !! We have been waiting for just first interview since oct 2015. my wife wants to see her ill father back home but God knows, when will she see him.
Thank you.
I mean…I don’t think the USCIS cares…
Thank you for sharing – that was fast. In terms of your wife, she might be able to travel using Advance Parole – I wrote about that on September 11, 2017. Also, you can try to expedite your case. It is not easy, due to Covid limiting the number of interviews, but you can try. I wrote about that on March 30, 2017. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have a question.
Spouse of the main applicant can go back to their country with advance parole?
Yes, but it could have a negative effect on the asylum case, depending on the case. If the case says that the government or a terrorist group is persecuting the principal applicant and that person’s family, it may be difficult to explain why a family member returned to the home country. Take care, Jason
It looks like I have only been envying others. I renewed mine in December and my application was received on December 15 but never received anything. Worse of all, it will be expiring in two days. What a trauma and mess in this system
Hi dear Jason,
I sent my I-485 application in March 28th and today I noticed the application fee was deposited. When would the next step happen? I mean when should I expect to get the receipt number?
The receipt is usually arriving in a month or two, but if you can get a copy of your check from the bank, the receipt number should be stamped onto the back and you can then check that at http://www.uscis.gov. After this, will be a fingerprint appointment (or a notice that that is not needed), maybe an interview, and then a GC. The whole process is generally taking 1 to 3 years, according to the USCIS processing times. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, Hope you are doing well.
I applied I-589 2015 November,
Interview (expedited 2 times) February 2020 and granted!
Applied for I-485 April 14 2021, check cashed and my case status is:
“ Finger print Fee Was Received
On April 14, 2021, we accepted the fingerprint fee for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSC219…. Our National Benefits Center location is working on your case. The point is I didn’t know National Benefit Center is processing I-485 forms and how long does it take usually processing times? Do you think they would re-use my biometrics? Because I have valid RTD until August 24th 2021 and planning to go to see my family in 3rd country and stay 1 month over there. By the time if I am away and they call me for biometrics it won’t be easy for me to come back with all these travel restrictions. It has been 6 years still working on for Green Card. At least want to take advantage go to see my family. Life is too short waiting to share life with your loved ones. I have I-797 notice of action form. On my way back I am planning show in CBP ( Valid RTD, Valid EAD & I-797 notice of action )
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you very much
I think USCIS processing times are 1 to 3 years, but we see most such cases take 1.5 to 2 years. In terms of biometrics, USCIS may or may not actually need them, but it would be best if someone can get your mail while you are away. If you do happen to get an appointment during that period, you can ask to postpone it until after you return, and so you should not have a problem – as long as someone can get your mail to inform you about any appointments. Take care, Jason
Hello everyone,
Has anyone been lucky enough to get their renewal EAD card from Nebraska Service Center? Date of filing October 2020-November 2020
I just checked timeline for I-765 ( based on C(8) ) processing times on uscis.gov and I noticed something bizarre.
I’d been refreshing that page since last month to see how processing times did and “ Receipt date for a case inquiry “ was for December 16 2020 YESTERDAY.
Today, it went back to October 22, 2020
Does anyone have any clue about what is going on?
https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/
Hi Asylum seeker,
I have applied for EAD renewal on December 30, 2020 and received on January 15, 2020. Nebraska center!
Approved on April 15, 2020
Approval letter on April 18, 2020
Waiting for the card! This is my second EAD
Applied December 10th
Recieved December 17
Card delivered March 1st
Good luck
My understanding is that they update those charts only periodically, and so maybe conditions changed over a few weeks or months, and then they updated to reflect that. Why it would go backwards, I do not know, but one explanation is that cases where transferred to the NSC from elsewhere, and those cases were older. But really, it is another mystery in the black hole that is USCIS. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason and friends for responding.
I was able to speak to a real person at USCIS yesterday around 4 pm and all they could do was to create an online request for ” Inquire about a case outside normal processing time ” by using older filing date. Which I already tried the same tactic last week. That’s it.
Either they lost my application ( after they cashed the money order ) or they don’t process applications in order they receive.
Take care you all
Thanks a million Jason you will never imagine how this information will help me 🙏
What is the real current EAD renewal fee? Some say $410 others $380
It is $410 if you are a member of ASAP or Casa de Maryland (I wrote about those organizations with links on September 23, 2020). Otherwise, it is $495. You can check the I-765 webpage at http://www.uscis.gov to be sure. Also, if you are eligible, you can apply for a fee waiver using form I-912. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason
Quick question, I’m about to renew my EAD as asylum pending. Do we need to pay parametric fee and do it all over again as per instructions at USCIS updated instructions, I did my parametric back on 2015 this would be my third ead
Thank you in advance
Unless you are a member of ASAP or Casa de Maryland, you need to pay the biometric fee (for a total of $495). I did a post on September 23, 2020 where I provide links to those organizations. If you are a member and provide proof of that, you only pay $410. Even if you pay the fee, USCIS will most likely re-use the biometrics that they already have, so hopefully, you can avoid going to that appointment. Take care, Jason
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