September 30, 2008

USCIS Offers Guidance for Those with Late-Pending EADs

USCIS has issued guidance for individuals whose applications for an Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) have been pending for more than the maximum allowable adjudication period of 90 days.

To redress the issue of delayed adjudications, USCIS first recommends either calling the National Customer Service Center (“NCSC”) or visiting a local USCIS office.

Individuals may contact the NCSC by calling 1-800-375-5283. After proceeding through the automated system to a live representative, USCIS recommends documenting for future reference the representative’s name, and the date and time of the call. While speaking with the representative, the individual should ask for one of the following: 1) A service request to investigate the pending case status, or 2) An interim EAD card. Per USCIS, either request should carry a turnaround time of about one week.

Individuals preferring to go to the local office need to schedule an INFOPASS appointment at www.infopass.uscis.gov. At the appointment, they should request to apply for an interim EAD. The local office will forward the request to the appropriate service center which should either issue the interim EAD or provide a response within one week.

If neither of the above results in timely receipt of an EAD or an interim EAD, USCIS recommends contacting the CIS Ombudsman via e-mail at cisombudsman.publicaffairs@dhs.gov, providing all details of efforts made to obtain redress, including the names of representatives spoken with, and the dates and times of any calls to the NCSC or visits to the local USCIS office.