USCIS Starts Issuing Approvals and Production of H-4 Spouse EAD Cards

One of the most frequent questions our office gets since and even before May 26, 2015 when the H-4 Spouse EAD filing window opened has been, “How long would it take to get the H-4 Spouse EAD approved?”    Because the H-4 Spouse EAD is a brand new program and especially due to the really high anticipated volume of H-4 Spouse EAD applications, we have not been able to provide a firm answer.    USCIS had indicated that their goal would be to issue EAD approvals within 90 days of filing.      But as our office is starting to receive H-4 Spouse EAD approvals and notifications of approvals, we are starting to get at least some preliminary idea of the processing times.

First H-4 Spouse EAD Approval Reports

We are happy to report that some of our first-day H-4 Spouse EADs are starting to get approved.    Our office made a commitment to a number of clients to file their H-4 Spouse EADs on the first day of the filing window, May 26th and now we are seeing payoff.  Here are some of the initial reports of approvals of H-4 Spouse EADs filed by our office.

Filing Date:  May 26, 2015
Receipt Notice Date:   June 1, 2015
Card Production Email:  June 17, 2015

Total Processing Time:  17 days.

We are hearing from colleagues from other law firms and from readers that they are also starting to get H-4 Spouse EAD approvals so this appears to be a trend not only limited to cases filed by our office.

Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results (Or, Does It?)

While we are happy to see an H-4 Spouse EAD approval within 17 days of processing time, we should caution that USCIS is unlikely to replicate this kind of processing timeline across most H-4 Spouse EAD applications.   The sheer volume of applications and the limited number of adjudicators simply mean that USCIS cannot possibly approve H-4 Spouse EADs in 2-3 weeks.   However, we are hopeful that this shows a commitment by USCIS to adjudicate and go through the volume of applications at a fast pace.

Minimize RFE Chances

The key to getting a quick H-4 Spouse EAD approval is, our opinion (and at this time we can safely say, experience), preparing and submitting a well-documented and easy-to-approve application.    By making it easy for the USCIS adjudicator to review and approve an H-4 Spouse EAD application,  we are increasing the chances for quick and favorable review.  This includes providing a description of what is being submitted (cover letter or index page), ordering the application forms and supporting documents in a logical order and (very importantly) including only what is needed and not necessarily what is available in terms of paperwork.    A good application package is not necessarily a thick application package.

No Biometrics Required

USCIS had confirmed well before May 26th that there would not be a requirement to submit to biometrics but the application requires the submission of two passport-size recent photos.   Despite these USCIS assurances, many in the immigrant community were unclear about whether or not there will be a requirement to submit to biometrics.   We can confirm that no biometrics are required for an H-4 Spouse EAD approval.

Conclusion

We will continue to monitor H-4 Spouse EAD processing times and share notable trends with our clients and readers.    Our office has been very active in the H-4 Spouse EAD process ever since the benefit was announced as a proposed rule in the summer of 2014 and we welcome USCIS’s fast approvals.

We will continue to provide information on the H-4 Spouse EAD process as soon as we have anything to share.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can review your case, answer any questions or schedule a consultation.   We also invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.    We can also provide a quote for the attorney service for filing the H-4 Spouse EAD.