USCIS Delays Production of Green Cards and EADs

Many of our clients and readers have recently experienced delays in production of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) cards (also “green cards”) or Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and many have attributed these delays to the COVID-19 closures. There is another reason having to do with vendor and staffing issues at USCIS.

Green Card/EAD Production Vendor Contract Cancelled Despite USCIS Staffing Issues

USCIS has reduced capacity to print secure documents such as green cards and EADs after it ended a contract with an outside vendor responsible for printing these documents. USCIS had intended to shift this function in house and use federal employees to replace the contractors; however, due to its fiscal problems and the resulting hiring freeze, the printing programs have not been staffed adequately. As a result, production of green cards and EADs has been significantly delayed with huge (and growing at this time) card production backlogs. Unfortunately, USCIS expects that these backlogs will continue for the foreseeable future and, if there is an August 2020 USCIS staff furlough, it will only get worse.

Our office is seeing many cases where an EAD or a green card is approved and an approval notice issued but where the actual card is taking weeks to be produced and mailed out to the applicant.

I Have I-485, I-90, I-751 or I-765 Approval Notice But My Card Has Not Been Produced – What Can I Do?

USCIS is able to issue a temporary I-551 green card stamp to lawful permanent residents who have recently obtained approval of their I-485, I-90 or I-751 but have not received the actual new card yet. Applicants can call USCIS’s Customer Service Center and ask to make an appointment at a local USCIS field office where I-551 stamp can be issued. This will be evidence of LPR status and can be used for travel, employment, driving license renewal and other purposes.

For other EAD applicants, such as H-4 EAD, L-2 EAD, and others, there is no such immediate relief available. Affected applicants who have received a I-765 approval but have not yet received the actual EAD card can either submit a service request to USCIS or perhaps ask the USCIS Ombudsman’s Office for case assistance. We have also seen some applicants seek their congressperson’s office’s assistance.

Conclusion

We are hopeful that USCIS and congress will reach a funding agreement and the furlough will not actually happen. At the same time we are hoping that they will be able to dedicate resources to ensure that green cards and especially EADs are being approved in a timely manner as many categories of EAD applicants (such as H-4 EAD, L-2 EAD) are not authorized to work past the expiration of an existing EAD on the basis of a pending EAD renewal application.

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