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.

By | Last Updated: May 20th, 2017| Categories: Articles, H-4 EAD, News|

About the Author: Dimo Michailov

Dimo Michailov
Dimo has over 15 years of experience in US immigration including employment-based immigration benefits, corporate compliance and family based immigration. He represents corporate and individual clients in a wide range of cross-border immigration matters including mobility of key foreign executives and managers, specialized knowledge workers, and foreign nationals with extraordinary ability.

The Capitol Immigration Law Group has been serving the business community for over 15 years and is one of the most widely respected immigration law firms focused solely on U.S. employment-based immigration.   Disclaimer:  we make all efforts to provide timely and accurate information; however, the information in this article may become outdated or may not be applicable to a specific set of facts.  It is not to be construed as legal advice.