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H4 Biometrics + EAD Experiences with USCIS

As many of you know, USCIS changed the form I-539 for Extensions, added Biometrics, which delays overall processing of H4, even if it is filed with H1B in premium processing. This article has sections that cover latest news on H4 Biometrics, process with Biometrics for H4 and User experiences. Also, more importantly, check the comments, where users continue to add and share their latest experiences.

We have over 100 experiences with approximate timelines from users since the Biometrics Process started. Thanks to all our readers, who have added their experiences. Check Comments section for latest experiences in comments.

Latest USCIS News Update – H4 Biometrics

May 4th, 2021 : A Class Action Lawsuit was filed against DHS by Wasden Banias Law firm and AILA in March 2021. Today, there was an update by them saying that DHS may remove the biometrics requirements for H4 and L2 applications starting from May 17th, 2021. This is yet to be confirmed by USCIS as there is no official news. Check full details at H4, L2 Processing Delays Lawsuit by AILA – USCIS Biometrics Status

December 30, 2020 : USCIS issued a press release to their stakeholder indicating the delays with the Biometrics notices. They said that they ahve about 1.3 million pending Biometris appointments to be issued with USCIS as of mid December. They can only process about 10,400 per day for biomettrics. With that rate, it will take about 125 days, just to clear the backlog. So, be prepared for delays with getting Biometrics Appointment notices and H4 EAD, which has H4 and Biomettrics linked to it. You can check USCIS Official StakeHolder Message on Biometrics

Jul 20, 2020 : USCIS shared that they plan to open Application Support Centers (ASCs) in phases starting from second week of July. So far, only few users have reported that they have got the biometrics appointment. Many are still waiting. Check USCIS COVID-19 Office Opening Updates

Check Sample H4 Biometrics Rescheduled Notice, AIW form sent after COVID-19 related office closures and opening of offices.


Now that we have looked at latest news, let’s look at the general process and then experiences below. In general, biometrics is not required, if you are  applying for H4 EAD only and not using I-539 form for H4 Extension. 

H4 Extension with USCIS – Biometric Process, Documents

  • You file the H4 application with New I-539 Form that includes additional fee for Biometrics
    • Most of the cases, you file along with H1B. If H1B is filed in premium, you will get the H1B approved, and then H4 processing happens as it needs biometrics. USCIS guidance is that they will adjudicate it soon after biometrics are done.
  • You get H4 Application Receipt along with H1B and EAD receipts
  • You get the H4 Biometric Receipt physical copy in snail mail to visit Application Service Center (ASC) that has date and time
    • If you cannot make it on the given day, you can request for re-scheduling.
  • You visit ASC on the given day and time and give Biometrics.
  • Your H4 Biometrics may go through criminal history check of FBI
  • Decision on your H4 application with USCIS
  • Physical copy of H4 Decision Notice mailed to your address.

The process is as it stands today, we will update it based on general users’ experiences as we go along.

H4 Biometric Documents Required at the Application Support Center

  • The Biometric Appointment Notice sent to you by mail
  • Photo Identification Document issued by Government like below
    • Passport
    • Driver’s License,
    • National ID
    • Military ID
    • State Issued Photo ID.
    • If you fail to get Photo ID, you will not be fingerprinted / allowed to take biometrics.
  • It is recommended that you review that H4 I-539 application form that you submitted or sent to USCIS, so that you can confirm, if all the details are the same.
  • Any additional Biometric forms : USCIS does not have any special biometric forms and there is no need to fill out any separate forms related to Biometrics to visit the ASC.

H4 Biometrics Steps at Application Support Center

Giving Biometrics at ASC by H4 applicant is a very straight forward process. As mentioned above, you need required documents : Government issued Photo ID and Appointment letter. Below are the high level steps at ASC for biometrics

  • Step 1 : You are given a Token Number and will be asked to fill a basic form
  • Step 2 : You need to fill the form Applicant Information Worksheet (AIW), given to you, where you need to fill in information like Name, Date of Birth, Eye and Hair Color, Height and Weight, etc. Below is the sample shared by another user. Thanks to the user (anonymous for privacy) for sharing the form with the community.
  • Step 3 : Your token number is called and they will take your Photo and Fingerprints
  • Step 4 : They stamp your Biometrics Appointment Letter after the process is complete. The stamp indicates that your biometrics are taken proof that you visited the ASC. See below sample of the stamp given at ASC. Thanks to our user for sharing the stamped letter at ASC. At the end of article we have the full receipt notice with stamp as well for your reference on how it looks.
  • Step 5 : Wait for the decision from USCIS. Your Biometrics status is may or may not reflect on the USCIS status. Sometimes, you will continue to see the status “Case Was Received” , which is the status before  giving the biometrics.
    • Update : One of our readers shared that they have seen a status update on USCIS that says ‘Fingerprint Review was completed’. So, some of you may say this status
  • Step 6 : Decision from USCIS [ waiting for it. ]

Common FAQs on H4 Biometrics, EAD

Can you Travel outside of Country, with H4 Extension/ COS Pending with USCIS ?

Yes, you may travel out of US, but if you travel, your pending H4 Extension / COS with USCIS will be considered abandoned.  There are few scenarios with H4, H4 EAD and travel, read Travel out of US with H4 Extension, COS or H4 EAD Pending ? Options ?  

What will USCIS do with the Biometrics given by you ?

USCIS can use your biometrics/ fingerprints to check criminal history. You can get details of the same by checking your FBI identification record. You may request a copy of your own FBI identification record using procedures listed at Title 28 C.F.R., Section 16.32. You may also get it corrected or updated as outlined within the same Title 28 C.F.R., Section 16.34.

Can I reschedule my H4 Biometric Appointment with ASC ?

Yes, you can request to reschedule your appointment, if you cannot make it to ASC on the specified data and time. The process is simple, you make a copy of the Appointment letter for your records, check the box as listed in the ASC Appointment Letter and mail the Original letter to  address BPU, Alexandria ASC, Suite 100, 8850 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA 22309-1586.

Also, if you have open wound or bandage/casts, when you appear for appointment, USCIS may reschedule the appointment if they believe that they will interfere with taking the biometrics.

What if I am outside of the Country ? H4 Biometrics options outside of US ?

As per USCIS guidance, on their I-539 form instructions (page 12), you should call up the nearest US consulate/ embassy and arrange for the biometrics. It says “If you are currently overseas, instruct you to contact a US Embassy, US Consulate or USCIS Office outside of United States to setup an appointment “,  see below screenshot. USCIS H4 Biometrics - Travel and Outside of the country

What are not allowed at Application Support Center for Biometrics ?

You cannot carry Cell Phones, Cameras or any Recording Devices to the Application Support Center (ASC), when you go for giving biometrics.   Also, due to limited seating, they suggest that only person giving biometrics and who are necessary for transportation or helping with biometrics should be entering ASC.

Customer Support Number for H4 Biometrics ?

You can call the customer support at 1-800-375-5283, if you have any questions around your Biometric appointment Notice or any of the details around the same.

Can I work on H4 EAD, with pending H4 EAD ? 180 days automatic extension ?

No, you cannot work with pending H4 EAD receipt notice as the category of H4 EAD, which is C26 is not eligible for automatic 180 days automatic extension. For all details, official references, read Can you continue to work with Pending H4 EAD Receipt Notice ?

Sample H4 Biometric Appointment Letter (I-797C) for H4, H4 EAD Filing Together

See below screenshot of the sample H4 Biometrics Letter. It has the below details on the same

  • H4 Petition Tracking Number
  • Name and address of the applicant
  • Application Support Center (ASC) Address
  • Date and Time of Appointment at ASC

Sample H4 Biometric Appointment Letter (I-797C) at ASC – Stamped after giving Biometrics

H4 Biometrics USCIS Status – “Fingerprint Review Was Completed”

One of our readers, Navisha, shared that their status was updated on USCIS website after giving biometrics and it says “Fingerprint Review Was Completed ” and looks like below. Some of you may or may not see this, so nothing to worry.  Thanks to Navisha for sharing the below.

H4, H4 EAD Average Processing times with Biometrics

Using the below experiences, we have put up Stats like Average processing time by Service center, so that you get an idea. Below is one example of such average processing time. Check out H4, EAD Average Processing times with Biometrics

Approved H4 Petitions Experiences with Litigation 

Below experience are only for cases, that did not use litigation. If you are looking for ones with H4 Litigation or Lawsuit, read H4 EAD Delays Lawsuit – User Experiences 

How to file USCIS Expedite Request for H4 EAD ?

You can raise an Expedite request with USCIS, if you are eligible for the criteria. Check out the article How to raise USCIS Expedite Request and H4 EAD Expedite Request – 3 Experiences, Letters


Latest H4 Biometrics + EAD Experiences [2021]

Below are the latest H4 Biometrics and EAD related applications experiences that were filed in 2020 with decisions in 2021. Check comments for latest updates.

First time H4+EAD California with Biometrics (Apr 2021)

Shared by anonymous user. Thanks to the user.

  • Oct 26, 2020 – Applications for COS from F-1 to H4 and EAD are delivered to processing center.
  • Nov 16, 2020 – Received receipts with assigned case numbers.
  • Feb 2, 2021 – Received letter with biometric appointment detail.
  • Feb 23, 2021 – Biometric was given.
  • Feb 25, 2021 – H4 Status was updated mentioning biometric is attached with case.
  • April 20, 2021 – New card was being produced.
  • April 21, 2021 – H4 case was approved.
  • April 21, 2021 – EAD case was approved.
  • April 23, 2021 – My card was mailed to me.
  • April 24, 2021 – Received my H4 case approval notice in mail.
  • April 26, 2021 – Received my EAD case approval notice in mail.
  • April 26, 2021 – my EAD card was picked up by USPS and tracking number was shared.
  • April 28, 2021 – my EAD card was delivered to me by USPS.

It took total 6 months – exact same minimum time mentioned on USCIS case processing time. The duration of case processing time keeps varying, so you need to check every month. Usually, case status is updated either early morning or late afternoon and that is what happened in my case. I did not do any request for expedite process for my application. I recommend you maintain patience. The case officers are well familiar with the situation. In my many years of experience in the USA, If you fill your application correctly then I can say that they do their best in terms of processing it.

H4 and H4 EAD Nebraska- Experience 5 ( Feb 2021)

  • H4visa +H4EAD filled 13may
  • Service Center : Nebraska
  • Called USCIS several times and finally placed request for call of tier2 officer. Tier 2 officer called me on 30 dec 2020 and scheduled my biometric appointment
  • Biometric given 29 jan 2021
  • H4EAD approved -19 feb 2021
  • H4 visa approved- 22nd Feb 2021

H4 EAD California, No Biometrics – Experience 4 (Jan 2021)

  • Service Center : California
  • EAD Submitted and Received in USCIS : August 6, 2020
  • RFE received : Dec 14 2020
  • RFE Respond received in USCIS : Dec 18 2020
  • Expedite Request raised : Jan 11 2021 but denied
  • EAD Approved : Jan 20 2021
  • EAD CARD Received : Jan 25 2021

H4+ EAD California with Biometrics – Experience 3 (Jan 2021)

  • H1B Transfer filed on 02/13/2020
  • H1B RFE issued on 02/24/2020
  • H1B RFE responded on 04/20/2020
  • H1B Transferred Approved on 04/30/2020
  • H4+EAD(Spouse+Kids) applied on 10/22/2020
  • Biometrics given on 11/15
  • H4+EAD Approved on 01/11/2021
  • EAD Card dispatched on 01/14/2021
  • Center: California
  • TBH, I had no expectation since CA dates are running behind 18-22 months. I did not reach out to any senator, neither tried to expedite. My experience with both of these has been futile in the previous attempt.
  • I also think the processing times dates given are extreme. Don’t lose hopes, you never know what happens next!

H4 Approval with Biometrics – Experience 2 (Jan 2021)

  • Receipt date : March 26 2020
  • H1B approval : May 12 ( regular processing)
  • Processing center : Texas Service Center.
  • Biometric date : Oct 8
  • Status update on fingerprints : Oct 9
  • Approval Decision : Jan 12th 2021.

Experience 1 – H4 Biometrics +EAD ( Jan 2021)

Thanks to Nitin.

This week my application for H4/EAD got approved. I think this was by far the fastest. My application for H1B was approved in January 2021.

  • Filed for H4 & EAD in October 2020
  • Service Center : CSC
  • Biometrics in December 2020
  • Biometrics given in Massachusetts State
  • Approved: Jan 7th, 2021.
  • No Expedite request filed
  • Did not reach out to senator or anyone. I know that recent applications have now been getting processed faster.

Complete list of Over 100 H4 Biometrics + EAD Experiences [2020]

Below are the complete list of H4 filing Experiences with Biometrics and EAD that are from Year 2020. Latest one is the bottom.


H4 + H4 EAD with Biometrics Experience – #1

  • Documents sent to USCIS Offices : March 26th, 2019
  • Documents Received by USCIS at Vermont : March 27th, 2019
  • All three (H1B, H4, H4 EAD ) receipts generated : March 28th, 2019
    • Processing time – 1 day from documents received by USCIS
    • H4 Biometric Notice was generated as well.
  • H1B Petition Approved : April 3rd, 2019
    • Processing time – 6 days from receipt generated date
  • H4 Biometric Letter Received : April 5th, 2019
    • Processing time – 8 days from receipt generated date
  • H4 Biometric Appointment : April 19th, 2019
    • Appointment date – 21 days from H4 receipt generated date
  • H4 Biometrics Given : April 11th, 2019
    • Walked in to a Application Support center, as they gave out of state location, ASC accepted it and gave biometrics.
  • Travel out of Country in Ship –  H4  I-94 updated : May 20, 2019
    • Traveled out of Country and re-entered with valid H4 visa ( previous H4 stamp valid till mid July )
    • CBP officer at port of entry gave I-94 with H4 on it until end of new H1B approved in April 2019.
    • Technically H4 status is extended until end of H1B expiry.
  • H4 EAD Decision  Online :  June 11th, 2019
    • Online Status of H4 EAD Changed to “New Card is being produced” ( see below screenshot )
  • H4 Visa Application I-539 form Approved : June 12th, 2019
    • The status of I-539 Extension shows “Case Was Approved” on USCIS website.  Yet to receive the notice. See below. We need to see what happens to I-94 number.
  • H4 Approval, EAD Approval :  June 17th, 2019 in Mail.
    • For H4, Online Status Says “Case Was received”, but under DHS account it says Approved.
  • H4 EAD Physical Card : June 19th, in Mail
    • Online Status says “Card Was Delivered “

H4 Approved Status Online

H4 EAD Status updated to Card Ordered

H4 Biometrics Process Experience #2 

Ram shared his experience  Timelines on H4 + H1B with Biometric Processing. Thanks to Ram !  


Service Center : Vermont

4/03 – USCIS received H1/H4 application in PP
04/08 – H1B Approved.
04/11 – Biometrics notice generated
04/18 – Received receipt numbers for H4
04/25 – Attended Biometrics.
05/16 – Received H4 Approval Notice along with H1 Copy.

  • H4 Approved after almost 20 Days after giving Biometrics or about 45 Days from filing H1B + H4 together in premium

H4 Status still shows as “Receipt Received” as of May 22nd. Since we had India plans, we have requested H1 Copy so that the my spouse can carry it for stamping. To my surprise, i received H1 & H4 approval copies from attorney.  Check out Sample H4 Approval Notice with Biometrics – shared by User 

H4 Biometrics – Premium Processing H1B  – Experience #3 

Thanks to our reader, anonymous for sharing their experience

  • Applied H4 and H4 EAD:  April 12, 2019
    • Applied in Premium Processing for H1B
    • Filing Center : Vermont 
  • H1B Approved : April 30th, 2019
  • H4 Biometric Letter : Arrived on May 12th, 2019
  • H4 Biometrics Completed :  May 22nd, 2019
  • H4 EAD Approved on USCIS website :  June 24, 2019
    • H4 EAD status says New Card is being Produced, see below screenshot
    • Still H4 Status says “Case Received”
    • As the card is issued, assuming that H4 is also approved, but the online system is not updated. So, may not be accurate online messages. 
    • Next steps to be updated.

H4 + H4 EAD Approval Case Experience #4

Thanks to Hima.

H1B+H4+H4 EAD applied extension on Premium Processing.

Vermont was the Service Center.

  • Application send on April 13th
  • H1B Approved on April 19th
  • H4 Biometrics appointment done on May 10th
  • H4 & EAD approved on June 19th and received the courtesy copy on June 24th.
    • H4 Online status has also changed to case approved.
  • Waiting for the originals and EAD card.

Took 66 days from application and 39 days from Biometrics for the H4 case and EAD to be approved. 

H4 Approval Case Experience #5

Thanks to Desi guy 

  • Filed in Vermont Service Center
  • H1B+H4 Extension Request in Premium Mode – April 29,2019
  • H1B+H4 Extension Receipt – May 1,2019
  • H4 Biometrics Appointment Letter Received – May 5,2019
  • H1B Approval Date – May 7,2019
  • H4 Biometrics Date – May 21,2019
  • I-797(H1B) Hard Copy Received – May 30,2019
  • H4 Approval Date – June 20,2019
  • I-797(H4) Hard Copy Received – June 24,2019

H4 Biometrics Experience #6

Thanks to other user, anonymous, who shared their experience with the community. Below is the process.

  • Documents Needed : Passport, Appointment notice.
  • Outcome: They will stamp acknowledgement of your attendance on same appointment notice
  • Details of Biometric Process: Smooth process . No hassles. We went before they opened at 8:00 am and we got token number 3. So it was pretty quick .
  • One minor issue:  Wife did not have Alien number as she is not eligible for EAD yet. So they double checked her details and continued with process. Not any obstacle.

H4 Processing Timeline at CSC

  • Service Center : California Service Center 
  • H1B + H4 Filed in Premium : March 26th.
  • H4 Receipt Generated : March 27th
  • H1B Receipt Generated : March 28th
  • H1B Approved : April 4th
  • Biometric Notice Generated : April 5th
  • Biometric Notice Received : April 13th.
  • Biometrics Completed : April 26th
  • H4 Approval Notice Received :  June 24th
    • Only Courtesy Notice received so far, waiting for official notice. 
    • Processing time about 59 Days from Biometrics completion to get approval notice
    • Processing time of 90 days from filing the H4 petition. 
    • USCIS Online status still says ” Case Was Received” 

H4 Biometrics Process Experience # 7

Thanks to user Neo29J for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : Vermont
  • H1B + H4 COS + H4 EAD Filed :  May 7th, 2019 – USCIS received H1,H4 COS and H4 EAD application in Premium Processing 
  • H1B Approved : May 15th, 2019
  • Attended Biometrics : May 29th, 2019 in Boston
  • H4 EAD case status Change :  June 30th – H4 EAD case status changed to “New card is being produced”. H4 COS status is not yet changed.
  • H4, EAD  Approval Courtesy Notices : July 5, 2019  – Received my H4 and EAD courtesy approval notices.
    • 59 Days for Approval from H4 Filing Date
    • 37 Days for Approval after H4 Biometrics 
    • Waiting on H4 EAD card

Vermont H4 experience Approved #8

Thanks to user H123123 for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Filing Center : Vermont
  • H1 & H4 in Premium Processing  : 3/26 Submitted
  • H1B Approved : 4/5 
  • H4 Biometrics Letter  : 4/9 mail with Biometric for 4/26 appointment received
  • Biometrics done date : 4/26 Walking for biometric with a print out of I797C( appointment notice) Done
  • H4 Approval : 7/2
    • Approved in 98 days from actual filing
    • Approved in 67 days after Biometrics were done.
    • Approval notices arrived in mail
    • Online status changed to case approved.

Vermont H4 Biometrics experience Approved #9

Thanks to user RC for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Processing Center: Vermont
  • H1 +H4+H4 EAD filed under Premium Processing  on:  5/3.
    • It was a transfer as well and old H1 was expiring on May 13, 2019.
  • H1 Approved: 5/13
  • H1 Approval Notice Arrival: 5/20
  • H4 Biometric Appointment was on : 5/22
  • H4 EAD Online status changed to “New Card is being produced” on 7/9
    • H4 online status is still the same “…can’t provide information….”.
  • We received H4 EAD card today 7/12 and collected H4 Approval notice from employer’s attorney office today as well.
    • H4 + H4 EAD Approved in 67 days from filing
    • H4 + H4 EAD Approved in 48 days from Biometrics
    • H4 online still says “USCIS can’t provide information….”. H4 EAD status is “Card has been delivered….”.

California H4 experience Approved #10

Thanks to user kym for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center – California
  • H4+H1B+H4 EAD Filing : 04/29/2019 – Filled H1, H4 and H4 EAD in premium processing.
  • H1B Approved : 05/09/2019 
  • Completed Biometrics appointment. : 05/22/2019 
  • Follow up with Senator to talk to USCIS : 07/09/2019 – Provided my case details to local senator office, they did follow up with USCIS on 07/09 and USCIS replied back to the senators office on 07/10 and mentioned that H4 and EAD will no longer be processed under premium.
  • H4 EAD Card Produced :
    • 07/10/2019 – Case status for EAD shows “New card is being produced”.
    • H4 case status still shows “fingerprint review completed”.
    • Waiting for H4 EAD Card, H4 Approval Notice. 
    • Very likely H4 Approved as H4 EAD card status is changed to New Card is being Produced. 

Vermont H4 experience Approved #11

Thanks to user ‘Finally’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Processing Center: Vermont
  • H1 +H4+H4 EAD filed under PP on April 11th.(4/11)
  • H1 Approved: 4/18
  • H1 Approval Notice Arrival: 4/20
  • H4 Biometric Appointment was on : 4/29
  • 7/15 : received H4 EAd and h4 approval notices along with the new h4ead card.
    • H4 and H4 EAD Approved after 95 Days from Filing 
    • H4 approved after 77 days after Biometrics 
    • H4 online status is still the same “case was received”
    • H4 EAD online status says “card was delivered ”

Vermont H4 experience Approved #12

Thanks to user ‘HJ’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : Vermont
  • 4/18 – USCIS received H1, H4 and H4 EAD extension application in PP (Vermont).
  • 04/25 – Received biometric notice for H4 extension.
  • 04/29 – H1B Approved.
  • 05/06 – Attended Biometrics.
  • 07/06 – Received mail that H4 is approved.
  • 07/11 – Received H4 extension.
    • Attorney received the approval notice and forward the physical mail to us.
    • Processing time 84 days for H4 Approval from filing date
    • Processing time 66 days from Biometrics Date for H4 Approval 
    • Waiting for H4-EAD.
    • Status of H4 and H4-EAD still shows as “Case Received” on USCIS website.

CSC H4 experience Approved #13

Thanks to user ‘Anonymous’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • 04/25/2019–> H1B+H4+H4EAD Applied in PP at CSC
  • 05/07/2019–> H1B Approved.
  • 05/23/2019–> Biometric Completed.
  • 07/15/2019–> Received H4-EAD approval notice by USPS.
    • H4 Approved in 81 days from H4 Filing
    • H4 Approved in 53 days after H4 biometrics 
    • H4 Status on USCIS website still shows as Case Received.
    • H4-EAD status showing as “Card Was Mailed To Me”
  • 7/172019 : H4 EAD Card Arrived in Mail. 

Nebraska H4 experience Approved #14

Thanks to user ‘SK’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • 04/26/2019–> H1B+H4+H4EAD Applied in PP at Nebraska
  • 05/03/2019–> RFE Received for H1B.
  • 05/10/2019–> Biometrics Completed.
  • 05/22/2019–> Response to RFE was submitted
  • 05/28/2019–> H1B Approved
  • 07/17/2019–> H4 status shows as Name was Updated and H4 EAD status shows as New Card is being produced.
    • Assuming H4 is Approved as H4 EAD says card produced.
    • H4 Approved after 82 Days from H4 Submission
    • H4 Approved after 68 Days from H4 Biometrics 
    • Waiting for Physical Copies. 

California H4 experience Approved #15

Thanks to user ‘An H4’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : CSC – California 
  • May 10th 2019 — h1b,h4,h4ead applied in PP
  • May 17th 2019– h1b approved
  • June 7th 2019 — h4 biometric Completed
  • July 25 2019 — h4, h4 ead got approved
    • H4 Approved in 76 Days from H4 Filing 
    • H4 Approved in 48 Days from Biometrics Completion

California H4 experience Approved #16

Thanks to user ‘Anonymous’ for sharing the experience in our WhatsApp group.

Applied H1, H4 & H4 EAD in Premium processing.

  • Center: California
  • Receipt Date: April 8
  • H1B Approved: April 15
  • H4 Biometric: April 30
  • H4 & EAD approved : July 16
    • H4 Approved after 99 Days from H4 Receipt Date 
    • H4 Approved after 77 Days from H4 Biometrics Completion 
  • EAD Card Received: July 25

Nebraska H4 experience Approved #17

  • Service Center : Nebraska Service Center
    • H1+H4+H4EAD concurrent filing (Premium processing)
  • Submitted all three applications: 3rd June 2019
  • Received RFE for H1: 12th June 2019
  • Biometrics for H4 was done on June 27th 2019
  • Submitted H1 RFE response: July 16th 2019
  • H1B Approved: July 23 2019
  • H4 EAD case status changed to Card being produced July 23 2019
  • H4 EAD case status changed to Card was mailed on July 25 2019
    • H4 EAD / H4 Approved after 50 Days from H4 Receipt Date 
    • H4 Approved after 26 Days from H4 Biometrics Completion 
    • Waiting for physical copies. 

Nebraska H4 experience Approved #18

Thanks to user ‘H4 EAD worker Nebraska center’ for sharing the experience 

  • Service Center : Nebraska 
  • H1B + H4 Filed in Premium : March 28th 2019
  • H4 & H4 EAD Receipt Generated : April 1st 2019
  • H1B Receipt Generated : April 1st 2019
  • H1B Approved : April 5th 2019
  • Biometric Notice Generated : April 5th 2019
  • Biometric Notice Received : April 10-12th 2019
  • Biometric Appointment: April 24th 2019
  • H4 & H4 EADApproval Notice Received : July 30th ,2019
    • H4 Approved after 124 Days from initial application  date
    • H4 Approved after 97 Days from Biometrics Completion
    • Still online status says “Card generated” after getting approval for H4 EAD and for h4 it says name updated
    • I have not done any litigation or expedite .

California H1B to H4 COS experience Approved #19

Thanks to user ‘SV’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • H1B to H4 COS – CSC
  • Receipt Dates for H4 and H4 EAD are May 31st and  May 28 .
    • During this time H1B was in RFE phase.
  • Biometrics completed on June 19th.
  • H1b approved on July 15th.
  • Status of EAD was changed to ‘card production’ July 24th
  • H4 is approved today July 25th.
    • H4 Approved after 55 days from Filing
    • H4 EAD approved in 54 Days from Filing 
    • H4 Approved in 36 days from Biometrics 
  • H4 approval notices in mail on July 29
  • H4 EAD card received on August 1st.

Nebraska  H4 experience Approved #20

Thanks to user ‘Anish’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : Nebraska
  • H1B + H4 Filed in Premium : March 28th 2019
  • H1B Approved : April 5th 2019
  • H4 EAD Filed : April 10th 2019
  • Biometric Appointment: April 16th 2019
  • H4 Approval : August 1st ,2019
    • H4 Approved in 126 Days from filing
    • H4 Approved in 107 Days from Biometrics  
  • H4 EAD – Still Pending

California  H4 experience, H1B RFE Approved #21

Thanks to user ‘Nick S’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • April 8,2019: H1+H4+H4 EAD applied in PP, California SC
  • April 11: Received H1 RFE
  • Initial bio metric appointment was on May 3rd, rescheduled to June 4th and completed bio metric on June 4th.
  • July 3rd: Responded to RFE
  • July 12: H1 Approved
  • July 30: EAD status changed to “New Card is being produced”, H4 status changed to “Case is Approved”
    • H4 Approved after 113 days from Filing H4 
    • H4 Approved after 56 days from Biometrics Completion  
  •  July 31: EAD status changed to “Card has been mailed”
  • August 2: Received EAD and H4 approval notices and EAD card in mail.

California  H4 experience Approved #22

Thanks to user ‘Anandi’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • H1/H4 filled under Premium Processing – May 16th in CSC
  • H1 approved – May 22nd
  • H4 biometric done – June 7th
  • H4 approved – July 30th
    • H4 Approved after 75 days from Filing H4 
    • H4 Approved after 53 days from Biometrics Completion
  • H4 paper received -Aug 1st
    • Waiting for Child H4 approval 

California  H4 experience Approved #23

Thanks to user ‘Anonymous’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • 17th May — H1/H4/ H4-EAD applied in premium at CSC
  • 23rd May — H1B approval
  • 5th June — H4 biometrics completed(This status was never updated on the website)
  • 30th July — H4 EAD card produced
  • 31st July — H4 EAD approved
  • 31st July — H4 approved
    • H4 Approved after 75 Days from Filing 
    • H4 Approved after 56 days from Biometrics Completed Date 
  • 1st Aug — H4 EAD card dispatched
  • 2nd Aug — H4 EAD tracking # updated
  • 3rd Aug — H4 EAD card received
    • These are the only status changes seen on the application.
    • We have not received H4/H4 EAD approval notices yet.

California  H4 experience Approved #24

Thanks to user ‘Anonymous’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center: California.
  • Receipt Num: WAC19188XXXXX
  • 05/02 – USCIS received H1/H4 application in PP
  • 05/09 – H1B Approved.
  • 05/12 – Biometrics notice generated
  • 05/12 – Received receipt numbers for H4
  • 05/21 – Attended Biometrics.
  • 07/29 – Raised Expedite Request citing financial loss by calling customer care.
  • 07/30 – Received mail saying “Your case is currently being adjudicated.
    • You should receive a notice of action in 45 days”. Did not ask for any proof
  • 08/01 – Status changed to “Card is being produced”.
  • 08/02 – Status changed to “Approved” for both H4 and H4 EAD.
    • H4 Approved after 92 Days from Filing 
    • H4 Approved after 73 days from Biometrics Completed Date

Nebraska  H4 + EAD experience Approved #25

Thanks to user ‘Anonymous’ for sharing the experience in our WhatsApp Group. 

  • Nebraska Service Center.
  • Filed H1b extension with premium processing along with H4 extension & H4 EAD all together during end of March.
  • H1B Approved : 1 week after applying. ( April 1st week )
  •  H4 extension biometric : April 25th.
    • Till yesterday no status changed from initial status, so wasn’t sure what’s happening.
    • No status strange on USCIS website till last week.
  • H4, EAD Approved : Aug-8-2019.
    • Got my wife’s H4 Extension approved as well as EAD card delivered today by USPS.
    • Checked status today and delighted to see both H4 extension status approved as well as EAD delivered to mailbox.
    • H4 Approved in 136 Days from Filing
    • H4 Approved in 105 days from Biometrics Completion

California  H4 COS + EAD experience, Separately filed – Approved #26

Thanks to user ‘Pratik’ for sharing the experience in our WhatsApp Group. 

  • 8th May – COS and H4 EAD application Filed Together
    • Not filed with H1B 
    • California Service Centre
  • 30th May – Biometric Completed
  • I539 – COS – Approved 24th July
    • H4 Approved after 78 Days from H4 Filing 
    • H4 Approved after 56 Days from Biometrics Completion
  • I-765 – H4 EAD : Card Production Ordered- 31st July
    • H4 EAD approved after 84 days from filing. 
  • Mailed New Card – 5th August
  • USPS Picked up the Card – 6th August
  • USPS Delivered the Card – 8th August.

Nebraska  H4 + EAD experience – Approved #27

Thanks to user ‘H4EAD-NSC’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : NSC
  • H1/ H4-EAD filed in PP on Apr 2nd 2019.
  • H1B approved on Apr 9th 2019.
  • H4 biometrics on Apr 25th 2019.
  • H4 EAD expedite request based on significant financial loss placed on July 30th. No confirmation email received.
  • H4 EAD approved on Aug 8th 2019
  • Card ordered on Aug 8th 2019.
    • H4 EAD Approved in 128 days from filing
    • No change in H4 status. Assuming it is approved since H4 EAD approval is dependent on it.
      • H4 Approved in 128 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 105 days from Biometrics completion.
  • Received H4 EAD Physical Card on Aug 14th.  

Nebraska  H4 + EAD experience – Approved #28

Thanks to user ‘Ranjan’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : NSC.
  • H1/H4/H4 EAD in PP : Received Date – 27th March
  • H1 approved – 4th April
  • Biometrics – 17th April
  • H4/EAD expired – 18th July
  • Expedite request accepted – 7th Aug
    •  Called USCIS to expedite under severe financial loss, they did not ask for any documents. Mentioned the loss of job.
  • H4/EAD approved – 8th Aug.
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 134 days from filing 
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 113 days from Biometrics completion.

Nebraska  H4 + EAD experience – Approved #29

Thanks to user ‘Vimal’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : Nebraska Service Center.
  • April 11,2019: H1+H4+H4 EAD applied in PP
  • H1B approved – April 17, 2019
  • Initial bio metric appointment was on Apr 30, 2019
  • Aug 09: H4 and EAD status changed to “Case is Approved”
    • H4  + EAD Approved in 120 days from filing 
    • H4  + EAD Approved in 101 days from Biometrics completion.
    • Still waiting for physical copies
    • I have not done any litigation or expedite .

VSC  H4 + EAD experience – Approved #30

Thanks to user ‘Yugan’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • H1B Transfer(I-129), H4 Extension(I-539) + H4-EAD Extension(I-765) from VSC with Premium Processing.
  • April 19th, 2019 -> H1B, H4 Extension, H4-EAD Received Date
  • May 1st, 2019 -> H1B Transfer Approved
    • Took 12 days from Received Date for H1B Transfer to be Approved.
  • May 4th, 2019 -> H4 Biomterics Appointment Notice Received with an Appointment Date on May 13th, 2019
    • Took 15 days from Received Date to get the H4 Biomterics Appointment Notice.
    • Took 24 Days from Received Date for the H4 Biometrics Appointment
  • May 13th, 2019 -> H4 Biomterics Appointment Completed (The Petition status never reflected the completion of Biomterics Appointment after that)
  • August 6th, 2019 -> H4 EAD Case Status Changed to “Card/Document Production – Ordered New Card”
  • August 6th, 2019 -> H4 EAD Case Status Changed to “Post Decision Activity – Approved Form I765”
  • August 9th, 2019 -> H4 EAD Case Status Changed to “Card/Document Production – Mailed New Card”
  • August 10th, 2019 -> H4 EAD Case Status Changed to “Card/Document Production – Post Office Delivered Card”
  • August 12th, 2019 -> H4 Approval Notice Received but Online Status still shows as “Case Was Received”
    • H4 Approved in 115 Days from Original Filing 
    • H4 Approved in 91 days from Biometrics completion. 
    • Took 109 Days from Received Date for the H4 EAD to be Approved.
    • Took 85 Days from Biometrics Appointment for the H4 EAD to be Approved
    • I believe the online status of H4 petitions doesn’t get updated and most often do not reflect the up to date status.

NSC  H4 + EAD experience – Approved #31

Thanks to user ‘VJ’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center: NSC
  • H1+H4+H4 EAD Filed concurrently in premium processing
  • Received Date: April 11 2019
  • H1 Approval Date: April 16 2019
  • H4 Biometrics: April 29 2019
  • H4 EAD Card Produced: Aug 12 2019
    • H4 EAD Approved in 123 days from filing
    • Like all other cases H4 case status is not updated. Both approvals (H4 and H4 EAD) and card will come in mail.
      • H4 Approved in 123 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 105 days from Biometrics completion. 
    • Please note that: Email notification of EAD card production is received on Aug 12 2019 afternoon. Text message notification is received later during the night.
    • Please register your email ID too in USCIS website .
      All the best for upcoming approvals for all your cases

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #32

Thanks to user ‘Hima Bindu’  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center : NSC 
  • H1+H4+H4EAD in PP – receive date is April 15th NSC
  • H1 approved in a week – April 22nd
  • Biometrics Date H4 : May 6
  • H4 EAD – New Card produced Aug 12th
    •  H4 EAD Approved in 119 days from filing
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 119 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 98 Days from Biometrics Date 
    • Tried everything Senate, Congressman and USCIS direct Expedite request. Got denied request at-least 4 times. Happy that it was approved yesterday as my current EAD ends Aug 28th. Didn’t file litigation, planned to file but I missed the dead line date many times and I was in a state of time line where if I file it or not wouldn’t affect my EAD extension on time so in my case not filing was a good option. Good Luck everyone. My receipt no. is LIN191495XXXX
  • H4 and EAD Approval Notices arrived on August 16th
    • Arrived in 4 Days in mail 
    • Received it for full 3 years term as with H1B. 

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #33

Thanks to user ‘RB’  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Nebraska Service Center
  • H1+H4+H4EAD in PP – receive date is May 7th @ NSC
  • H1 approved – May 9th
  • Biometric Appointment for H4 – May 17th
  • H4 – Pending
  • H4 EAD – New Card produced Aug 13th
    • H4 EAD Approved in 98 days from filing
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 98 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 88 Days from Biometrics Date 

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #34

Thanks to user ‘Kavitha’  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • March 25 ,2019: H1+H4+H4 EAD applied in PP – Nebraska
  • H1B approved – April 10, 2019
  • Initial bio metric appointment was on Apr 16, 2019
  • Aug 14: H4 EAD status changed to New card is ordered
    •  H4 EAD Approved in 142 days from filing
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 142 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 120 Days from Biometrics Date 
    • H4 still pending
    • H4 EAD receipt number: LIN191325XXXX
    • Still waiting for physical copies
    • I have not done any litigation or expedite .

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #35

Thanks to user ‘Anil’  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Our timelines at NSC
  • April 8: H1(PP)+H4+H4 EAD filed
  • H4/EAD status: Case Received
  • April 10: H1 Approved
  • May 1: Biometrics
  • August 14: H4 EAD status changed to New Card Is Being Produced
    • H4 EAD Approved in 128 days from filing
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 128days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 105 Days from Biometrics Date

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #36

Thanks to user ‘Nilisha’  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Center: CSC
  • 5/10 – H1+H4+H4EAD Concurrent Filing with Premium Processing.
  • 5/24 – H1B approved.
  • 5/31- Biometrics done. Original appointment for June 6th. Did early Walk-in.
  • 8/14 – H4 and H4EAD Approved.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 96 days from filing 
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 75 Days from Biometrics Date

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #37

Thanks to user ‘NSC_approval‘  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center: NSC
  • April 11th:H1(PP)+H4+H4 EAD filed
    • H1B Premium processing.
  • May 2nd: Biometrics completed 
  • August 14th: H4 EAD status changed to New Card Is Being Produced, H4 status changed to approved
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 125 days from filing 
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 104 Days from Biometrics Date
  • August 16th: Card was mailed

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #38

Thanks to user ‘NSC Applicant‘  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center: NSC
  • April 17th: H1(PP)+H4+H4 EAD filed
    • H1B Premium processing 
  • April 27th: Biometrics done
  • August 16th:H4 EAD status changed to New Card Is Being Produced
    • No litigation or expedite request
    • H4 EAD Approved in 121 days from filing
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 121 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 111 Days from Biometrics Date

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience, Traveled out – Approved #39

Thanks to user ‘PA‘  for sharing the experience in comments.

  • April 09 , 2019: H1+H4+H4 EAD applied in PP – Nebraska
  • H1B approved – April 22, 2019
  • Bio metric appointment on May 01, 2019
  • Aug 16: H4 EAD status changed to New card is ordered
    • H4 EAD Approved in 129 Days.
    • Assuming H4 Approved as EAD approved
      • H4 Approved in 129 Days from Filing
      • H4 Approved in 107 Days  after Biometrics 
    • H4 still case received, but traveled out of country in between so have new extended I-94. H4 EAD receipt number: LIN1914450XXX
    • Still waiting for physical copies
    • I have not done any litigation.
    • Expedited 2 times, first with help of Senator and second self but both were denied.

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience Approved #40

Thanks to user ‘H4EAD_May14_Aug16‘  for sharing the experience in comments.

  • H1+H4+H4 EAD filed at CSC – 14th May
  • Bio-metrics – 6th June
  • H4 EAD status changed to New Card is being produced – August 16
    • H4 EAD Approved in 94 Days.
    • Assuming H4 Approved as EAD approved
      • H4 Approved in 94 Days from Filing
      • H4 Approved in 71 Days  after Biometrics 
    • H4 status still shows Case Received
    • NO expedite or follow-up calls.

Nebraska  – H4 + EAD experience Approved #41

Thanks to user ‘MG‘  for sharing the experience in comments.

  • Nebraska Service Center
  • April 15: H1(PP)+H4+H4 EAD Case Received
  • April 22: H1 Approved
  • May 10: Biometrics
  • Aug 19: New Card Is Being Produced
    • H4 EAD Approved in 126 Days.
    • Assuming H4 Approved as EAD approved
      • H4 Approved in 126 Days from Filing
      • H4 Approved in 101 Days  after Biometrics 
      • Receipt: LIN1914950XXX

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience with EAD RFE Approved #42

Thanks to user ‘David‘  for sharing the experience in comments.

  • May 1st ,2019: H1+H4+H4 EAD extension applied in PP – California
  • H1B approved – May 8th , 2019
  • Initial bio metric appointment was on May 23rd, 2019
  • July 12th H4 approved
    • H4 Approved in 72 Days from filing
    • H4 Approved in 50 Days from Biometrics
  • July 18th H4ead renew RFE for spouse pay-stub
  • July 24th replied RFE
  • Aug 14: H4 EAD status changed to H4EAD approved
    • H4 EAD Approved in 105 days from filing 
  • Aug 19: H4 EAD card is mailed.
    • Now we are waiting for new card.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience Approved #43

Thanks to user ‘Vigbal‘  for sharing the experience in comments.

  • Processing Centre: Nebraska
  • H1B+H4+EAD applied on 04/05/2019
  • H1B Approved on 04/15/2019
  • H4 Biometric Appointment received for 04/23/2019
  • H4 Biometric scan finished at Santa Clara CA on 04/26/2019
  • H4 + EAD Approved on Aug 19th
    • H4+ EAD approved in 136 Days from filing 
    • H4 + EAD approved in 118 Days from Biometrics completion
    • Finally got it approved on August 19th after requesting to expedite twice, both of which failed and wasn’t part of any litigation

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience Approved #44

Thanks to user ‘Naren‘  for sharing the experience in comments.

  • Nebraska Service Center
  • April 22: H1(PP)+H4+H4 EAD Case Received
  • April 29: H1 Approved
  • May 13: Biometrics
  • Aug 19: New Card Is Being Produced
    • H4 and H4 EAD Approved in 118 Days.
    • H4 and H4 EAD Approved in 98 Days.
    • Receipt: LIN1915451XXX
    • No expedited request or lawsuit.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience Approved #45

Thanks to user ‘H4Nsc‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • H1/H4/H4 EAD: Case was received – April 16- Nebraska
  • H1 approved : April 18
  • Biometric: 24 July, it got delayed due to system error
  • H4 EAD: Aug 20- New card is being produced
    • H4 EAD Approved in 126 Days.
    • Assuming H4 Approved as EAD approved
      • H4 Approved in 126  Days from Filing
      • H4 Approved in 27 Days  after Biometrics 
  • No update on H4
    • I have raised multiple expedite requests in this whole process and It got denied immediately.
    • I have raised an another expedite request on August 19th as I have lost my job because my current EAD got expired on August 12th.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience Approved #46

Thanks to user ‘NSP‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • Service center: NSC
  • 15 April 2019: Applied H1+H4+EAD in PP
  • 25 April 2019: H1 Approved
  • 10 May 2019: Biometric done
  • 3 & 26 June 2019: Raised couple of expedite requests, they are denied in next day/two.
  • July 2019: Due to emergency traveled to India. Stamping for H1+H4 is
    approved through dropbox.
  • 12 Aug 2019: Raised another expedite request which is also denied
    eventually.
  • 14 Aug 2019: Status changed to card was ordered and on the same
    day status changed to Case was approved.
    • H4 EAD approved in 121 Days
  • 19 Aug 2019: Status updated to Card was mailed
  • 21 Aug 2019: Card Received.
    • No litigation filed.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience Approved #47

Thanks to user ‘RK‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • Applied date : April 17th- Nebraska center
  • H1+H4+EAD all applied through premium processing.
  • April 30th : H1b approval
  • May 6th : Biometric done
  • August 16th: New card is being produced
    • H4 EAD Approved in 121 Days 
  • August 19th : H4 approval
    • H4 Approved in 124 days from Filing  
    • H4 Approved in 104 Days from Biometrics 
  • August 20th : card was mailed to me
  • August 21st : Card Was Picked Up By The United States Postal Service
  • As per USPS tracking card delivers tomorrow.
    • Adding email to our case status helps. For my case it took exactly 4months from applied date. My previous EAD was valid till July 31st 2019.
    • My receipt number LIN191515XXXX.
    • Tried to expedite case through congressman and company letter, it didn’t work.
    • Not tried litigation.

CSC  – H4 experience, EAD filed later Approved #48

Thanks to user ‘gnit‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • H1&H4 applied at California on May 30th.
  • H1 got approved on 10th June.
  • Biometrics on 21 June.
  • Applied EAD on July 17th.
  • Aug 17th it says New Card is being produced.
    • H4 EAD approved in 30 Days from filing.
    • Assuming H4 approved as well.
      • H4 Approved in 79 Days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 57 Days from Biometrics
  • On 20th Aug, H4 status changed to biometrics review completed.

NSC  – H4 experience, EAD filed later Approved #49

Thanks to user ‘NSCFinallyApproved‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • Nebraska Service Center
  • H1+H4+H4EAD in PP – receive date is April 17th @ NSC
  • Biometric Appointment for H4 – May 6th
  • H4 – Date of Birth was updated Aug 21st
  • H4 EAD – New Card produced Aug 21st
    • H4 EAD approved in 126 days 
    • Assuming H4 approved as well.
      • H4 Approved in 126 Days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 107 Days from Biometrics
    • No expedite request or litigation.

NSC  – H4 experience, EAD filed later Approved #50

Thanks to user ‘Headache_from_Nebraska‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • H1b + H4 + H4 EAD filed in premium.
  • Receipt Date: April 17th.
  • H1b Approval : April 25th.
  • H4 : Case was received.
  • Biometrics: May 10th. (Completed by walk-in on May 8th.)
  • H4 EAD : New Card is being produced – Aug 21st.
    • H4 EAD Approved in 126 Days  
    • Assuming H4 approved as well.
      • H4 Approved in 126 Days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 103 Days from Biometrics
    • Receipt Num: LIN1915250XXX
  • Aug 21 – New card ordered.
  • Aug 22 – Case approved.
  • Aug 26 – Card was mailed.
  • H4 – Case was received.
  • Couple of my observations:
    • Receipt Numbers generated by USCIS is not exactly in the order of application received date. Some of the receipt numbers before mine were from April 18th while my receipt date was for April 17th. This gives us an impression that some how April 18th applications are approved and they might have skipped some of the April 17th applications.
    • My status got updated on Aug 22 at 3AM Pacific time. Probably some cron job updates status in bulk. IMO your case might have been already approved but it does not reflect on the website.

Vermont, NSC  – H4 experience, EAD filed later Approved #51

Thanks to user ‘PS‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • April 16- H1 and H4 extensions submitted in PP @ NSC
  • April -26 – H1 Approved
  • May 6- H4EAD submitted @ Vermont
  • May 7- biometric completed
  • June 3, tried to expedite H4EAD through congressman and denied.
  • August 19- H4 status changed to name updated.
  • August 22- received H4 approval notice.
    • H4 Approved in 128 Days from Filing 
    • H4 Approved in 107 Days from Biometrics 
  • H4EAD still pending.

CSC  – H4, EAD experience, New Address AR-11 Approved #52

Thanks to user ‘Vikas‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • H1 case submitted (CSC): April 17th 2019
  • H1 Case approved: April 26th 2019
  • H4 biometrics: May 7th 2019
  • H4 and EAD approved: August 22nd 2019
    • H4 Approved in 127 Days from filing 
    • H4 Approved in 107 Days from Biometrics
    • Although on their website it still doesn’t recognise the receipt number, but fortunately we received hard copy of both H4 and EAD.
    • We were super lucky as just today processing period for H4 in CSC has increased to 5.5 months.
    • Also, we moved to new address , updating AR-11 worked and we received copy on new address (last time updating AR-11 didn’t work and had to pay ~500$ to get a duplicate copy).

NSC  – H4, EAD experience Approved #53

Thanks to user ‘H4 Extension Seeker‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • April 18 – H1 , H4 extensions and H4 EAD submitted in PP @ NSC
  • April -26 – H1 Approved
  • May 9- biometric complete
  • August 21- Call USCIS and ask to expedite due to financial loss
  • August 23- Expedite request denied
  • August 24- H4 EAD status ‘’New Card is Being Produced
    • H4 EAD Approved in 128 Days  
    • Assuming H4 approved as well.
      • H4 Approved in 128 Days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 107 Days from Biometrics
  • H4 still pending.

CSC  – H4, EAD experience Approved #54

Thanks to user ‘Prasad‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • May 20 – H1, H4 and EAD extensions submitted @ CSC
  • June 3 – biometric completed
  • July 17 – H1 converted to Premium
  • July 23 – H1 approved
  • Aug 17 – Both H4 and EAD approved.
    • H4, EAD Approved in 89 Days from filing 
    • H4 Approved in 75 Days from Biometrics
    • Online status for H4 was changed on Aug 23 to “FingerPrint Review Complete”
    • August 22- received H4 approval notice.

NSC  – H4, EAD experience Approved #55

Thanks to user ‘xiunanty‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • Service Center: NSC
  • H1+H4+H4EAD extension in PP receipt date: March 20
  • H1 RFE: March 27
  • H4 Biometrics: April 18
  • H1 RFE response received: May 9
  • H1 Approved: May 14
  • H4 EAD – New Card produced: Aug 26
    • H4 EAD approved in about 160 days from from receipt date
    • Assuming H4 approved as well.
      • H4 Approved in 160 Days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 130 Days from Biometrics
    • From July I started try Senator and Congressman inquiries, expedite requests on Aug 19th, out of normal processing inquiry (from last week). 
    • Called senator on Aug 26 morning for help, evening status changed.
  • H4 status changed to Approved on Aug 27. 

CSC  – H4, EAD experience Approved #56

Thanks to user ‘AG‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • H1B+H4+H4 EAD applied extension on Premium Processing.
  • California Service Center.
  • Application received on May 21st
  • H1B Approved on May 30th
  • H4 Biometrics appointment done on June 10th
  • EAD approved on Aug 22nd (H4 status remains unchanged)
    • H4, EAD Approved in 93 Days from filing 
    • H4 Approved in 73 Days from Biometrics
  • Approval notice for H4 and EAD received by mail on Aug 26th
  • EAD delivered on Aug 27th

NSC  – H4, EAD experience Approved #57

Thanks to user ‘Sahana‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • April 19- H1B ,H4 ,H4 EAD submitted in PP @ NSC
  • April -26 – H1B Approved
  • May 9- Bio metrics completed
  • August 24- H4 status changed to “Finger Print was completed”
  • August 26- Called them to check the status of my H4 EAD
  • August 27- H4 EAD status changed to “New Card Is Being Produced”
    • H4 EAD approved in about 130 days from from receipt date
    • Assuming H4 approved as well.
      • H4 Approved in 130 Days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 110 Days from Biometrics
  • August 27- H4 Changed to “Name Was Updated”

NSC  – H4, EAD experience Approved #58

Thanks to user ‘Ramu‘  for sharing the experience in comments

  • Premium H1B+H4+EAD – Renewal
  • Nebraska Service Center
  • Date Received: 03/25/2019
  • H1B Approved: 04/03/2019
  • Biometric given : 4/16/2019
  • Expedite Request: 8/19/2019 denied
  • Out of Processing Time Request: 8/23/2019
  • Fingerprint Review Was Completed : 8/24/2019
  • New Card is being produced : 8/27/2019
    • H4 EAD approved in about 155 days from from receipt date
    • Assuming H4 approved as well.
      • H4 Approved in 155 Days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 133 Days from Biometrics
    • Waiting for new card and H4 approval

CSC  – L2 to H4 COS + EAD experience – Approved #59

Thanks to user ‘WD’ for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Service Center: California. CSC
  • Background : L1 to H1B COS, L2 to H4 + EAD
    • Receipt Num: WAC19197XXXXX
  • 05/14 – USCIS received H1/H4+EAD application in PP
  • 06/04 – Biometrics collected (USCIS site never updated)
  • 08/12 – EAD changed to “Name Was Updated”.
  • 08/12 – EAD changed to “New Card is being produced”.
    • H4 EAD Approved in 90 days from filing
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 90 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 69 days from Biometrics completion.
    •  08/12 – H4 still no update, “Case Was Received”.
    • No expedite requested.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #60

Thanks to user ‘H4/H4 EAD‘  for sharing the experience in comments. 

  • Nebraska Service Center
  • April 16: H1(PP)+H4+H4 EAD Case Received
  • April 20: H1 Approved
  • May 6: Biometrics
  • August 15: H4 EAD status changed to New Card Is Being Produced
    • H4 EAD Approved in 128 days from filing
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 121 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 101 Days from Biometrics Date
    • Receipt Number LIN1915050XXX
    • H4 – Case was received

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #61

Thanks to user ‘h4eadwaiting‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • May 28- H1 and H4 extensions + EAD submitted to California center
  • June -6 – H1 Approved
  • June 10 – Biometric completed
  • June 25, tried to expedite H4EAD through congressman .
  • August 23- H4 status changed to finger print completed .
  • August 26- received EAD approval Email.(Card was produced)
    • H4 EAD approved in 148 Days from Filing Date
    • Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
      • H4 Approved in 148 days from filing 
      • H4 Approved in 74 Days from Biometrics Date
  • August 28- Card ( H4EAD) mailed .
  • August 29 – H4 approval notice was received
  • Waiting for H4 EAD Card now.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #62

Thanks to user ‘Gupta‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Mar 22 – H1, H4 and EAD extensions submitted in Premium @ Nebraska
  • Apr 1 – H1 approved
  • Apr 18 – biometric completed
  • Aug 14 – Both H4 and EAD approved.
  • Aug 21 – Status updated to card delivered.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #63

Thanks to user ‘Sam Jain‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Service Center: Nebraska
  • Applied for H1+H4+EAD in PP on Apr 11.
  • H1 approved – Apr 21.
  • H4 Biometrics – May 6
  • H4 Approved – Aug 20
  • EAD Approved – Aug 20
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 131 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 106 days from Biometrics
  • Received in mail Aug 26
  • Premium Processing

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #64

Thanks to user ‘Nitya‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Case Received- Apr 18
  • H1b approved-Apr 29
  • Biometric screening-May 6
  • Finger print review completed-Aug 21
  • Expedited H4 EAD- Aug 26
    • Expedite request denied on Aug 29.
  • H4 Approval- Aug 30
  • H4 EAD Approval-Aug 30, my expedited request got denied yesterday.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 134 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 116 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #65

Thanks to user ‘Yogini‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • April 23rd: Case received under H1B+H4_H4 EAD PP (Nebraska)
  • May 1st: H1B Approved
  • July 21st: Expedite request raised through congressman (Denied in 1 week through mail)
  • August 21st: Status changed to Fingerprint review complete @ around noon.
  • Same day raised another expedite request through Senator. This time they did ask to provide documentation which I did.
  • August 29th: Status changed (I-765 only) to Request for additional Information received & has been forwarded to an officer for review.
  • Aug 30th H4 EAD status changed to “New Card is being produced”
    • H4 EAD approved in 129 Days from Filing Date
      Assuming H4 is approved as H4 EAD approved.
    • H4 Approved in 129 days from filing 
    • H4 Approved in 119 Days from Biometrics Date

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #66

Thanks to user ‘Sri‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • H4 EAD Receipt Date : 4/22/19 at NSC
  • Biometrics: 5/13/19Aug
  • Expedite Request through Congressman : 2 times (June and July)
  • Expedite Request through Senator: 1 time (July)
  • Personal Expedite Request by calling Customer Care: 7 times – out of which 6 times was rejected and the last time they said cannot expedite the case because the case is approved and card has been sent for production.
  • H4 status change to Fingerprint Review Completed on 8/21
  • H4 EAD status changed to New Card Is Being Produced, just now around 3PM EST (8/30)
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 130 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 109 days from Biometrics

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #67

Thanks to user ‘Amul‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • 4/17 — H1+H4+EAD (CSC)
  • 4/18 — Receipt Dates
  • 4/24 — RFE Received for H1B
  • 7/18 — H1B Approved
  • 8/21 — H4 status changed to “Finger Print Review Completed”
  • 8/30 — EAD status changed to “New Card Is Being Produced”
  • Waiting for further updates
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 135 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 115 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #68

Thanks to user ‘Saloni‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Processing center: Nebraska
  • Applied for H4+EAD(new)
  • Receipt date: April 26th
  • Biometrics appointment: May 21st
  • USCIS update on Aug 28: Card/Document production.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 124 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 99 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #69

Thanks to user ‘MV‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Service Center: NSC
  • 04/23/2019 – H1B extension +H4 extension +H4EAD renewal – Premium processing ( USCIS Received)
  • 04/25/2019 – H1 approved
  • 05/17/2019 – Biometrics for H4
  • 08/22/2019-Expedited with Congressman and Service Req ( Both got denied last week)
  • 08/24/2019 – Status changed to ‘Finger Print Review Completed’
  • 09/03/2019 – New Card being produced, H4 still in ‘Finger Print Review Completed’
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 133 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 109 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #70

Thanks to user ‘FinallyApprovedH4EADFromNSC‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • * April 24th: Case received under H1B+H4_H4 EAD PP (Nebraska)
  • * May 8th: H1B Approved
  • * May 19th: Biometric Done.
  • * July 4th: Updated address.
  • * August 26th: EAD and H4 Extn Expedite request raised through the phone with financial loss reason. No document requested. Both Case statuses were “Case received” * Aug 27th – Expedite requests were assigned to an officer and completed by EOD
  • * August 28th: Status changed (I-765 only) to Request for Additional Information received & has been forwarded to an officer for review.
  • * August 29th: Status changed to – We approved I-765
  • * Aug 30th H4 EAD status changed to “New Card is being produced”
  • * August 29th: H4 status got changed Approved.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 127 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 102 days from Biometrics
  • * Sept 3rd – Received both approval Notices via post. Also, EAD has updated that card is mailed.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #71

Thanks to user ‘Finally…‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Service Center: Nebraska
  • H4/H4 EAD receipt date: April 22nd
  • Approval: Sept 3rd
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 134 Days after filing
  • I did raise an expedite request through USCIS and Congressman, both of which got denied immediately. Finally logged another request on August 30th stating that my EAD was going to expire in 4 days. I received a mail stating that the case is already with an officer and there is no need to expedite it.
  • Also when I called USCIS to raise the expedite request, they told me, NSC received Bio-metrics for my case on August 21st. This was not updated on the online portal. So that might explain why a lot of people are seeing ‘Fingerprint review complete’, because NSC started to get actual bio metrics information in third week of august (smh). I hope this is a sign of the process getting streamlined and hopefully this will trigger faster approvals for everyone who are waiting.

NSC  – H4 / EAD experience – Approved #72

Thanks to user ‘RVN‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Receipt date: April 29th.
  • Service center – Nebraska
  • From May till July , did 3 or 4 times expedite request by calling USCIS and through senator.
  • Every time I requested expedite, it got denied.
  • Finally tired of request raising and started waiting.
  • August 24th- status of H4 changed to “Fingerprinting completed”.
  • September 4th- New card produced.
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 128 Days after filing
  • H4 status has no change. Now also “Finger printing completed “

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #73

Thanks to user ‘Anu‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Service Center: Nebraska
  • May 01 : H1/H4/EAD filed in regular processing
  • Aug 05:H1B approved
  • May 22: H4 biometrics completed
  • Aug 25: H4 case status changed to ‘Fingerprint review was completed’.
  • Sept 04:new card is being produced for EAD
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 126 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 105 days from Biometrics
  • H4 status still showing fingerprint is reviewed.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #74

Thanks to user ‘NoOne‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Center – NSC
  • May 10 – H1-Ext, New H4 & EAD filed in PP
  • May 23 – Biometric completed
  • May 17 – H1 Approved
  • Aug 12 – Senator expedite request denied on grounds of lack of evidence for urgency
  • Sep 05 – H4 and EAD approved.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 118 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 105 days from Biometrics
    • Case series LIN***695****
    • It is taking 4 months at NSC to get H4 approvals on average. I have been tracking the cases for quite a while now.
    • Didn’t file R&N litigation as we could wait and had that option. You might want to if you are to loose your job but I feel R&N are monetizing on this unfortunate circumstance of H4 spouses.

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #75

Thanks to user ‘Another H4 EAD User‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • H1+H4+EAD in PP at CSC
  • RD– 5/20/2019
  • Fingerprints–6/3/2019
  • No status updates since then
  • 8/8– raised an expedite request with USCIS mentioned abt job and financial loss
  • 8/9–got email from uscis for more evidence
  • 8/12–submitted docs for financial loss. Letter provided by employer
  • No updates after 8/12
  • All of a sudden on 8/21 –Fingerprint review completed on USCIS website
  • 8/23–Requested senator for assistance
  • 8/26–Senator contacted uscis, but uscis asked for same details when I called on 8/8
  • 8/29– contacted uscis again for status updates. they said no updates except an inquiry on 8/26
  • 8/30–H4 EAD status changed to New card produced
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 102 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 88 days from Biometrics
    • 9/4–H4 EAD card being mailed to me
    • 9/5–Added usps tracker
    • H4 status is still case received
    • 9/11–old ead expiry date
    • I have been following this forum and at one stage I thought of going with RN law but later decided to wait. My expedited request status is still not updated and congressman request was not fulfilled by uscis. But I felt like raising awareness to uscis on our case is helping .

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #76

Thanks to user ‘Sindhu‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • H1+H4+EAD in PP filed on– 5/30/2019
  • Fingerprints–6/17/2019
  • 8/12– raised an expedite request through senator with USCIS – job and financial loss, my future employer Microsoft gave a support letter too. Status changed on H4 and EAD changed to “expedite request received”
  • 8/13– but expedite request rejected on email but no status change after that.
  • 9/5 – EAD status changed to “new card is being produced”. H4 status is still case received.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 98 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 80 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #77

Thanks to user ‘farida‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Center – NSC
  • May 1 – H1-Ext, New H4 & EAD filed in PP
  • May 22 – Biometric completed
  • May 10 – H1 Approved
  • Sep 05 – “New card being processed.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 127 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 106 days from Biometrics
  • H4 still pending.
  • Case series LIN19162*****
  • Didn’t file R&N litigation and 3 times expedite denied.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #78

Thanks to user ‘Sub‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Apr 18: H1+H4+H4 EAD filed PP
  • H1B approved in a week’s time
  • Sep 4: Called USCIS with a request to expedite
  • Sep 5: Expedite request denied
  • Sep 6: New card is being produced
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 141 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 114 days from Biometrics
    • H4 – Case was received status.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #79

Thanks to user ‘Neeru‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • RD: 5/28 :H1+H4EAD filed under PP (Nebraska)
  • H1 approved in 2 days.
  • 6/10: Bio metrics Done
  • Raised Multiple USCIS requests starting in August 1st week and everything got denied.
  • August 1st:Contacted USCIS through senator and it got denied again
  • August 3rd week: Contacted Junior Senator and submitted documents through them
  • August 4th week: Contacted Ombudsman and submitted documents through them
  • Sep 5th: New card is being produced
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 100 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 87 days from Biometrics
    • H4 still pending!

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #80

Thanks to user ‘H4EAD-NSC‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • RD: 4/30 :H1+H4+H4EAD filed under PP (Nebraska)
  • H1 approved in 5 days.
  • 5/23: Bio metrics Done
  • 8/24: Fingerprint review completed on H4 status
  • 9/6: New card is being produced
  • H4 + EAD Approved in 129 Days after filing
  • H4 + EAD Approved in 106 days from Biometrics
  • No Change in H4 status .
  • No expedite request or litigation .

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #81

Thanks to user ‘ETBT‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • CSC – WAC1922xxxxx
  • 6/11 – Receipt date for H1, H4, H4 EAD (premium)
  • 6/22 – H1B approved
  • 7/1 – H4 Fingerprinting
  • 7/10 – Expedite request raised (was rejected in less than a week on insufficient proof)
  • 8/26 – Status changed to “Fingerprint review completed”
  • 9/6 – H4 Status changed to “Name was Updated” and EAD status shows “New card is being produced”
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 87 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 67 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #82

Thanks to user ‘Neer‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Center – Nebraska
  • April 8 – Receipt date LIN191435xxxx
  • May 2 – Biometrics
  • Aug 27 – Case approved
  • Sep 4 – I-797C copies received in mail
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 149 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 125 days from Biometrics
  • Sep 5 – EAD card in mail

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #83

Thanks to user ‘raji‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • NSC Service Center
  • H1b PP/H4/H4 EAD received date Apr-2-2019
  • H1b Approved – 08- apr
  • Biometric done – 24-apr
  • H4 EAD : 08/20/2019 – We ordered your new card.
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 140 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 118 days from Biometrics
  • 08/21/2019 – We approved your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.
  • 08/22/2019 – We mailed your new card your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, directly to the address you gave us.
  • 08/23/2019 – The Post Office picked up mail containing your new card.
  • 08/24/2019 – received the card

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #84

Thanks to user ‘H4EADFinallyApproved‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Processing Center: Nebraska
  • 04/25/2019: H1B+H4+EAD applied in PP
  • 05/08/2019: H1B Approved
  • 05/14/2019: H4 Biometric Appointment
    • In between tried to expedite a few times by calling USCIS and also working with our Congressman, neither avenue succeeded and we didn’t get to submit any documents either.
  • However, the status on the EAD got updated on 08/16/2019 to say that they have received documents that are being reviewed by the officer
  • 08/21/2019: H4 status said Fingerprint review completed
  • 09/03/2019: EAD status said New Card is being Produced
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 131 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 112 days from Biometrics
    • 09/05/2019: EAD card was shipped
  • 09/09/2019: EAD card received in the post with I-797 approval for I-765
  • 09/09/2019: called USCIS about H4 status since no change was observed since 08/16 and were informed that H4 was approved on 09/03/2019 as well, but has not been shipped yet. Moreover, they said that the applicant is allowed to rejoin work (old EAD expired on 08/23) on the basis of the approved EAD card
    FYI we did not participate in any litigation

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #85

Thanks to user ‘HK‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Nebraska Service Center
  • H1+H4+H4EAD Applied on —- 8/5/19
  • Appointment for Biometrics —- 8/28/19
  • H1 moved to Premium —- 9/3/19
  • H1 + H4 EAD Approved —- 9/9/19
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 35 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 12 days from Biometrics
    • we have not filed any litigation. Just started regular processing. Since my spouse’s office agreed for premium processing we converted that into premium and got approval in a week.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #86

Thanks to user ‘f5uscis‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Nebraska Service Center.
  • April 9, 2019 (Concurrently filed with H1B extension. H1B extension was approved on April 12, 2019)
  • Biometrics date – May 9, 2019
  • H4 changed to Fingerprint review completed on Aug 25,2019
  • H4 EAD changed to “New Card Being Produced” on Sep 7, 2019
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 151 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 121 days from Biometrics
  • H4 status is still “Fingerprint review completed”

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #87

Thanks to user ‘Swathi‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Center: NSC
  • May 29: RD, filed H1B + H4 + EAD all together in PP
  • H1-B approved on June 6th.
  • Biometric Walk-in July 9th.
  • EAD expired on August 20th.
  • My employer terminated and lost Job.
  • Raised expedite request on August 16th by calling and denied on August 19th.
  • Approached senator on August 23rd saying job loss.
  • Got email from Senator on September 4th saying he approached USCIS.
  • Same day Online Status changed to in review.
  • Sep 10th: Card/ Document Production.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 104 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 63 days from Biometrics

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #88

Thanks to user ‘Srikanth‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Service Center: California
  • H1/ H4 / H4 EAD Receipt Date : May 3rd
  • H1 Approved : May 12.
  • Case Expedited by Phone : July 29th. Did not ask any proof.
  • H4 EAD and H4 Approved on August 2nd. Received H4 Approval and H4 EAD approval on Aug 8th. Did not receive EAD so far.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 91 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 69 days from Biometrics
  • But H4 status changed to Finger Print review complete on August 24.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #89

Thanks to user ‘Chocy‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • 04/30/2019–> H1B+H4+H4EAD Applied in PP at Nebraska
  • 05/07/2019–> RFE Received for H1B.
  • 05/23/2019–> Biometrics Completed.
  • 07/29/2019–> Response to RFE was submitted
  • 08/05/2019–> H1B Approved
  • 08/25/2019–> Fingerprint Review Done
  • 09/10/2019–> H4 status shows as Name was Updated and H4 EAD status shows as New Card is being produced.
  • 09/11/2019->H4 and H4 EAD status updated to Approved.
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 133 Days after filing
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 110 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #90

Thanks to user ‘h4eadmay6‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • H1B + H4 + H4 ead filling date: May 3, 2019
  • Service Center – Nebraska
  • Recieved date: May 6, 2019
  • Current EAD expiring: Sep 30, 2019
  • H4 ead Card production: Sep 11
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 131 Days after filing
  • Expedite 2 times in July and August but was rejected same day. No lawsuit.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #91

Thanks to user ‘EADApproved‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Applied H1+H4+H4EAD on April 26th in PP to Nebraska.
  • April 29th – the case was received.
  • May 21st- completed Biometric
  • Sept 12th – Update for EAD – New card is being produced
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 139 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 114 days from Biometrics
  • No update on H4
  • No expedite request or litigation.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #92

Thanks to user ‘MyH4EADApproved‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • H1B – H4 – H4EAD filed in PP:
  • RD for all – 17 April
  • H1B – Approval – 19 April
  • H4-H4EAD – Finger Print Given – 01-May
  • H4EAD – Approved – 12-Sep
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 150 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 134 days from Biometrics
  • No updates on H4.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #93

Thanks to user ‘sk‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • 04/25/2019–> H1B+H4+H4EAD Applied in PP at Nebraska
  • 04/29/2019-> Received all three Receipts
  • 05/06/2019–> H1B Approved
  • 05/10/2019–> Bio metrics appointment received dated 05/22/2019
  • 05/22/2019–> Bio metrics completed
  • 08/22/2019 –> H4 status changed to “Finger print review completed”
  • 09/11/2019–> New card being produced
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 139 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 112 days from Biometrics
  • No Litigation or expedite request raised. There is no change in H4 status yet. Receipt staring numbers LIN19160. Looks like approval received late evening on 09/11/2019.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #94

Thanks to user ‘EADH4Approved‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • H1+H4+H4 EAD applied in PP at Nebraska – April 23, 2019
  • H1B approved – May 01. 2019
  • Bio metric appointment on May 15, 2019
  • Walked in to near by ASC on May 7th, 2019 and gave the biometrics
  • Travelled out of country and got H4 via drop box(in July 2 week)
  • Reached US back August 2nd week and raised expedite request.
  • Status changed on H4 to Fingerprint review completed on Aug 21, 2019
  • Even after 3 weeks after the expedite request, no updates..
  • Raised another expedite request on Sept 3.
  • Expedite request got denied on Sept 4, saying that application is already approved. Not sure if the second expedite triggered the approval or it was already approved.
  • New Card Is Being Produced – Sept 4. 2019
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 134 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 112 days from Biometrics
    • H4 changed to approved – Sept 5, 2019
  • Card mailed – Sept 9, 2019
  • Card arrived – Sept 12, 2019
  • Start date on the card is the H1B start date..
  • I have not done any litigation.
  • Expedited 2 times, both were denied.

CSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #95

Thanks to user ‘SGR‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • May 30- H4+EAD filed with H1B PP at CSC
  • June 6- H1 approved
  • June 17 – completed Biometrics
  • July 20 – Had to travel to Canada. I had expired visa but valid H4 i-797 upto Oct 2019. Asked many forums, company attorneys, even called USCIS and was told I am eligible to travel under 30-day rule, automatic visa revalidation. USCIS said my applications should not be affected since I would not get a new i-94
  • July29 – Returned from Canada. At vancouver airport, the visa officer first denied entry. Then a senior officer in back office gave me entry but issued a new i-94 and online i-94 showed F1 status.
  • Aug 10 – CBP i-94 correction office corrected the status back to H4 but was stuck with new I-94. Didnt know what would happen to my applications. Company attorney said if RFE comes, we will address it.
  • Sep 5- EAD application changed to “new card is being produced”.
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 99 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 81 days from Biometrics
  • Sep 6- EAD I-765 was approved
  • Sep 10- EAD mail picked up by USPS.
  • Sept 11- Called USCIS why H4 was still “case was received”. The rep told me they mailed the H4 I-539 approval also on Sept. 6th itself.
  • Sept 12- Received the EAD card and H4 I-797.
  • I have same experience as many users that online status of H4 did not reflect the approval. I was super worried that I would be given EAD up to Oct 2019 and my extension would be denied because of my new I-94 after Canada trip.But Everything worked out finally. Got EAD and H4 approval for 3 years upto May 2022.

NSC  – H4 + EAD experience – Approved #96

Thanks to user ‘KB‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • H1+H4+EAD : Applied on 04/04/2019
  • H1 RFE : 04/10/2019
  • H1 RFE Response : 05/23/2019
  • H1 Approved : 05/28/2019
  • H4 EAD SR Raised : 08/21/2019
  • H4 RFE : 08/24/2019
  • H4 EAD Expedited : 08/23/2019
  • H4 EAD Assigned to Officer : 08/26/2019
  • H4 EAD Expedite denied : 08/29/2019
  • H4 RFE Recieved : 08/29/2019 – Replied on the same day
  • H4 EAD SR Closed cos of H4 RFE : 09/03/2019
  • H4 RFE Response Recieved : 09/04/2019
  • H4 EAD Expedite : 09/09/2019
  • H4 EAD Assigned to Officer : 09/12/2019
  • H4 EAD : New card being produced 09/12/2019
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 161 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 131 days from Biometrics
  • H4 no change yet
  • No Litigation!!!!!!!!!

CSC  – H4 experience – Approved #97

Thanks to user ‘CYC‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • 04/11/2019–> H1B+H4 WITHOUT PP at CSC
  • 05/17/2019–> H4 Biometrics Notice
  • 06/07/2019–> Biometrics Completed
  • 07/12/2019–> H1B Approved
  • 08/24/2019–> H4 Fingerprint Has Been Reviewed
  • 09/05/2019–> H4 Approval Notice
    • H4 Approved in 147 Days after filing
    • H4 Approved in 90 days from Biometrics
  • Since my case has no expedite or premium process, I think my case is worth to share with many people who still keep waiting for approval. It looks like the approval is normally happened in 2 week after fingerprint has been reviewed.

CSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #98

Thanks to user ‘Itsalongwait…‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Processing Center – CSC ( H1 + H4 + H4EAD PP)
  • RD – 5th June 2019
  • H1b approved-13th June 2019
  • Biometric screening-17th June 2019 ( Did a Walk-in)
  • Finger print review completed-Aug 21
  • New card is being produced- Sep 12
    • H4/ EAD Approved in 99 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 87 days from Biometrics
    • WAC19215512XX – No Litigation / No expedited request.
  • Also my wife had to travel out of country & she got her visa approved. After going through the Administrative processing. ( No documents requested). Hope this helps someone.

NSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #99

Thanks to user ‘redBusGuy‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Nebraska service center
  • May 6th – H1B + H4 + H4 EAD extensions in PP
  • May 13th – H1B approved
  • May 27th – H4 fingerprint review completed
  • Sep 12th – “Case was approved” for both H4 and H4 EAD
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 129 Days after filing
  • No expedite request or lawsuit, just waited patiently.

NSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #100

Thanks to user ‘NSCtootooslow‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Nebraska center
  • May 6 — H1b, H4 and H4 EAD extension in PP;
  • May 10 — H1b got approved
  • Aug 19 — reach out to congresswoman to expedite
  • Aug 24 — H4 changed to fingerprint completed
  • Sep 11 — card expired
  • Sep 12 — expedite denied
  • Sep 13 — H4 EAD changes to new card is being produced in Sep 12
    • H4 + EAD Approved in 130 Days after filing
  • H4 still shows fingerprint completed

NSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #101

Thanks to user ‘Snat‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • NSC
  • May 13 – H1b, H4 and H4 EAD extension in PP
  • May 23 – H1b approved
  • June 9 – Biometrics
  • Aug 24 – Finger print Review was completed
  • Sep 11 – EAD Expired
  • Sep 12 – EAD changed to “New card is being produced”. H4 no change in status
    • H4/ EAD Approved in 122 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 95 days from Biometrics
  • Sep 13 – H4 changed to “Case was approved”.
  • Called USCIS twice to expedite. Once on Aug23rd –>Denied message in mail. Again on Sep 9th –>Case already assigned to officer message in mail.

TSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #102

Thanks to user ‘PSP‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • 07/01/2019 Applied H1 premium+H4+H4EAD Renewal to Texas Service Center
  • 07/03/2019 Package received by USCIS
  • 07/09/2019 H1 approved
  • 07/11/2019 Received receipts for H4 and H4 EAD in mail
  • 07/16/2019 Biometrics appointment notice received in mail
  • 07/24/2019 Biometrics given
  • 07/26/2019 H4 case status changed to Finger Prints review completed
  • 09/11/2019 Received H4 approval notice in mail; but case status didn’t change for H4
  • 09/12/2019 H4 EAD case status changed to New car being produced
    • H4/ EAD Approved in 73 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 50 days from Biometrics
    • 09/13/2019 H4 EAD case status changed to case was approved

NSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #103

Thanks to user ‘Finally_approved‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • Center: Nebraska
  • 2 May : H1b , H4 and H4 EAD applied in pp
  • 9 May : H1 approved
  • 24 May : Biomterics done
  • 13 sept : H4 EAD status changed to new card is being produced.
    • H4/ EAD Approved in 134 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 112 days from Biometrics

NSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #104

Thanks to user ‘VCEAD‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • 03/26/2019 – H1 extension +H4 extension +H4EAD all filed together in premium @Nebraska Service centre
  • 04/05/2019 – H1 Approval received04/12/2019 – I got physical mail for Biometrics appointment
  • 04/24/2019 – Biometrics Appointment
  • June – Travelled to India and got H4 visa stamped through dropbox
  • Aug – Came back to the US and got RFE on H4 due to new I94. Submitted new stamped visa and I94 copy in response to RFE. As per my lawyer, although post getting visa stamped, we could even withdraw H4 application, however we kept it going as this could impact EAD application too.
  • 09/09/2019 – Raised Service Request as the processing timeline was beyond the timeline published by USCIS.
  • 09/12/2019 – EAD Status changed to Card being produced
    • H4/ EAD Approved in 170 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 141 days from Biometrics
  • 09/13/2019 – H4 approval

CSC  – H4 +EAD experience – Approved #105

Thanks to user ‘Mayapur‘  for sharing the experience in comment

  • 04/24/19 H1 +COS H4+EAD applied in PP at CSC
  • 05/07/19 Walked in early for Biometrics
  • 05/09/19 H1 approved
  • 07/10/19 Expedite request through Senator
  • 08/12/19 Expedite request denied via email to Senator, USCIS provided reasons saying that they could not identify a criteria (I guess I did not make the reason for expedition very clear or compelling in my cover letter)
  • 08/22/19 Fingerprints review completed (online status still showing “We received your case” for both H4 and EAD; this update was told by Customer Service)
  • 08/23/19 Expedite request again by calling USCIS, citing government interest and personal financial loss
  • 08/24/19 Received email with instruction to send documents
  • 08/28/19 Send documents via email, no response or update, spoke to Tier II Customer Service and was told to wait for up to 2 weeks
  • 09/14/19 Online status changed to “New Card is Being Produced” for EAD, and still showing “We received your Case ” for H4
    • H4/ EAD Approved in 143 Days after filing
    • H4 / EAD Approved in 130 days from Biometrics
  • Lesson: Not sure if expedite request helped, since I did not hear any response or update, and we’ve waited long enough. But if it did, I think using USCIS language in the cover letter and submitting clearly arranged documents were important.

Did you file for H4 Extension with the New I-539 Form? How was your experience? Share your experiences with the community by creating thread at User Experiences or post it as comment.  Share your comments, thoughts, tips.

You may also check out H4 EAD Rule Removal, Lawsuit Latest News, Updates 

   

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4,515 Comments

  1. May be my case bit unique. My self and wife went to India for intra company transfer for one year in 2019 and we are supposed be back by mid 2020. All our plans are tripped over due to pandemic. We were stuck in India till Apr 2021. I have filed for location change for My H1 and got approved in Dec 2020 with 3 years extension (Till Feb 2024, My wife H4 extension did not filed with this). My wife H4/EAD expires on 5/22/21. We have landed in the USA on 4/20/21 and filed for H4 EAD (I-765) extension on 4/22/21. 1st expedite request made on 5/13 and rejected on 5/19. We have also reached to local congressman and they reached out to USCIS to expedite (On the 2nd day of my 1 expedite rejection – MISTAKE) and was rejected. I called in USCIS and they told me that the biometrics were received on 5/17 (May be from the POE) (We haven’t gone to the Bio metric appointment). Does anyone knows what steps are pending after the USCIS bio metrics received.

    Reply
  2. Hi,

    My H4 visa (receipt date Nov 2020) is approved. Got RFE for H4 EAD and I responded to the RFE last week. USCIS still has not cashed my check for H4 EAD. My question is by the time they cash the check it might be more than 6months from the time I applied. I believe checks are usually valid only for 6months. Will that be a problem? Can someone help
    me figure out?

    Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Hi, My H4 extension was filed on 03/16/2020 and the biometrics was completed on March 8th 2021. Anybody in similar situation or any insight on how long would it take to get the ead approved after biometrics? This is California service center. Is there anything I can do from my side to expedite the process. Any input would be appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Smeca

    Reply
  4. Hello,
    This is regarding my spouse H4/H4 EAD . My H1 has been recently approved from April2021 to April2024. Along with H1, H4/H4EAD are also filed on Feb for which biometrics were done on March4th. Center is Vermont. This is all with company A. Now I got a bonafide job offer with Company B in which they are filing H1(transfer) and H4/EAD also. Couple of question here.
    1. Can the Company B able to file H4 EAD for my spouse using Company A I140?
    2. Does my spouse have to go for biometrics again even though it is already finished?

    Thanks for the help.

    Reply
  5. California Service Center : Change of Status (COS) to H4 [standalone I-539] & Fresh EAD (not renewal) based on pending I-539 [standalone I-765 C26].
    H4 COS took 7 months, New EAD took 6 months: Overall process 7 months [I’m impressed with this speed given the current situation amid COVID pandemic : probably because of my strong expedite request letter].
    We used two attorneys to file: One filed I-539 & the other filed I-765.

    Timeline:
    Aug 31 2020: USCIS received our mail containing COS I-539 petition
    Sep 19 2020 : I received Receipt Notice in the mail for I-539
    Sep 28 2020: USCIS received our I-765 EAD C26 based on pending COS I-539 [because we did not have our I-140 approved when we filed I-539. We got it approved after 10 days of filing COS and hence we filed for EAD separately]
    Oct 13 2020 : I received Receipt Notice in the mail for I-765
    [Note: Completely in dormant mode for 5 months. We did not receive biometrics appointment notice for 5 months after filing I-539 i.e from Sep 2020 till beginning Feb 2021. So, my employer provided an expedite request letter with reason as severe financial loss to the company]
    Feb 08 2021: Raised a case inquiry for I-539 asking USCIS to schedule our biometrics appointment by saying it has been 5 months since filed. USCIS response to the case inquiry is “Biometrics appointments have been backlogged and are taking time and I should hear from them in 45-60 days”.
    Feb 08 2021: On the same day, raised an expedite request for my I-765. USCIS denied my request on the same day with reason “Does not qualify for expedite request”
    [Note: Agents cannot type huge paragraph/sentences on why we are requesting an expedite request. They will ask your reason and based on what they hear from us or what they understand, they will summarize your story in 1 or 2 lines at maximum. Service Center will decide whether to approve or deny our expedite request based on this one/two liner. So, your one or two lines should be properly framed, word by word and it should show the effect on the company if case is not adjudicated soon in case of severe financial loss to the company]
    Feb 15 2021: I learned my lesson and waited for 1 week to raise 2nd expedite request [cooling period for expedite requests]. Raised 2nd expedite request for I-765. This time with a formulated two line reason on why expedite request is being made. USCIS responded in a day “CSC is looking at my case and I should hear from them in 45 to 60 days”. They did not approve it. Nor did they deny it.
    Feb 23 2021: Raised 2nd expedite request for I-539. USCIS denied it with “Reason is not enough to grant expedite request”
    Feb 27 2021: Received Biometrics appointment notice with appointment scheduled on Mar 22 2021. Unfortunately, no walk in is allowed. So, waited for the appointment date.
    Feb 28 2021: Received RFE for EAD I-765 asking me to prove my H4 status [because we did not file I-539 & EAD together and they had no clue about H4 status: it was expected but we filed separately anyway]
    Mar 22 2021: Attended biometrics appointment and received a stamp on my biometrics after finishing biometrics. So, immediately responded to EAD’s RFE with the stamped biometrics appointment and I-539 receipt notice and also included the employer provided expedite request letter as another exhibit.
    Mar 23 2021: Biometrics status update on USCIS Online case portal “The fingerprints relating to your Form I-539 Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, were taken.”
    Mar 24 2021: USCIS Received our EAD’s RFE response in the mail
    Mar 26 2021: Raised 2nd expedite request for COS I-539 by giving the same reason from 2nd expedite request but also added another line saying “Biometrics are done” and also why I-539 should be adjudicated interconnection to EAD and if EAD is not adjudicated soon, employer will suffer financially.
    Mar 29 2021: Response to the expedite request created on Mar 26 2021 : ”Your case is currently being adjudicated. You will receive a notice of action”
    Mar 30 2021: “We ordered your new card”. [I strongly believe it happened so fast because of a strong expedite request letter which we included in the EAD’s RFE response]
    Mar 31 2021: We approved your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
    Mar 31 2021: I-539 COS Case Was Approved
    Apr 01 2021: Online EAD case update: We mailed your new card your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, directly to the address you gave us.
    Apr 02 2021: Online EAD case update: Card Was Picked Up By The United States Postal Service and USPS tracking # is updated on the case status
    Apr 05 2021: Received EAD card + approval notices for I-765 + COS I-539: all 3 on the same day.

    All the best to others going through this immigration concern. I honestly did not expect to get these approvals this quickly given both H4 & EAD are not extension petitions but fresh applications.

    Reply
  6. Hi,

    I applied for my H4 and H4 EAD extension together. (receipt date 23, Nov, 2020). My EAD got expired last week and I put o leave of absence. I tried calling USCIS for expedition, they said even if I might be eligible for H4 EAD expedition since I don’t have valid H4 I cannot be considered. They also said there is no expedition for H4. Is this right? I scroll through the comments and see many people expediting H4 extension. What am I missing? Could someone help me understand?
    Thanks,
    Anu

    Reply
  7. H4 + EAD was submitted on May 01 2020
    Bio metrics appointment was scheduled on Jan 19, 2021. This got cancelled and rescheduled to Feb 08 2021.
    Got my H4 and EAD Approved on March 11, 2021.

    QUESTION
    I recently transferred from H1 to H4 and as described above got my approval on March 11, 2021 with Biometrics given on Feb 08, 2021. My spouses H1-B is up for renewal and so will be my H4 and EAD. Do i still need to give biometrics as i will be filing I-539? Or will they consider previous biometrics as i have given it on Feb 08, 2021

    Reply
  8. After 11 months of waiting, my H4 and H4 EAD got approved.

    * 04/22/2020 – H1 extension +H4 extension +H4EAD all filed together  @Texas Service centre.
    * 09/18/2020- Biometric Appointment for H4
    * 10/05/2020– H1 Approved.
    * 11/12/2020 – Contacted Virginia Congressman to check my case with USCIS.
    * 11/13/2020- Raised 1st Expedite Request with documents.
    * 11/23/2020- 1st Expedite Request denied.
    * 12/02/2020- Raised 2nd Expedite Request with documents.
    * 12/03/2020- 2nd Expedite Request approved
    * 12/09/2020- Congressman forwarded the email which he got from USCIS for my case. “At this time the I-539 is in queue to be assigned to an officer”
    * 12/22/2020 – Contacted USCIS customer care to schedule call back from tier2 officer
    * 01/08/2021 – Contacted Virginia Congresswoman to check my case with USCIS
    * 01/12/2021 – Tier2 officer called and said that my Expedite request approval was within 45 days timeframe.
    * 01/12/2021- Congresswoman sent email to USCIS to check my case.
    * 01/26/2021- Contacted USCIS customer care to schedule call back from tier2 officer
    * 02/11/2021 – Got email from tier2 officer that “. Your case is currently in line for processing and adjudication. Cases are processed in the order in which they were received.”
    * 02/22/2021 – Contacted USCIS customer care to schedule call back from tier2 officer.
    * 03/08/2021 – Tier2 officer called me and created service request for my case
    * 03/18/2021 – Got email for Tier2 officer Service Request “Your case is currently with an adjudicating officer. You should receive a decision or notice of further action within 30 days”.
    * 03/19/2021- New Card is being produced
    * 03/22/2021 – H4 and H4 EAD approved

    Reply
  9. Finally got approved after 11 months….sharing the timeline

    * 04/22/2020 – H1 extension +H4 extension +H4EAD all filed together  @Texas Service centre.
    * 09/18/2020- Biometric Appointment for H4
    * 10/05/2020– H1 Approved.
    * 11/12/2020 – Contacted Virginia Congressman to check my case with USCIS.
    * 11/13/2020- Raised 1st Expedite Request with documents.
    * 11/23/2020- 1st Expedite Request denied.
    * 12/02/2020- Raised 2nd Expedite Request with documents.
    * 12/03/2020- 2nd Expedite Request approved
    * 12/09/2020- Congressman forwarded the email which he got from USCIS for my case. “At this time the I-539 is in queue to be assigned to an officer”
    * 12/22/2020 – Contacted USCIS customer care to schedule call back from tier2 officer
    * 01/08/2021 – Contacted Virginia Congresswoman to check my case with USCIS
    * 01/12/2021 – Tier2 officer called and said that my Expedite request approval was within 45 days timeframe.
    * 01/12/2021- Congresswoman sent email to USCIS to check my case.
    * 01/26/2021- Contacted USCIS customer care to schedule call back from tier2 officer
    * 02/11/2021 – Got email from tier2 officer that “. Your case is currently in line for processing and adjudication. Cases are processed in the order in which they were received.”
    * 02/22/2021 – Contacted USCIS customer care to schedule call back from tier2 officer.
    * 03/08/2021 – Tier2 officer called me and created service request for my case
    * 03/18/2021 – Got email for Tier2 officer Service Request “Your case is currently with an adjudicating officer. You should receive a decision or notice of further action within 30 days”.
    * 03/19/2021- New Card is being produced
    * 03/22/2021 – H4 and H4 EAD approved

    Reply
  10. Hi All,

    Can anyone help with below situation?

    I had applied for H4/H4 EAD renewal in Aug 2020 — The Case is still pending with TSC
    Meanwhile, I got the chance to apply for employment-based I-485 and EAD (C9, I-765) in Oct 2020 — EAD is approved.

    My current H4 EAD got expired on Dec 31st, 2020. Can I use my AOS EAD to resume my work?
    What are the implications on my H4 status for using AOS EAD?

    Reply
    • Hello RR,

      I have exact the same case. My receipt notice says November 2nd as receipt date but I have not received the approval yet. How long did it take for you to get the approval for your EAD?
      Please do reply.

      Reply
  11. Just wanted to share my timeline guys

    H1b with PP and H4 extension filling: June/11/2020, but PP was not taken until the end if June due to some issues. Status was expiring on June/30
    H1B approved on June/30/2020, we got all the online updates (receipt notice, PP acceptance, approval)
    H4 took longer… Fingerprints until nov/25/2020 but we didn’t get an online updated regarding this. Just got the notice in the mail. Of note we had called them 2 weeks before to make sure they had updated our address, which we requested months before via their website. Probably that prompt them to review the file? IDK. By the way, the notice arrived to the old address and got redirected by USPS
    Nov/26: online system update to reflect fingerprints taken
    Feb/02: expedite request (family emergency so we wanted to travel). The system updated 1-2 days later that the request was being processed and completed but we never knew if was approved or denied
    Feb/09/2020. H4 approved, notified in the online system, made retroactive. Again, we are not sure if this was due to expedite process request or the natural processing time as we were waiting already 2 months after biometrics and 8 months after filling.
    No EAD H4 requested
    Good luck guys

    Reply
  12. I gave my biometric by walking in early at the ASC. My kids application was applied with my h4. My kids bio is till not done.

    So does that mean that my h4 & h4ead will not be adjudicated unless my kids bio is done?
    Please help. I was able to give my bio after waiting for 7 months. Now i am desperate and anxious thinking mine will still be stuck due to my kids bio not done.

    Reply
    • I got an email saying that they scheduled biometrics appointment. but I can’t see on my uscis home page but documents. Can someone help me please how I can see the documents or print the appointment letter.

      Can I just walk in to nearest ASC center with the email which I got from USCIS?

      Reply
  13. How long does it take for H4 and H4 ead to be processed after biometrics?

    I had applied for H4 and H4 EAD in May 2020. I had my biometrics at ASC Oakland on Feb 8 2021.

    Reply
    • Hi Nikhila,
      I assume you live in san francisco bay area since you had an appointment at ASC Oakland. Can you please tell me the receipt date? My receipt date is 4th June 2020. Just wanted to see how long do I have to wait to get the biometrics.

      Reply
    • Hi Nikhila,

      I had applied for h4 extension and EAD in april 2020. Haven’t received any update yet. Can you please share your process. Did you reach out to anyone?

      Prutha

      Reply
      • Hello All,

        I got my H4 and EAD approved on March 11, 2020.

        I received my EAD card on March 18,2020.

        My receipt date was May 01,2020. I didn’t reach out to anyone during the entire process.

        Reply
        • I am sorry about the errors in previous comment.

          I meant
          My H4 and EAD were approved on March 11, 2021.

          I received my EAD card on March 18,2021.

          My receipt date was May 01,2020. I didn’t reach out to anyone during the entire process.

          Reply
  14. Hi
    I have applied for the H4 extension, and the processing time shows 8 to 11 months.
    My question is can I apply for the EAD extension based on my H4 receipt, or do I have to wait?
    Thank you!!

    Reply
  15. I applied in July for extension on h4 visa in July 2020 including h4 ead. Its over six months. No response from uscis. I applied for expedite request. They denied it, now I am planning to request for another expedite request. Didn’t receive any biometrics appointment. Any idea how long will it take to get my biometrics appointment and approval after that. Please suggest me.

    Reply
  16. I just wanted to share my ead and h4 experience with Nebraska center. I hope this could help others analyzing their case status.

    Reciept date- August 10th 2020
    Biometrics completed- Sep 4th 2010
    H4 Ead approved- Jan 27th 2021

    Haven’t done any expedited requests. Just hang on and don’t lose hope.

    Reply
  17. Hope everyone doing great !! and all will get the approvals soon.. Would like to share the time taken for my H4 EAD Approval

    o EAD Submitted and Received in USCIS : August 6, 2020
    o RFE received : Dec 14 2020
    o RFE Respond received in USCIS : Dec 18 2020
    o Expedite Request raised : Jan 11 2021 but denied
    o EAD Approved : Jan 20 2021
    o EAD CARD Received : Jan 25 2021

    Reply
  18. Hi Kumar,

    I applied for H4+EAD in March 2020 along with my husband’s H-1B extension (approved in Premium Processing). First expedite request for H4 was denied in Sep 2020. In response to the second expedite request submitted in Nov 2020, I got biometrics appointment. Does that indicate that expedite request has been approved? If yes, how many days does it take to get EAD after biometrics (done on Jan 11). Case Status is “Fingerprints were taken”. Thanks in advance!

    Reply
  19. H1B Transfer filed on 02/13/2020
    H1B RFE issued on 02/24/2020
    H1B RFE responded on 04/20/2020
    H1B Transferred Approved on 04/30/2020
    H4+EAD(Spouse+Kids) applied on 10/22/2020
    Biometrics given on 11/15
    H4+EAD Approved on 01/11/2021
    EAD Card dispatched on 01/14/2021
    Center: California

    TBH, I had no expectation since CA dates are running behind 18-22 months. I did not reach out to any senator, neither tried to expedite. My experience with both of these has been futile in the previous attempt.

    I also think the processing times dates given are extreme. Don’t lose hopes, you never know what happens next!

    Reply
  20. Hello all, I would like to share the good news ,finally my wife’s H4 extension was approved today.

    Receipt date : March 26 2020
    H1B approval : May 12 ( regular processing)
    Processing center : Texas Service Center.
    Biometric date : Oct 8
    Status update on fingerprints : Oct 9
    Approval Decision : Jan 12th 2021.

    We had no valid reasons to expedite the application. Her EAD is currently under processing in California service center . We had to file EAD separately as my I140 was approved in late August 2020.

    Question : will there be seperate biometric process for EAD ?

    Hoping for a reply soon.
    Good luck guys.

    Reply
    • Hopeful,
      Thank you for sharing ! No, there is nothing as such. They may ask for H4 approval. In that case, you just need to submit it.

      Reply
      • Hello Kumar,

        Thanks for your response.

        My wife has a job offer with start date mid February. Do you think we can use that as a reason for expedite for her EAD ? We can’t show financial loss as it’s her first job and initial EAD application

        Thanks

        Reply
        • Hi Hopeful,

          Am in a similar situation where my wife’s EAD was filed separately instead of with the H4 extension. Her H-4 extension just got approved. Has your wife’s EAD been approved or any other updates in the process?

          Thanks.

          Reply
  21. Any Idea if “Finger Print Accepted ” Or “Finger Print Proccess” Or anything thats updated in USCIS online Portel?

    H1, H4, EAD Filed – Aug 10, 2020. (H1 under Premium)
    H1 went into RFE – Aug 18, 2020.
    H1 RFE Responded – Sept 5, 2020.
    Finger Print Appointment complete – Sept 10, 2020.
    H1 Approved – Sept 12, 2020.

    **** Since then No change in H4/EAD status. Its stuck at We recevied H4 application. There is no update about finger print status as well.

    Anyone has any Exp. I heard from ppl, if H1 is approved after Finger print, H4 will also get approved, but it didnt happen in my case.

    Reply
    • Sarvesh,
      Not always, only in few cases they update the fingerprint status.
      Many are stuck as well in same state as yours. If you are eligible apply for Expedite appointment. Do keep the community posted here, if any changes.

      Reply
      • Thanks for your response Kumar. in my case, Finger Print was complete before H1 got approved. I was hoping H4 to also get approved with H1 in Sept, but it didnt happen. I heard from other friends if Finger Print is complete and then H1 is approved H4 also gets approved along. Any idea?

        Reply
        • Sarvesh,
          There is no defined pattern as such. It should not matter. Follow up with them as your finger print is done. If eligible, try to expedite.

          Reply
  22. This week my application for H4/EAD got approved. I think this was by far the fastest. My application for H1B was approved in January.

    Filed for H4 & EAD in October
    Biometrics in December
    Approved: This week.

    No Expedite. Did not reach out to senator or anyone. I know that recent applications have now been getting processed faster.

    Thanks
    All

    Reply
  23. Hi,
    My receipt date for H4 and H4 EAD is Apr 22, Texas Service Centre. My expedite request for H4 approved on Dec3, 2020. How long does USCIS take time to make decision for my case. Any on same situation?

    Reply
  24. Hi All,

    I called the USCIS Number for expedite the request but it keep going to the Voice message where asking to give the update in Phone or Text. So i am not hearing any option to directly talk to the agent. Can anyone help on this.. how to get an agent and raise an expedite request

    Reply
  25. Hi All,

    After long wait, my H4 and EAD have been approved. Below is the timeline:

    Service Center – Texas
    Receipt Date – March 27, 2020
    H1b Approved of my Spouse – April, 2020
    Bio-metrics completed – October 09, 2020
    H4 and EAD approved online – December 1, 2020

    My previous EAD was expired on August 31, 2020. So, I was not able to work after it. Last 3 months were very hard because even we are educated and qualified, still felt very helpless. Just believe in God and good luck to all.

    Reply
  26. Ric
    Filed for H4 and H4 EAD & H1 B on Aug. 1, 2020 receipt date @ Nebraska Center
    H1B approved – Sept. 14, 2020 (regular processing )
    NO biometric yet.

    H4 EAD expiring Jan. 30 2021.

    Called many times and raised 2 service requests. Got email “biometric will be scheduled when they can” !!!!!!!

    This is huge risk as even biometric not done and will have to leave the job if I do not receive EAD by Jan 2021.

    Any ideas, how to get the biometric appointment ? Can Congressman letter help in biometric appointment ? Is there anything else I can do ?

    Reply
  27. Hi,

    I am on same boat,my expedite request has been denied.It’s been 120 days since i did not receive H4 EAD Biometrics. Already job loss.Any Suggestions please?

    Reply
      • Thanks Kumar,
        Expedite request getting denied also tier 2 officer mentioned it will take 8.5 months and need to wait with no option left.

        Reply
          • Thanks Kumar.i will try and see again but just a question sending request multiple times will there be any problem to the principal applicant?as the last action comments still exists.

    • I have heard that Reddy & Neumann lawfirm is still taking people to file the litigation regarding H4 and H4 EAD. Reachout to them if you can shell out $ , just another option out there.

      Reply
  28. If uscis used the previous biometric on your current application how much time to get the approval.
    H4 receipt date: Sep 9,2020
    EAD receipt date: Oct 13,2020
    Called today (dec 1) to request biometric appointment and tier1 support told me that previous biometrics where updated on my application. Wondering how long would it take to get the approval.

    Reply
    • Hi JB11, what is your service center? I have given biometrics two times last year. Let me know if online status has changed. My receipt date is Sept 11.

      Reply
    • JB11,
      If they are going to use previous Biometrics, then it should be adjudicated fairly soon. There is no estimated time as such. Give or take, it should take around 3 months or less.

      Reply
    • JB11,

      I also called them and got back the same answer. We’re Re-Using Biometrics.
      But a few weeks later, Got a notice saying the we will receive a notice letter from 90 days from that date of the call to the service center. It mentioned that we will get another letter from them if they will need biometrics they will send an appointment letter or if they are re-using biometrics also we will receive a notification letter.
      That is when we can contact them again if we don’t receive anything.
      Just feel like they are trying to throw the ball everywhere, just to buy more time.

      Reply
  29. Hi Kumar,
    We(including children) have applied for h4 in Feb 28th 2020.. Received biometrics appointments on March 18th and did not appear for the biometric due to office closure. My husband H1 extension approved in June .. He got all the approvals paper from USCIS. We are waiting for the biometrics reschedule letter .. I called USCIS 3 times and am getting same reply with the last status..Really so panic about my situation ..How to address this issue ?How can I reschedule ?

    Reply
    • Shalini,
      Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. All you can do is wait. You can continue to call them. You may try to go to congressman and see, if you can expedite to get response.

      Reply
  30. Hi,

    Our H4 has been approved for expedited processing. (Been in expedited status for 2 weeks now). Unfortunately our biometric appointment has not been set up yet. We never gave our biometric data at local ASC. We talked to tier 2 officer . Tier 2 officer says that biometric is not needed for expedited processing. We are skeptical of this information. Has anyone been notified like this? Tier 2 was reluctant to schedule appointment over the phone as well.

    Reply
    • Alex,
      I have not seen other users get this kind of response. If you have never given biometrics in past at ASC, you need to get Biometrics for sure. If you had given in the past, then they maybe able to use it. Do keep us posted here for community benefit.

      Reply
      • It sounded weird to us too. Possibly agent was trying to wash his hands off this request. After the call the email we got states that our information has been entered to biometric system that schedules appointment. Appointment will be set up as slots are available. So everything still in limbo.

        Tried to walk in to couple of local ASCs. One of the officer was mean at entrance, but at second location they wanted to help, but what we could decipher is that strict instructions have been given to them not to admit any h4 ead biometric . The office was pretty empty and officers were having a nice chat. The office asked us to raise a request for emergency fingerprint appointment with tier 2 agent.

        We have now raised another tier 2 request due to ongoing medical emergency. They are supposed to call back in 48 hours . Last time they returned call after 5 days. Hope to get some assistance soon.

        Reply
        • Alex,
          It is sad that the customer service is not helping much. You are not the first one, there are such situations. Keep trying, call them multiple times. you can also work with Congressmen on this.

          Reply
          • We got a call from tier 2 today. They said our expedited status was under pending till Dec 2. On Dec 2, they approved expedited status. They scheduled a biometric appointment on Dec 28th (which they say is earlier available at local ASC). Requested to advance it , but officer was reluctant. We tried to check the appointment in uscis- infopass, but not showing up any. Is that normal or do we need to follow up again?

      • We have medical emergency going on since our son is getting hospitalized for a major procedure. Produced letters from hospital along with job loss notification. That’s how it’s expedited.

        Reply
        • Alex,

          So sorry about that. Please accept our well wishes & prayers to heal your son very soon.

          They definitely should help you & family without delaying anything from their end.

          Take care…

          Reply
          • Thanks!

            We also told them we will lose our medical coverage if job is terminated

            We had a long journey, will summarize learnings together

            Note- just learned from another tier 1 officer that system that schedules biometrics is only accessible to a tier 2 officer. It would show up in a USCIS account or infopass. If hard copy is not received in a week, they will email soft copy of the appointment

  31. Hi,

    I submitted standalone EAD Extension on August 6 in 2020 as i have valid H4 status till 2022 but still my standalone EAD extension is not approved. Does anyone know standalone EAD Extension also go to the same process like other H4 Extension and Biometric etc.. How long will take standalone EAD Extension. Appreciate your response.

    Reply
  32. Hi,
    I have been calling USCIS from past few days to verify my new address have been reflected in their database or not and also to raise a expedite request on my case, but the automated system is not connecting the call with the agent. Does anyone else experienced the same issue and let me know the possible ways so that my call gets connected with agent.

    Reply
      • Hello,

        My H1B and my wife’s H4 extension were filed on March 26th 2020 , regular processing. My H1B was approved in May2020. Case was processed at Texas Service Center.

        After waiting for almost 7 months ,we received biometrics appointment for H4 on Oct 8th. No updates since then. Processing time at Texas Service Center shows they are now processing receipts forJune 2020. I have submitted case outside processing time enquiry and the response was they finished review of fingerprints and waiting in line to be processed.

        My wife’s H4 expired in Aug 2020 and is in her grace period. I don’t know why Texas Service center shows June 2020 as their current receipt processing date when they have receipts from March like my case still not processed??

        Are there people like me here who are waiting since March ? Can you guys please help me with some options of how I should be expediting my case ??

        Reply
  33. I had applied for H4+EAD a month back. I received biometrics appointment letter scheduled in next few weeks? I heard USCIS has started sending biometrics faster. Is this true?

    Reply
    • Trump,
      It is not consistent, some are getting it faster, some not…so we do not know. As long as you have the notice, you are good to go and give the biometrics.

      Reply
  34. I have done my h1b transfer to a new company. We are still awaiting for H4 approval. We have not received any biometric appointment letter, since 3+ months it has been filed.
    Does h1b transfer need h4 biometric at all? I know it is required during extensions. Can someone please shed some light on this.? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Sonu,
      H1B transfer is not directly related to H4. If your H1B is approved in transfer, you are fine. Now, H4 approval is tied to H1B approval. So, the processing times are long as it requires biometrics. Some have waited for 10+ months to get it approved. So, it can take time. Call the USCIS help line.

      Reply
  35. Hi,

    I have applied H4 + H4 EAD on 3 Aug 2020, but till now the Biometric Appointment has not yet recieved, not sure how I have proceed. My employer told they don’t have any communication and I should take care of H4 & EAD.

    Can someone Advise. Please.

    Reply
    • We are all in the same boat. Applied for H4 + H4 EAD in May and still waiting for a Biometric appointment. With no option, had to resign by the old EAD end date, and now this wait seems like forever. The only option left for us is to open an SR, wait & stay hopeful. Just hoping it gets approved soon. Then have to go through the job search, interview, the whole process again. Feel helpless and emotionally stressed out!

      Reply
      • The other way to skip this senseless biometrics process is to go to Mexico and get your H4 visa stamped then file your H4 EAD. They won’t have reason then to state that they are waiting for H4 visa biometrics. I did the same, people from March haven’t really got the new biometrics appointments. It’s useless waiting for Biometric from USCIS. Go to Mexico.

        Reply
    • Hi,

      I had got H1, H4 and H4EAD for 3 years, i had to do an amendment but USCIS reduced my validity to 1 year. My wife’s EAD card has validity for 3 years as per the first extension.
      Now this year i reapplied for h1 extension and got for 3 years while H4 is still pending (biometrics completed).

      Since my wife’s EAD card has validity until 2023, she can continue to work right?
      Or will the current H4 application thats pending have an impact on her H4 EAD validity and ability to work?

      Reply
  36. I filed for my H1-B, H4 for my kid and H4 and EAD extension for my spouse on June26th 2020 in regular processing.

    My H1-B is valid only till end of November2020. So after waiting for 2 months 6days. I upgraded my H1-B in premium processing.

    H1-B got approved in 5 days after H1-B processing. Received biometrics appointment for spouse and kid around 5th Sep.

    Biometrics were done on 14th Sep.

    As the biometrics for my spouse and kid were done after my H1-B got approved in premium processing. I am still waiting for H4 extension and EAD approval.

    Expedite 1 – Sep 24th through phone, rejected in 5 days even without request for documents.

    Will anyone please share the insight on how to approach local congressman and what should we ask them to submit an expedite request on our behalf?

    or

    Should we submit another expedite request mentioning that H1-B is approved in premium processing?

    I am really worried as I only have less than 2 months where my spouse H4+EAD and kid H4 will expire,

    Appreciate any help here.

    Reply
  37. Hi Kumar,
    One ques- H4 processing time shows 6-8 months and EAD shows processing time as 4 months, how is this possible since they always give EAD only once H4 is approved, is that right or am i missing something ?

    Reply
    • It will take 1 year if processing officer is stubborn like in my case. If you are lucky, h4 and EAD will be processed together. AlsoIf you are in luck and your h1b is PP and by the time h1b file is picked up and they have fingerprints they will approve all together within 15 days. It’s all random and there is no process.

      In my case: VERMONT
      H1b+h4+ead all filed together on feb 11th.
      H1b approved in PP. They did not adjudicate h4 or ead even though they had my fingerprints.
      H4 approved on Sept 4th
      Still waiting for ead even though it is outside of normal processing times.

      Reply
  38. Hi All,
    Anyone had experience with EAD card being returned due to wrong/missing address on the mail ?
    How much time did it take to reach back to USCIS ? anything we can do to expedite ? can we buy any extra service with the USPS to expedite the return ?

    Reply
  39. Hello Kumar,
    I applied for the H4 Extension for my wife and daughter in Mar-2020.
    Center: California
    I received an I-539 receipt for this in Apr-2020. After no other response yet. I am still waiting for the Biometric appointment.
    Their visa expired on Aug-2020. Currently, they are in the grace period.

    Not sure how to expedite this.

    Moreover, my daughter’s passport renewal is coming in Feb-2021. For this, a valid legal status document(I-797) is required. At present, I have only I-539 receipt. Is it possible to apply passport renewal with I-539 document in case of a further delay on H4 Extension.

    Reply
    • Hello Sasi,

      What work around you found. I too having same case.
      My H4 dependent Visa Expired on 31/March/2020 and still waiting for Bio metric Appointment on dated 24/Feb/2021. My kids Indian Passport expired meanwhile. Now looks like deadlock.

      Can we attend Bio-metric Center with Expired Passport ?

      Reply
        • Hi Vishwanath,

          I Received Biometric appointment for April Month and now going to attend with expired passport. What about you ?

          Reply
          • Hi Sasi,

            I appeared for H4 bio metric with expired passport of my kid and they accepted it. In fact they are not looking into expiry date of passport.

            I hope this helps for you.

  40. H1 and H4 + H4ead allied on May 3rd 2020 (regular) – NSC

    H1 approved August 17th
    H4 got message on May 21st that old fingerprint will be applied to the case

    H4 ead is expiring on September 30th so I tried to expedite but got rejected same day.

    Any idea what can be done ??

    Reply
    • What is your h4 receipt date? Also when did you give your biometrics ? I assume during last renewal but knowing exact month & year will greatly help me.

      I am in the same boat as I gave my biometrics last year during h4 extension in August. I applied for another extension this year in July but unsure if they will reuse my previous or send another appointment. So your guidance will be helpful. Thanks!

      Reply
        • Hello Friends,

          Any pointer for below will help !

          This is my first time extension. I received Approval. I missed dependent biometric appointment due to Covid and address change. I responded back to them to reschedule bio-metric and waiting their response since last 2 month.

          It looks like they are using old biometric only if you appeared for extension biometric in USA only.

          Any clue are they using First Time Stamping Biometric Fingerprints.

          Reply
      • I am also on the same boat. I have given my Biometrics on December 11, 2019. I have applied another extension this year in October 15, 2020. Not sure they are going to use the existing Biometrics. I have n’t received any BioMetrics notice yet.

        Thanks

        Reply
  41. Kriti,

    My EAD was approved on sept 9, status changed to “card was mailed on sept 14”. I received the card on Sept 17. So it took less than 10 days to receive the card after it was approved.

    Reply
    • Hi ,
      did you get your card in mail ? How many days did it take to arrive after status -“card is being produced” or approved ?

      Can anyone confirm if we can work on online approval or have to wait for EAD card ?

      Reply
  42. Hi, I am waiting on H4/EAD extension.

    Applied – H1/H4/H4EAD in PP

    Service Center – Texas
    Received Date – Aug 3rd 2020 (H1/H4/H4EAD)
    H1 Approved – Aug 14th, 2020

    No further updates on H4/H4EAD case. My previous biometrics was in April 2019 (last extension).

    Did anyone receive a biometrics appointment recently? Especially for the case submitted in July/Aug?

    Thanks.

    Reply
  43. H1b extension, H4 extension And H4 EAD extension- H1b approved in March 2020.
    H4/H4 EAD receipt date- 3/11/2020
    Initial biometric date-4/7/2020. It was canceled due to COVID.
    June 16- requested expedite for both H4 and H4 EAD. H4 expedite request denied.
    H4 EAD expedite request- received request for evidence- submitted documents on June 25 (I am a MD doctor, so described essential nature of job, and got a letter from work). No updates on status after that.
    Biometric rescheduled to 8/17/20.
    EAD expires on 8/17- my employer is supportive and they let me use PTO.
    8/18- H4 status online updated to “case updated to show fingerprints were taken”.
    Called USCIS after biometric to follow on H4EAD expedite request- it was approved on 8/25.

    9/8- received H4 approval notice in mail dated 9/4.
    9/9- H4 case status updated online to “Case approved”
    9/9- by the end of business day, H4 EAD status updated to “Card is being produced”.
    Waiting for card in mail now.
    Thank you everyone, followed this blog throughout, it was very helpful.

    Reply
    • Congrats! Seems like yours was eligible for expedite but for all tech workers they are just ignoring and denying expedite requests.

      Event though with your line of field, they took this long. Even expedited approvals are joke.

      They approved my H4 last week but no movement on EAD. I thought since my EAD was outside of normal processing time (more than 2 months late), they would approve both H4 and ead together once they get to my H4. But wasn’t the case. 🙁

      Congratulations to you!

      Reply
      • Hi CJ,

        I have never had an issue with H4/H4EAD approvals before this year. I have renewed it twice before. I think the delays happened this time due to the need for biometrics (this was my first biometric) and also due to Covid related shutdown of ASC centers. I don’t think USCIS is approving any expedite requests without biometrics (their customer care person confirmed this on one of my calls to them). My expedite request got approved only once biometrics were done.
        Also I called USCIS multiple times during this process.
        Also I saw some people who filed much later than I did got approved much earlier than me. I also think part of this is luck, some applications are picked up sooner than others. Just follow diligently on your case, hope it works out.

        Btw, I also called USCIS at one point and asked to speak to a tier 2 representative. Usually they have more information than the tier 1 customer service representatives, in case you haven’t tried it. In my case they were not very helpful as my expedite request was already approved by then. But you can try and ask them that your case is outside normal processing times.

        Good luck to you!

        Reply
      • @Priya2020
        We are in kind of the same situation. Biometrics is done. Never requested for expediting the H4 and EAD process. But waiting since May.
        I wanted to try expediting the pending application, how you followed up with expediting the request and what was the acceptable reason you answered. I appreciate your help.

        Reply
        • Nikhil,
          I had requested expedite requests for both H4 and H4EAD before biometrics. But after biometrics were done I called USCIS and asked the customer service representative to add a comment to my request that biometric is done now, few days after that my expedite request for EAD was approved. You can call the USCIS and ask the representative to submit an expedite request. If it’s for job loss/finance loss you can submit documents for any medical expenses, other expenses etc. In my case, since I am in healthcare I mentioned the essential nature of my work for COVID as the reason for expedite. I also submitted a letter from my employer supporting my case.
          Hope this helps!
          Good luck.

          Reply
          • Hi Priya,
            did you get your card in mail ? How many days did it take to arrive after status -“card is being produced” or approved ?

            Can anyone confirm if we can work on online approval or have to wait for EAD card ?

      • Hi all,
        My husband’s H1B got approved on oct 23rd 2020. We’ve filed H1+H4+H4EAD all together. I have never given biometrics in the past, i also have not received any letter from USCIS regarding the fingerprint appointment. How will i know if my case requires biometrics for H4 approval? And when did you all receive the ASC appointment letter after the I-797C receipt notice? Thanks in advance..

        Reply
        • SeaBass,
          If you have not given in past, you are required to give it. It is the rule.
          You can call the USCIS helpline too.
          Usually they come around the same time or about few days before or after. There are delays in getting biometrics notices…

          Reply
          • Is there a number to call, the generic number nobody picks the call. only autoimated responses. How to get to talk to a tier-1 or tier-2 rep who is a human?
            when can we raise a service request? after how many days?

            Thanks,
            Seabass

        • I am also in the same boat. I have given my Biometrics on December 11, 2019 last year. I have applied for another extension this year on October 15th, 2020. Not sure they are going to use the existing Biometrics. I haven’t received any BioMetrics notice yet.

          Thanks
          Manorama

          Reply
      • Hi,
        I had scheduled for the biometric appointment on March 18 th and cancelled due to pandemic for h4 . But no official letter from them and didn’t make it due to office closure. Still haven’t received my biometric reschedule from OAKLAND center. please help me out this situation..

        Reply
  44. My H4 and H4 EAD extension got approved. I just wanted to share my timeline.
    Receipt date – April 14th
    H1 underlying – approved in 3 days
    Biometrics – July 27th
    Expedite 1 – August 4th through phone, rejected in 5 days even without request for documents
    Expedite 2- August 14th through local Congressman
    New card produced – August 28th
    Both changed to approved – August 31st.

    Reply
        • My Receipt Date is May 8th but i haven’t received BIO METRIC Appointment yet.
          Not sure what should i do. Tried Calling USCIS no help so far and i cant expedite without Biometric.
          Any suggestions?

          Reply
          • Hi ,
            Even I had not received my Biometric information but then i raised a service request on the USCIS website…the one where its says “Did not receive notice by mail” and then mention that there is no information about your biometrics.
            I did that and they have updated to scheduled for biometrics
            Hope this will help

    • Hi Sharanya ,

      I am in the same situation as was you. My first expedite request is rejected for H4+EAD for my spouse and H4 for kid even without asking for documents.

      Will you please share insight on how to approach local congressman and what should I ask them to raise expedite request.

      Reply
      • Hi Sharanya,

        I am in a very bad situation. My H4+EAD extension is almost close a year and has made no progress.
        Receipt date : June 6th 2020
        Biometrics : April 23rd 2021
        Expedite 1 : through phone call REJECTED.
        Expedite 2 : I approached the local congressman to help expedite.
        May 3rd 2021: Expedite request sent through congressman to USCIS
        May 4th 2021: My EAD application status changed to – ” Name was updated”
        It is May 13th and still no update.

        Did you have a similar update as mine that said ” Name was updated”. Can you please provide more details?

        Appreciate it!
        Thanks

        Reply

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