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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 

   

Other Articles

4,515 Comments

  1. Biometrics date is May 6th
    We expedited back in May around 37th, many times in July not sure what dates we did as we tried many times.
    Will update the end date after I know more when i receive the card

    Reply
  2. Got my H4EAD approved today. @Nebraka Service Center

    H1+H4+H4EAD in PP – receive date is May 7th @ NSC
    H1 approved – May 9th
    H4 – Pending
    Biometric Appt – May 17th
    H4 EAD – New Card produced Aug 13th

    Reply
      • LIN19165516XX.

        Litigation not filed. But tried to expedite, which got denied.

        I have one more complication.. . I applied for COS from H1 to H4 10 days back (I had H1 few years back) and it also got approved today. Now need to analyze situation with dates and current status :(.

        Reply
    • Hi RB,

      Once you receive your card, can you just check and post here if your EAD is extended to a date same as your primary H1 applicant’s current visa end date. I was worried that EAD gets extended to current petition end date and not the new approved petition end date. Thanks in advance

      Reply
    • Thanks RB for sharing. Do share us how the dates would work out and timing of H4 arrival vs H1B arrival. I have added the case to above article for general guidance on timelines though.

      Reply
      • Thanks Kumar.
        Both my H4 and H1 approvals are on same day 8/13. They both had same I94 numbers also.
        H4 i94 is upto end of Jan 2020
        H1 i94 is upto end of Dec 2020

        Any idea on what status I am in now?. My attorney says I am in H1 as COS from H4 to H1 is applied.

        Reply
        • Very interesting…same day…
          Well, go with your attorney advise. Also, logically thinking your most recent application was for COS from H4 to H1 right ? If so, it makes sense as that is that latest action or last action…You can call USCIS as well or visit their office to get clarity.

          Reply
  3. Hello Everyone

    Got my H4EAD approved yesterday. This is my case
    H1+H4+H4EAD in PP – receive date is April 15th NSC
    H1 approved in a week
    H4 – Pending
    H4 EAD – New Card produced Aug 12th

    Tried everything Senate, Congressman and USCIS direct Expedite request. Got denied request atleast 4 times. Happy that it was approved yesterday as my current EAD ends Aug 28th. Didnt 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 wouldnt affect my EAD extension on time so in my case not filing was a good option. Good Luck everyone. My receipt no. is LIN191495XXXX

    Reply
  4. This is now getting too frustrating… when ppl who applied in May and June have started getting their approvals and April 2nd receipt date is yet to get approved

    Reply
  5. Curious about receipt numbers, I see all receipt numbers with WAC19197XXXXX currently getting approved, I submitted in June and my receipt number starts with WAC1922, any 192 got approved or other status than case received?

    Reply
  6. Hi Guys,
    My timelines as below.

    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
    May 4th, 2019 -> H4 Biomterics Appointment Notice Received with an Appointment Date on May 13th, 2019
    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”

    Took 12 days from Received Date for H1B Transfer to be Approved.
    Took 15 days from Received Date to get the H4 Biomterics Appointment Notice.
    Took 24 Days from Received Date for the H4 Biometrics Appointment
    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.

    Reply
  7. Here is my Experience

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

    Reply
    • Could you please share your receipt number until the last three digits please.
      My Receipt date is April 11th too. Biometrics was done on April 29th. I haven’t received the approval yet.

      Reply
      • 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
        Like all other cases H4 case status is not updated. Both approvals (H4 and H4 EAD) and card will come in mail.

        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.

        Reply
  8. • Service Center : Nebraska
    • H1B + H4+H4EAD Filed in Premium : April 11, 2019
    • H1B Approved : April 18, 2019
    • Biometric Appointment: May 1, 2019
    • Expedite request rejected 2 times
    • Status changed to “New Card Is Being Produced”: August 6, 2019
    • Status changed to “Case Was Approved”: August 7, 2019
    • Waiting for the physical copies
    o H4 Approved after 117 Days from initial application date
    o H4 Approved after 97 Days from Bio-metrics Completion
    o Joined RN law group litigation(July 5th)
    o My existing EAD will expire on August 15, received just in time ?

    Reply
  9. Finally. 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
    H4/EAD approved – 8th Aug.

    PS – called USCIS to expedite under severe financial loss, they did not ask for any documents. Mentioned the loss of job.

    Reply
  10. H4-EAD NSC approval details.

    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 rcvd.
    H4 EAD approved on Aug 8th 2019
    Card ordered on Aug 8th 2019.
    No change in H4 status. Assuming it is approved since H4 EAD approval is dependent on it.

    Reply
    • H4EAD-NSC – Are there two separate links to check H4EAD and H4 status. I do not get to see H4 EAD status separately on this link – https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do

      Reply
      • The receipt numbers for H4 and H4EAD are different. You could create an account on uscis and add your receipt numbers to your account. This way you will receive notifications as soon as there is a change in status.

        Reply
    • Thanks for sharing. I have added your case info to the article for everyone benefit. Do update here once you get the H4 approval notice.

      Reply
      • Kumar,
        Thanks for maintaining this site. It is a treasure govenor information and was very helpful in calming my nerves during these stressful times.

        Here is an update:
        We received the physical EAD card on the 14th of Aug. EAD was approved on the 8th as mentioned in the above comment.

        Reply
  11. My H4EAD status says now “New Card Is Being Produced” but H4 is “Case was Received”. Any idea why is it so?

    Service center – NSC

    Reply
  12. We applied an extension for H1b+H4+HEAD in PP at Nebraska.
    We got receipt stating that Case was received June 19th.
    H1B approval status updated on June 27.
    We got Biometric appointment date on 07/10/2019.
    Now status for H4 is changed to Fingerprint Review was completed today as of 07/11/2019.
    H4 and Ead Expiration date: Nov 08 2019

    Reply
  13. I wanted to give an update, H4 approved through CSC
    6/14 biometric appointment
    8/2 approved
    8/6 received by attorney
    Online status was never updated, read Biometric fee received for several months, then case approved on 8/2
    No expedite request placed. Good luck to all

    Reply
    • @Sam,

      Can you please share the first four digits of your receipt number please? I gave my biometric at the same time, so it would really help me. Thanks! – sindhu

      Reply
    • Hello,

      I applied for standalone H4 EAD RD:4/30/2019 at Vermont Center. I haven’t received any update on my case so I have called them and raised SR. When I check the status of my SR I see multiple statuses from 8/1 like case was assigned to officer > we sent a response to your req to have your case expedited> your req to have your case expedited was completed.

      But I haven’t received any email or update from USCIS. Does this mean my req was denied?

      Reply
    • I asked to Expedite process by Customer care for H4 / H4 EAD renewal , mine was June 20th Received date at Vermont,
      My EAD is expiring this month end.
      They denied it without asking for any evidence saying You did not provide evidence of an extreme emergent need.

      I got to know that u need to fax documents immediately to have a chance while on the call with the customer service.

      Hope this experience helps someone.

      Reply
      • This is mixed response. Some users told that they did not submit any documents, but got expedited when they told regarding their job loss, etc.
        How did you get to know that you need to fax ? Can you share more details on who informed so ?

        Reply
        • I expedited based on reading the experiences here on this website , I read on couple of different forums where the users had the same experience of Rejection that you need to ask CSR of fax number to attach documentation, U will have at least a chance for them to review the documentation , and its entirely luck
          based on the officer who reviews your request. now my status is updated as

          we denied your request for expedite processing of your Form I-539, Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, Receipt Number EAC192065****. You did not provide evidence of an extreme emergent need.

          Reply
          • You’re correct. It happend same to me. In the call they mentioned that they need documentation, and I said i can provide my insurance declined bills as part of my surgery and other stuff. Then they said, we can raise the expedite request, if documentation required we will let you know. As I know, i will get the same response, I informed them I will provide the documentation. In the end, they said not needed at this moment. End of the story, we denied your expedite request.

          • Just an FYI….
            Someone had mentioned that if your expedite case denied you can again try placing a call in the hope that the new request might be assigned to someone else.
            I did the same and the CSR guy had the logs with him. He simply mentioned that I had already placed a request earlier and that got denied and also refused to place one more as it didn’t make sense. A big embarrassment :-(!!!

          • yeah, it is based on luck…I am not sure, if sending fax immediately will help, but does not hurt…If they ask for anything, then you need to send…

  14. Its Weird!!! I called USCIS asking for a status and requesting to raise a Service Request. They said they cannot do it my case falls in the stated 2.5 – 5 months processing time limit. I thought we were allowed to request a SR after 75 days.
    Not sure if this also depends on luck and and the guy on the other side of the call :-/

    Reply
    • What is Weird ? Where did you get this 75 days from, that’s weird
      USCIS is correct, you cannot raise SR before 5months (if that is that your processing center time)

      Reply
  15. 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.

    Reply
    • Thank you for sharing. Please update the community here once you receive the card, approval notices. I have added your case info to the above article for everyone benefit.

      Reply
    • Hi Anon,

      Could you please let us know the reasons you have specified for severe financial loss if you don’t mind.? That would be helpful for most of us.

      Reply
  16. I am in a difficult situation now. Current Ead and h4 expire aug 28th. And RN groups next filing is aug 16th and we need to enroll if we want to hold litigation with them between aug 2nd and 7th. My recve date is April 15th nebraska and see some approvals lately from there around starting april. Should I still hope on waiting or file litigation ? If I wait in normal process , it will be Sept 15th the latest to get approval as it Mark’s down the 5 month from uscis processing times. If I go with litigation also need to wait around 35 days atleast for approval which ends around that same time frame. Kindly throw some thoughts on what’s good for me.

    Reply
    • I am in exactly the same situation. H4 receipt date is 17th April and current EAD expires on Sept 1st. But for now I am not thinking of filing a litigation.I think we should get the EAD card by 1st or 2nd week of September. And as you have said, with litigation it will be around Sept 15th. So might as well wait and not go through all the litigation process. Till then try reaching the congressman again.

      This is my opinion.

      Reply
    • Hi @Hima,

      I already quit my job .but my manager keeps asking me for update of my EAD .My EAD got expired on 18th july and my H4 EAD renewal filed on May 13th still waiting for approval.Now thinking to join August 16th litigation.
      if it is 15-20 days delay so i don’t think your manager will mind to rehire you.

      Reply
    • Hi Hima,

      I’m in the exact same situation and i couldn’t decide if filing the litigation would help. Did you already approach your manager or are you still waiting?

      Reply
    • I reached RN law firm for Aug 2 litigation in the mid of July, as my EAD expires on Aug 19. They clearly mentioned that case will not be approved as per the timelines. It will take min 30 days-65 days for them to take a action. So, based on their suggestions I haven’t joined the litigation.
      In my opinion, you will also fall under same boat. If you join with them or not you will loose your job. As we see couple of approvals in Nebraska for April. You can save money with out joining litigation.

      Reply
  17. 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
    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.

    Reply
    • KUMAR:

      I would like to thank you for creating this forum as this was the only website that I used on a routine check. Information shared helped in maintaining hope and kept us aware of the change in process.

      Once again, thank you!

      Reply
      • I had my biometrics done on May 28th, CSC. But mine wasn’t premium, no EAD attached only H1 to H4 cos. They are even not touching regular H4s it seems 🙂 And here I thought CSC would be faster.

        Congratulations…

        Reply
    • Thank you for sharing. Please do share with the community once you receive the H4 and H4 EAD notices. I have updated your case info above article for everyone benefit.

      Reply
  18. Hello Kumar,

    I am in a very tricky situation. Please help! By the time i was supposed to get my ead approval my leasing was ending so i updated my address in uscis, address change. But my card was in being produced status. As i was not able yo stay in the sane apartment i vacated and ask my friend to check my letter box. Usps website shows my ead card was delivered in online status in my old address but when my friend checked out my letter box he found apartment vacate card from post mail and their was no ead card over there.
    Now please tell me what can i do as usps office is closed on sunday and my monday i will be in different state. I also lost my job so cant stay unnecessary in that state so i relocated. Will i get my card or i have to re apply? Or will uscis or usps can help?

    Expected urgent reply!
    Thanks

    Reply
    • 1) you can call USPS customer care and request for mail forwarding.
      2) Ask you friend to visit near by USPS office, they should have the mail if not already sent it back to USCIS.

      Reply
    • I had the same situation like you in 2015. Card lost in mail due to change in address and could not find it in either post office or in old apartment mail box. Unfortunately I had to reapply for the card and as per their norms I can only reapply after 1 month of duration after their card delivered. It was all over again same process I went which took another 3 months to received second card.

      Reply
    • I had the same situation a couple of years ago.

      – Search for your post office on USPS web site. Get the local number. It is there on their web site. Call your post office directly.

      – Explain the situation. They will be able to tell you where it was delivered or who received it. Most likely it will be the apartment front office. Get a contact name at the post office for follow-up calls.

      – For me, even though the status showed as delivered, for some reason the mail was still with the post office.

      – I gave them the new address and they forwarded it to me.

      – I had to call them multiple times to get this done though.

      Reply
      • USCIS has implemented more secure mail delivery in 2018.. not sure, if they do forwards now… Call USCIS or USPS and confirm..,.
        Check : https://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-information/how-track-delivery-your-green-card-employment-authorization-document-ead-and-travel-document

        Reply
          • I changed the address when h4 ead card was generated and h4 name was updated. So h4 arrived on new address. Put last name sticker in the letterbox. But h4 ead arrived at the old address early. It was returned to usps but my case status was updated as delivered. So I requested hold on the mail at usps and opened service request and AR at uscis. Went to usps office and collected .from supervisor. Ead card was already packed in return envelope. We waited for mailman to arrive for 2 hours and then he told supervisor where he has kept. As a thankyou note for usps we gifted them with dunkin donuts . 🙂

          • That’s awesome. You managed it well. Good gesture to give them donuts !
            What is the last name sticker ? You just called USPS or did it online ?

          • Me and my spouse last name is different . As on new address my last name was not present in the letter box. I ask someone to add a sticker with my last name and paste it in letterbox, otherwise My h4 document would have returned to usps on new address also.

  19. Hi Guys,

    Finally H4 approved! I might be a lucky one or maybe some fluke case!
    Here’s my timeline.

    H1/H4 filled under PP – May 16th in CSC
    H1 approved – May 22nd
    H4 biometric done – June 7th
    H4 approved – July 30th
    H4 paper received -Aug 1st

    I still have my daughter’s H4 to be approved. But getting my H4 was a relief because I live in NJ and after many unsuccessful tries I was without DL. Initially I was planning on traveling to India for stamping, but decided not to take than chance and some luck of mine paid off.

    I did make a call to USCIS around mid of June to find out how long it would take. They said that the timeline is 6-8months and I’m on track. I requested them saying that I have no DL and its very tough with 2 young kids. But they said they can’t help me with that. But looking at my approval now, I feel maybe that trigged it too.

    Thank you Kumar for your thread, because this is the only source which kept me going for all these days.

    Reply
    • Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear….I have updated your case to the main thread as well for everyone benefit. Do update, once you have your daughter H4 is approved as well. The call maybe not, because, they would tell if they plan to expedite it…

      Reply
  20. I understand what you say but wish its just easy if we got it asap than thinking about this, I am sure you cant take pay for your work when after ur ead expired , your employer had ur copy of ead and he will know everything anyways if uscis doesn’t know

    Reply
  21. Service Center : Nebraska

    H1B + H4 Filed in Premium : March 28th 2019
    H1B Approved : April 5th 2019
    H4 EAD Filed : April10th 2019
    Biometric Appointment: April16th 2019
    H4 Approval : August 1st ,2019
    H4 EAD – Still Pending

    Reply
  22. Oops! I got my ead approved but my position was filled by new joiners. So again I have to start giving Interviews. Again change location, just for a month delay I lost not only salary , now I don’t know how many months it will take to start working again.

    Reply
    • Hi Vanya! Sorry for your loss! However congrats on EAD approval and best wishes for your job hunt!

      My wife lost her job as well because of H4EAD delays and many others have or are on the verge of losing.

      Do you mind giving us a timeline of your case? The date of application, USCIS center, any expedite requests or joining the litigation

      Thank you!

      Reply
      • @Neer

        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 .

        Reply
      • Do anyone knows what happen if I continue my job after my H4 EAD expires and waiting on H4 EAD approval. Please share the info. Thanks.

        Reply
        • You cannot work without a valid work authorization, it is against the USCIS policy and you will be violating the terms of your Nonimmigrant Visa status. If your EAD category is C(26), there is no automatic extension and you have to cease employment the day your EAD expires.

          Reply
          • Thank you for a quick response.
            I understand your point. I think i didn’t ask question in right way.
            I wanted to ask is that how USCIS or IRS will come to know that an Individual is still working beyond the H4 EAD expiration date. Another point is, as the renewal is in process and if it approves the start date for the EAD will be the end date of the current EAD expiry date.

            I hope I am not making this complex.

          • USCIS uses the I-9 system for employment verification which in turn will use your SSN for I-9 verification. Your wages and paystubs are tied to SSN and you will report that income to IRS and file tax returns which you will probably need to attach to immigration related documentation when you file I-485 and such. Once USCIS can see you have wages reported on W2 while you were not authorized to work, I dont think it is hard to know. Now if you dont use SSN, it is not clear how they can know. As far as EAD dates go, I think it will start on the date they approve and not backdate to when you request the EAD to start.

        • W2 is for whole year not by month to month. There is no way IRS or USCIS would know that you had worked when your EAD is in process.

          Yes i agree it is illegal way to work beyond expiration date. But there is no way anyone would know that you worked when EAD pending.

          Reply
          • @Smita
            If you have good relationship with your employer and he pay you in cash then no problem, instead if there is any paycheck generated for the dates after your EAD expiration then there might be a problem. When you or your spouse apply for GreenCard (say I-485) everything gets scrutinized (your monthly pay checks, W2, tax returns you filed etc etc). There is a possibility for USCIS to miss couple of paychecks but what if they don’t ?
            Need to think, is it really worth risking GreenCard for couple of months of salary.

          • Everyone, do NOT engage in anything that violates your status. Please do NOT be misguided by anyone’s advice to take cash or USCIS will not know, etc…If your H4 EAD expired, please stop working for your better future and being in lawful status. There are many things people assume that USCIS cannot track or IRS would not know, etc….but trust me anything can be tracked, if they want to dig in…When you visit a store, just because no one is watching you or no CCTV in place, you cannot just steal stuff and run…be careful…all it takes is one mistake to end your future in US !

          • Even if W2 is for the whole year, how will you justify making $80,000 if your EAD was valid for only part of the yearif IRS were to further question or audit your tax returns? Do you think getting paid under the table for 2-3 months is worth taking the risk and jeopardizing your legal status and getting banned for 20-30 years? Like Kumar said, DO NOT engage in unauthorized employment thinking USCIS or IRS cannot track things, trust me they can do and it is just a matter of when they will.

          • My husband’s h1b extension & my h4 extension were filed by his employer in PP. We did not file for my H4 EAD extension. My husband received the approval for h1b electronically within a week of his application. My h4 extension is still pending. The status of my h4 application is ” biometrics recieved” and application is being processed at California Service Center.

            My current H4 EAD expires dec 6th. I would like to know if I can apply for my EAD renewal before my h4 extension is approved?

          • You can, but the tricky part is that you may get RFE asking for H4 approval, if they get to your H4 EAD before the H4 Approval. It is slightly a tricky situation…One thing you can consider doing is to travel out, get H4 stamping and return on H4, then apply for H4 EAD…You can also submit a letter to withdraw your H4 application when you travel out. This way you would still have few months for H4 EAD processing…Discuss with your spouse’s H1B attorney and seek guidance.

  23. Saw this on FB from someone:

    I got my h4 and h4 EAD approved yesterday from Nebraska. Filed on April 2nd and Biometrics on April 25th.

    Reply
      • Yes. I do not know what order they follow, but they take a random date ( any date after March 9th – worst case date for today), and do around 50 applications for that day. They do it for many dates at the same time. So few on 28th March are approved on same day as April 5 and April 15. So yours might be approved anytime in these 20 days. They do the same for F1 students. Some from June are approved and some from March are still waiting. So chill. You are Lucky as yours was filed in March. You will receive it this month definitely.

        Reply
        • Hello All,
          Does any one know if we can work once the H4 EAD is approved or do we need to wait for H4 Visa approval too? I have applied for extension of H4 & H4EAD together but H4 is still pending.
          Thank you.

          Reply
          • You need the physical H4 EAD card to work. In general, most of the times, they arrive together…It is good to wait for few days to get H4 as well, so that you have proper h4 status, when you start work.

      • My application is Mar 26th and still pending..Hope we get it approved this month. My EAD is expiring on Aug 21st. Let me know if hear anything. Thank you

        Reply
  24. Hello Everyone,

    Firstly, below is the case timeline – filed at Nebraska:

    5/22 – USCIS received H1/H4/EAD extenstion application in Regular processing.
    05/27 – EAD docs sent back due to some errors in filing.
    06/01 – Mailed the paper EAD application back to USCIS.
    06/04 – Case updated on USCIS website as “My case has been received” for EAD.
    06/13 – Biometrics completed.
    06/15 – Placed on LOP as current EAD expired.
    07/17 – H1 upgraded to premium.
    07/21 – H1 extension approved.

    H4 and EAD pending……

    I am on Loss Of Pay since 06/15 and it has been a bit difficult time since then.
    I am planning to join the litigation but before I reach out to the attorneys would highly appreciate if someone can advise if my case timeline is a fit for the same?

    Regards

    Reply
  25. @Kumar.. what are the implications of joining the litigation ? As it seems that is the only option to get it in time.

    Reply
    • You may be cutting close and the online status does not fully reflect the reality. If you try using the forward option of USPS, that may be better. You can try calling USCIS support and then act accordingly.

      Reply
    • Employers have to update the Form I-9 with the new expiration date. Unpaid leave seems to be a continued employment which may not be legal. Would advise checking https://www.uscis.gov/i-9

      Reply
        • Please go through this guideline on page no.2 and 3. It will help your employer make a decision whether you can go on unpaid leave or not.

          https://assets.fragomen.com/s3fs-public/andrew_greenfield_westlaw_article.pdf

          It is very interesting. Do read.

          Reply
          • Satya, that is a very interesting article, thanks for sharing. My EAD expires 9/13 and my employer mentioned I will be placed on unpaid leave if the renewal does not come on time. Interestingly, my employer’s immigration attorney is Fragomen Del ray and my understanding is that our HR got similar answers from them.

  26. Hi All,

    Need your help or suggestion on next steps with my spouse H4EAD.

    Applied H4 and H4EAD in April 15 at NSC.
    Due to emergency she travelled to India and H4 stamping is done through Dropbox
    She will be back in USA shortly, but still H4 and EAD is pending with NSC
    She will loose her job if EAD is not approved within this month
    What should be our next step?
    Should we leave that applications with NSC as is?
    Or
    Should we withdraw H4 applied at NSC and submit H4 stamping and i94 for EAD application?

    Appreciate your suggestions.

    Reply
    • Well, really hard to say…because you applied long time ago, you may get it anytime. You can try calling them to see, if your case is assigned to someone or not…Try creating an expedite request, sometimes they say that your case is already with an officer or not….As we do not have definite timelines, very hard to make a decision….Look at some timelines that users have shared in above article and then make a decision.

      Reply
  27. 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
    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 .

    Reply
  28. What’s everyone doing if there is a gap from expiration to ead to approval time? Taking unpaid leave or talking with employer? How should we face that awkward time ?

    Reply
  29. As per Nebraska processing time (USCISwebsite), for H4 EAD – the estimated time rang is 2.5 – 5.5 months, and they are currently processing the receipt date March 1st.
    Do you guys know if this is correct and can be relied upon?

    Reply
    • I think 5.5 month is the limit for ‘Outside normal processing times’. Currently, date for which you can submit an inquiry is February 16. So I guess very few have reached that.

      Reply
  30. Hello all,

    Does anybody know when R&N is filing their next litigation? We missed the timeline for Aug 2nd, so we are aiming for the next litigation? How long is it taking to get approvals after filing the litigation?

    Reply
  31. What is the average no of days it takes to get H4/EAD approved after filing the application. My application is submitted in California. Its been 3 months today. My application was filed on 04/26. Biometrics on 05/15.

    Reply
    • I already tried to expedite using phone and using congressmen. Both of them rejected. My company gave them letter stating losses involved. Not sure what else they are expecting. Can I try expedite again.

      Reply
    • My application is also pending at California Service Center since April 3rd. I have completed my Bio metrics on April 22nd and still no updates. I am not sure how are they processing these applications?

      Reply
    • There is no definite timeline as such after Biometrics. Read the experiences in above article to get an average estimate.

      Reply
  32. Hi guys,

    Wanted to update, that h4 and h4 ead from CSC is approved

    Time line

    May 10th 2019 — h1b,h4,h4ead applied in PP
    May 17th 2019– h1 b approved
    June 7th 2019 — h4 biometric Completed
    July 25 2019 — h4, h4 ead got approved

    Hope this helps for the people who are around same timeline.

    Thanks guys

    Reply
  33. H1B +H4+H4EAD Applied at Nebraska Service Center 5/24/19
    H1B Approved 5/31
    Bio Metrics Done 6/21
    H4,H4EAD awaiting …
    Current H4EAD valid till 08/14
    Can we file H4 litigation case?

    Reply
  34. Processing Center: Nebraska
    6/7: H1B + H4 + H4 EAD PP
    6/11: H1B Approved
    6/21: Biometrics Completed
    Waiting Waiting Waiting for H4 and EAD approval..

    Reply
  35. Processing Center: Nebraska
    H1 +H4+H4 EAD filed under PP on April 15th.(4/15)
    H1 Approved: 4/22
    H4 Bio-metric completed: 5/10
    Current H4EAD Valid till Aug 31, still waiting for approval

    Reply
  36. Hi,

    Did anyone have luck with just expediting through USCIS if you are the primary insurance holder and have medical reasons and will loose your job if it’s not approved before the current ead expiry?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Guys,

      wanted to share positive news, Today Finally got my approval from CSC

      My timelines

      May 10th, 2019 –> H1B, H4, H4EAD renewal applied in Premium
      May 17th, 2019 — > H1B approved
      June 7th, 2019 –> H4 biometric completed
      June 21st, 2019 — > Request to expedite H4 EAD based on Severe financial loss to self& Company.
      July 15th,2019 — > Request to expedite Via Local congressman.
      July 26th, 2019 –> Status changed to Approved

      Hope this timeline help to friends waiting with the same timeline.

      Reply
      • Hi An H4,

        upon expedite request, did your case history reflected something like that ” your request to have your case expedited, referral number xxxxxxx, was completed.
        if yes, after how many days did you get response either by mail? or direct approval.

        because in my case, on July 22 it shows above message but no response after that…

        Reply

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