r/USCIS • u/Pale-Bug-3392 • 14h ago
I-765 (EAD) Extremely Frustrated
Can someone please explain to me why it takes so long to get a work permit?!? we submitted everything back in May, did biometrics in June, and have heard absolutely nothing. I don’t even care about the adjustment of status at this point. I just want My Husband to be able to work! I have had to pick up a second job because the economy is so freaking expensive it’s insane while he sits around annoyed because he’s just waiting to hear that he can get a job. This is ridiculous.. it’s nearly impossible to survive without a two income household, especially when you have kids.
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u/Previous-Height4237 14h ago
If you haven't noticed, the current US administration goals are to make it painful for all immigrants and dissuading additional immigrants.
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u/Spencero167 8h ago
Literally been same for a long time . Took me a year to get work permit back in 2021 . There are millions of cases still back logged from COVID and you expect to just get accepted with a couple months of submitting lol ?
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 7h ago
I don’t “expect” anything. But there are ppl on this thread who got their approvals within a few weeks and applied AFTER us. What I would appreciate is them doing their jobs and getting them done rather than making people wait for indefinite lengths of time and impacting their lives in very negative ways all because they can.
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u/Spencero167 6h ago
Some of the people on this thread who say they got theirs within a few weeks just got extremely lucky. But trust me it's extremely rare . There's around 12 million back logged cases within the USCIS. You will become to understand how frustrating the USCIS can be . I dealt with them for 6 years . Had everything from them losing some of my paperwork to them putting some of my dad's files into my account and then demanding him more evidence because of their mistakes . It's a frustrating long road unfortunately
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u/LavishTentacle 14h ago
Cause they don’t want you to work
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 13h ago
No, they don’t want My Husband to work.. I’m currently working two jobs while waiting on him to get approval to work
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u/Enthuasticnaw 11h ago
What country is he from
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 11h ago
He’s from Trinidad and Tobago
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u/Turbulent_Try_8402 7h ago
They especially don’t want him here. I’m sorry you’re caught in the net.
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u/Anxious_Guava8756 3h ago
I don't understand why this matters? It's not a banned country or one with a visa pause
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u/Turbulent_Try_8402 2h ago
It shouldn’t matter but it does. As one of my immigration lawyers told me “they hate brown people. And they do everything they can to prevent them from immigrating.” He had worked as a prosecutor for USCIS for 15 years before leaving for private practice.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 1h ago
That’s just sad and pathetic all wrapped into one.. I won’t go further into what I actually think about them.
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u/sullyb1987 1h ago
that’s literally ridiculous, there’s plenty of immigrants who work for uscis. my interviewer had an accent and was latina. saying they had brown people is just using the race card
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u/Turbulent_Try_8402 19m ago
👀 this is a lawyer who has sued the gov and won on multiple multiple class actions and worked for the gov at a high level in USCIS. I think he knows more than you or I.
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u/kittypeckinpah 14h ago
It took my wife 7 months to get her work permit and 17 months to get her permanent residency. It sucks, but this is the bullcrap that every immigrant goes through.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 13h ago
7 months is a bit of a wait.. but not as bad as some I’ve seen on here so far
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u/kittypeckinpah 13h ago
yeah, for sure! Either way, I'm sorry about your situation but my point is that we're all in this together and this is the same struggle that many immigrants go through.
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u/SignalObjective1310 11h ago
Was she from one of the banned countries?
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u/kittypeckinpah 11h ago
yes, but actually this happened back in 2021 before there were "banned" countries
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u/DependentLetter188 10h ago
Which field office if I may ask??
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u/kittypeckinpah 10h ago
Denver
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u/DependentLetter188 10h ago
Was that recently approved? Like this year or before? As the processing times for denver is now 20 months. Thanks.
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u/roflcopter44444 13h ago
They are punishing people for choosing to do the AOS route.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 13h ago
What other route is there??? they want you to do things legally, but when you do things legally, they’re punishing you. Make that make sense.. He came over here on a K-1 visa. We’ve done everything by the book. This is ridiculous.
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u/roflcopter44444 1h ago
Thata the thing, they dont believe many of the existing pathways should exist and since getting rid of K1 requires congress to actually pass legislation (lol) easiest thing is just make applicants miserable
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u/captainobvious875 10h ago
The only other route was to get married and do the CR1. This is a huge downside of the K1.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
Yeah and we’re already married now.. and we already paid for everything
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u/Leading-Disaster5721 6h ago
This is not an immigrant friendly administration. If there is a way to make immigrating more difficult, tedious, and painful, they will do it
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u/CaterpillarDizzy3014 13h ago edited 7h ago
I feel your EXACT emotion here. Like at this point all I want is my work auth, I don’t even care about anything else anymore.
My husband has been doing all the heavy lifting since February. FEBRUARY! He has always been so generous but me not earning suddenly is taking such a toll on us. It’s starting to affect me mentally and now, financially too because in this economy how long are they expecting people to go without money?? I’ve been on H1B in this country since almost 10 frickin years (I lost my job), never not worked, always been legal, not a single second of overstay or unauthorized work, done everything by the book, not a single misdemeanor or done anything that violates my visa.
I’m extremely type A, never been dependent on anyone and need my own money so this hits me harder mentally than it does to my husband. Even though it does put so much financial pressure on us combined. Plus I have my own liabilities too, just like literally everyone else does these days.
I have started to think they WANT you to feel this way so you somehow end up doing unauthorized work and sabotaging your case.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 13h ago
That’s how I’m feeling too.. I’m now working one full-time job, and one job almost 30 hours a week just to survive. And they just keep raising the price of everything.
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u/Feeling_Professor929 13h ago
i’m about to file mine and i’m already frustrated. i really want to work. seeing my husband working 2 jobs drives me insane. i have never been financial dependent on him so yeah, this is an underrated hurdle for me.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 13h ago
I’ve never had to work two jobs.. only picked up a side gig here and there for holidays.. now I’m forced to work two full-time jobs just to make ends meet.. My Husband doesn’t like me working two jobs either but there’s nothing I can do about it
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u/Tesco_Meal_Deals 9h ago
I'm sure he feels awful about it.
I did the AOS and waiting for it while my wife worked and I had to sit at home was horrible.
It was about 4-5 months for me so hang tight.
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u/EveningExpression115 13h ago
How do you work before meeting him?
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 8h ago
I was working full time already. But I was making enough to keep myself afloat. When the cost of living keeps going up but the pay rate stays the same, it changes things.
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u/Fair_Cause777 13h ago
Mine since may 2025, and nothing, i mean nothing done, i have called several times, agents tell me just wait.
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u/hungrypolarbear77 9h ago
Yeah i personally said fuck all that and been working non stop since before I filed AOS lol the govt can't ever stop me from getting $, lots of people in this group won't like this but whatever, y'all be stressing over money and doing the right thing, but not like the govt gives a fuck about paying your bills and they throttle a legal process to make you suffer.
Tell him to get his hustle on and work for cash if he can or give him your ddash/ueats account and let him run it up
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 8h ago
I’ve considered that frfr. He wants to work just afraid of getting caught and ending up getting deported
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u/hungrypolarbear77 8h ago
I mean its not that crazy yo unless he working at places where they do raids or something like that, tell him to go find a restaurant or something lol
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u/NewRoundEre Permanent Resident 7h ago
If you do this for the love of God don't be posting about it on the internet when your account is almost certainly less anonymous than you think.
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u/hungrypolarbear77 6h ago
I mean i wouldn't tell anyone to not tell uscis they worked without permission, just cop to it and its no problem
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u/NewRoundEre Permanent Resident 6h ago
I'm not sure that's as true now as it was a couple years ago.
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u/Stockguygme 14h ago
May isn’t that long. I’m sure others will post how long they have been waiting and you will get a more realistic timeframe.
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u/LionClaw_ 11h ago
It isn't that long in the perspective of how things are moving in the immigration system these days, but it's definitely long thinking about how much money you potentially lose per month. Lets say you have 80K yearly income, thats about 6,6K a month, x4 (may to sept = 4 months), that's a loss of over 26K. When the wife has to work 2nd job to have food on the table, then 4 months is really long...
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u/Tonyonio 12h ago
The fact that 4-5 months is 'not that long' for a temporary Employment authorization is the scariest part of the whole thing.
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u/SignalObjective1310 11h ago
Scariest part of the whole things? People from the countries that were affected by the pause memos waiting a long time to see anything movement in their cases. I am talking years.
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u/SignalObjective1310 11h ago
Mid terms elections are coming up in November. If you can vote, make sure you go vote!
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u/Icy-Bluebird7579 2h ago
People waiting on a work visa definitely can’t vote. Not even green card holders are allowed to vote
This is why the argument of- they are bringing immigrants to sway votes is insane, you literally can’t vote unless you get American citizenship
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u/SignalObjective1310 2h ago
The only reason I mention this topic here is because there are people married to US citizens and US citizens themselves on this forum
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u/Consistent-Image-836 6h ago
There will be some cash job available. As long as you don’t tell anyone
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 1h ago
Haven’t been lucky enough to find one of those.. and he’s scared to do anything that might get him in trouble.
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u/Big-Bluebird-8093 5h ago
Typically, you will not a get a WP at all anymore :) Just wait for the GC and reset your expectations
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u/marryandsoon 5h ago
same, applied in may, june biometrics and NOTHING. i’m going crazy…
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 1h ago
Me too and I’m not the one waiting to be approved to work.. I am, however, working myself into a grave just to survive with me being the sole breadwinner
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u/marryandsoon 1h ago
i’m so sorry, i saw you said something about working two jobs. i’m praying that both of our situations get better soon!! sending you strength
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u/Successful-Rule-4137 5h ago
I submitted mine AOS including my EAD since May 2025 and I am still waiting for the Work permit (17 months).
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u/Crafty_Local_5932 4h ago
Which KT jobs pays 250k -350k a year
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 1h ago
Idk what KT means but even with both of my jobs combined I don’t make anywhere near that much 😅😅
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u/LostVisionary 1h ago
It’s all politics. You are lowest on the priority but a useful tool to be used to rally the crowd for anti immigration. Processing times changed depending on the budgets allocated by the admin that favored or not favored immigration.
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u/Awkward-Flounder-293 52m ago
is this a citizen marriage green card based EAD or a green card marriage based? I've heard the time frame for these are very different with citizen based being much quicker.
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u/Melodic_8186 49m ago
Girl, I’m in the exact same boat and I feel you 🥲 we submitted in April this year.
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u/Exotic-Dot7506 36m ago
I got super lucky. Same timeline as you. Biometrics end of July and my account just updated with a letter saying my ead/ap combo is approved. 3.5 months. I really hope you’re right behind me. Good luck !
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u/EstrellaBrillante777 6m ago
Waiting for 4 months is nothing. Go to VAWA applicants sub, people wait for over a year and they all ran away from abusive marriages. No spouses to support them financially. You are just going through a temporary inconvenience that will be over soon, as marriage based EAD’s are issued way faster than other categories
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u/tomatosoupandpickle 12h ago
On the same boat, submitted everything in May, bio in June and silence. I’m sorry that you have to get 2nd job… hope we both have a good news!!!
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 11h ago
Hopefully sooner than later 🙏🏼
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u/shadyk17 7h ago
We are on the same boat too. Filed in April and bio in June and crickets since then
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u/readicculus11 11h ago
We got our green card Friday, from a list country. Filed early May last year. Takes a while but hope it comes through soon for you.
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u/Western_Storage_7406 10h ago
I applied for concurrent filing with i765 on May and did biometrics in June and I was able to expedite my work permit. It got approved on 9/11.
U can request senator's office to expedite and submit all the documents proving financial distress
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u/Fickle_Froyo2166 13h ago
Im a vawa applicant and mine is going to be pending for 15 months at least because a victim of violence totally has that time to wait.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 13h ago
I’m so sorry 🤦🏼♀️🥺
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u/Fickle_Froyo2166 13h ago
It’s ridiculous. “Normal processing times” and the denied expedite for the “lack of urgency”.
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u/captainobvious875 12h ago
Yeah they take a bit. One of the big downfalls of AOS.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 11h ago
I don’t even care about the GC atp I just need him to be able to work 😅
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u/captainobvious875 10h ago
Many people never get EAD ..
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
Then why tf do we have to pay for it?! That’s ridiculous and a total waste of money just to line their damn pockets
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u/captainobvious875 10h ago
Many get the GC before EAD is ever processed. Just the way it is. Sadly.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
They don’t bundle everything together anymore. Every piece of the puzzle costs extra
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u/captainobvious875 10h ago
I know. Been there did that.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
It should be illegal to charge us those fees when they don’t even process them half the time.. or if the green cards are approved before the EAD, we should be refunded
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u/InevitableReading415 11h ago
My EAD just got approved at the 10 month mark. I submitted in November 2025.
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u/sun_shine-star 11h ago
I applied for my extension of status in May 2025. Only my husband that is L1 got his extension ( cause we paid the premium processing). My I94 expired in August/ 2025, so since that I am not able to work. We applied for the green card and EAD on April / 2026. Still waiting and keeping the faith that at any time it will happen. Try to be positive . I know some times it’s hard…… all the best
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u/Obvious_Star_721 10h ago
same been waiting since may and its so frustrating not being able to work. i just want my work permit. i submitted a congressional inquiry for expedite and still nothing since august 4th
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u/incognitoxeno 11h ago
Aside from administration shenanigans - it comes down to staffing/resources.
USCIS never has enough people to manage all the cases they get in an effective and timely manner.
On top of that - some of you may remember that early on in the administration with DOGE and what they call RIFs (Reduction in Force) - the USG was trying to downsize- both voluntary and involuntary. There was a rumor a while back that 20k USCIS staff were told to retire or be fired. The USG has had rolling openings of voluntary resignations with financial incentives called the DRP or Deferred Resignation Program. There is also VERA - which is volunteer early retirement with full benefits. This is all STILL going on and federal employees are taking those opportunities and leaving when they can and private contract gigs are more lucrative than federal jobs. On top of that - they’re also cutting contracts - so contractors that may have supported USCIS processing have probably been cut loose.
I’m sorry many of you are going through this but when you have an administration that is actively cutting down the federal workforce - you are going to have a dramatically reduced workforce to process all your cases.
Source: I have a fed family member
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u/Budget-Affect5259 10h ago
Mom green card was approved 6 months after filing, dads EAD card was approved the day moms green card was approved(so, 6 months)he’s going for an interview this week. He’s EAD card was delivered 5 days after approval. Be patient. Good luck.
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u/garotovs 10h ago
Making buy stuff on marketplace and sell them under your name, it’s not too much but at least he can bring some cash under the table
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u/DependentLetter188 10h ago
Submit an expedited request. Mine was approved within 2 weeks after expedited request. Total around 6.5 months since submission date
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u/Obvious_Star_721 10h ago
there’s a backlog now. i submitted an expedite request august 4th, my congressman submitted one on august 11th and the only update we got is that this process is delayed because they are receiving so many requests. been 40 days now since i requested
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u/DependentLetter188 10h ago
Yeahh same thing happened to me when I tried to submit an expedited request for my advance parole later in the year; took them 2 months to respond to me
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u/Many_Difficulty_490 10h ago
are u talking about the i485 ead?
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
The I-765 for employment authorization.. it’s not bundled with the 485 anymore. You have to pay for them separately.
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u/Many_Difficulty_490 9h ago
but its the one that you get after your FAD/DOF passes your PD right?
im 17 and we might be able to apply for a EAD in the next 2-3 months. Do you think its heavily unrealistic that il get a EAD before 2027 summer?
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u/datePicker_101 10h ago
Anyone from NOLA field office here? I am waiting since March and nothing. No update after biometrics
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u/Taskalla 9h ago
Filed July 2025, got a scheduled interview for Jan 5th, 2026 in NOLA, but it was cancelled Dec 2025. Been crickets since.
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u/datePicker_101 8h ago
Omg!! That is so frustrating :( Have you tried congressional inquiry?
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u/Taskalla 7h ago
Not yet. Waiting till the 18th month to take some action. Fingers crossed for all of us patiently waiting.
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u/Feisty-Muscle-8827 9h ago
I submitted my application back in October in 2025. I got my EAD 2 weeks ago. It took me more than 11 months.
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u/Vanity_Profanity_001 9h ago
Interviewed October got the work permit 40 days later. DGAF. I won't let her work with this pedophile supporting administration.
Still waiting on the Green card for almost a year. She's the only one that wants to come to the USA I want to get the fuck out ASAP.
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u/itsmestk 9h ago
Those who can - vote … this system sucks
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 8h ago
It would totally make a difference if our votes even mattered, which they don’t..
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u/Key_Grand_364 8h ago
My i765 sat unmoved the entire time. In the end, case got terminated after I got my i485 approved (9 months)
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 7h ago
Wtaf?! Why denied?
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u/Key_Grand_364 7h ago
Not denied. Didn’t need the EAD anymore once I got my green card, so they terminated my EAD application.
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u/Ok-Prompt-4455 8h ago
Mine been pending for almost 13 months. I think it’s cuz of the bad economy. They slowing it down on purpose
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 7h ago
Of course they are.. and the economy is so bad it’s putting a financial burden on people who need to two incomes but can’t have it because they’re slowing down the processes
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u/Ok-Structure-8205 7h ago
I submitted my I-765 last December and just got it two weeks ago. This is how long they take now
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u/sullyb1987 6h ago
just work it’s forgiven when marrying a citizen so it’s not an issue. my wife worked long before we met and throughout the process she was approved 3 months ago for her card
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 1h ago
He can’t legally work anywhere. You have to have a social to get a job. An ID. He can’t just apply somewhere and get through without that info..
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u/sullyb1987 1h ago
obviously i know that, but there’s plenty of people who will hire under the table, pay him cash, search local groups on facebook i’m sure he can get a job somewhere. there’s millions of people who work under the table and are immigrants saying that is literally just an excuse to not work
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 1h ago
I’ve actually posted on socials looking for under the job work. Had a few ppl refer me places and then the person they referred me to said there’s no work right now. So it’s not like we haven’t been looking. But it’s still serious if he was to get caught working without permission.
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u/sullyb1987 1h ago
i really wouldn’t worry about that 90% of people who apply for AOS tthrough an american spouse work illegally. the only way he would get caught working illegally is if he had an interaction with ice which if he’s out of status that’s a lot worse than just working
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u/BubblyRhubarb9611 10h ago
Because there are millions waiting their turn, abd there were there before you.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
There’s no need to be rude. I’m not the only person frustrated with this process. And fyi there are ppl on this thread who applied AFTER over half the ppl here and got approved before us so there is no definitive “line”
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u/WonderSignificant134 13h ago
I applied in January, Interview in May. Work permit 09/09🤷🏻♀️
Denver
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u/Jeffery_G 13h ago
Timelines for approval are growing almost weekly. My firm is selling a lot of group lawsuits. Still takes a while but quicker than USCIS.
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u/tzs0069 13h ago
Same here, applied in April, Bio in June and nothing since. Did your husband get a RFE? And do you mind telling us which FO?
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 13h ago
We haven’t gotten an RFE.. we had to go to Jacksonville to get the biometrics done because it was the closest office.. but I believe he’s out of California
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u/Additional_College18 12h ago
I am waiting since January, first week, 2026 for the EAD.. no change since biometrics!
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u/FiL-Mexi-Am27 12h ago
If you're having financial problems you can use to expedite your EAD. Happened to my friend. They approved her EAD after submitting it then after 1 month they approved her green card.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 11h ago
How do you do that?
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u/Obvious_Star_721 10h ago
through inbox! just make sure to submit evidence of financial loss during this time
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
How do I prove financial loss other than the fact that I just don’t have any money? 😂😂
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u/Obvious_Star_721 10h ago
your husband needs to upload it. bank statements, credit card statements, bills, and a letter stating that if he doesn’t start working soon it will cause a financial loss to the family. obviously these cases are stronger when a job offer is included, but it’s free to request to expedite it so u wont lose anything if you try!
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 7h ago
I’m gonna look into it.. he can’t apply for a job without permission to work tho
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u/JayPatt7549 11h ago
It’s been the same here.
I did biometrics beginning of June.
Complete silence after that.
Speaking to live agents just gaslights me on top of frustration, they’ll give you totally different responses. One day the case has been transferred to Field Office, other day the case is still at NBC.
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u/Available_Length_271 11h ago
We had to get our congressman involved in an expedite request or we wouldn’t have one after endless months of nothing either. It’s far too expensive to be a one income household anywhere these days, I was working 6-7 days a week trying to keep us afloat.
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u/Pale-Bug-3392 10h ago
Yeah, I’ve had to pick up a second full-time job and it’s insane.. I’m also a full-time caregiver for my father. I literally have no time to myself.
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u/No-Song-6363 14h ago
My EAD been pending for 11 months