I’m so happy to say that I have been APPROVED for my EAD/AP! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the process, it is the temporary work and travel permit you receive whilst your green card application (AOS) is processing.
Living in New York state means that I’m looking at a few months wait for my AOS to be adjudicated as it’s one of the busiest processing offices, so it was really essential that I applied for the temporary authorisation to tide me over!
Receiving NOA2
I was pleasantly surprised last Saturday (12/09) to come home to two NOA2 letters, stating that I had been approved for both EAD and AP. My online status did not update to reflect this so I was not expecting this at all.
It only took 71 days for me to be approved which was amazing, as recently on average it has been taking anywhere between 90-175 days. Below I have inserted both of the letters I received and as normal have redacted sensitive/personal information.
I was notified on the NOA2 for EAD that I would be receiving the combo card, as it would have ‘Serves as I-512 Advanced Parole’ at the bottom of my card.
Receiving the Combo Card
On the Tuesday (12/12) after I received the NOA2s, the EAD/AP was delivered to my home address by priority mail. Below is a picture of what the card will look like if you receive the EAD/AP combo card, which means that this is all you need to travel with if you leave the country.
In other circumstances I have read that people received the EAD card and a paper version of the AP which is what is used to gain access back into the USA.
Should you need to reinstate your EAD/AP (if your AOS process takes that long) keep the notice that they sent your card with, as you can use this to speed up the renewal process. The card has a photocopy of your fingerprint on the bottom right hand side and on the back it also has your photograph and some more personal information.
The card is valid for a one year period. However they recommend applying for your renewal 180 days in advance, which is 6 months roughly. If I need to do this, I will write a follow up post explaining that process.
So I’m very happy. I am now able to go back to work, I can go home to visit my family and friends in Scotland, and I have photographic ID with my new name on it!
Next steps for me are going to be:
Full timeline for EAD/AP & AOS so far can be viewed here.
Yaz Talks A Lot 
Well done and congratulations to you – nice job!!
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Congratulations!
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Thank you Gina ❤️
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Hi Yaz,
I’m filling out the I-131 ready to send as soon as I’m married and I have a couple of questions:
1. Did you fill it out in your married name, or your maiden name to match your passport?
2. What did you say in Part 4 when it asks why you’re travelling? I literally just want to go home to visit family but in the evidence section it asks for documentation of family member’s illness or death.
Thank you so much for your blog. It’s immensely helpful!
Emily
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Hey Emily ☺️.
I filled all the paperwork in my married name, except when it asked for previous names I put my madien name. I just said to visit family, and I didn’t put any evidence except for a separate page to state that I’d applied for my green card which made me eligible for my EAD/AP ☺️ hopefully this helps! Any more questions. Let me know!
No problem at all, glad you’ve found it helpful 😁
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Hello, do they notify you when you need to do the biometrics? or do you just do it as soon as you fill out for the EAD/AP card ? Thank you 🙂
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Hey Sarah 😊, yes they will notify you in a separate letter after you receive NOA1s for all your applicstions. I’ve got a separate blog post on that if you want more info: https://www.google.com/amp/s/yaztalksalot.wordpress.com/2017/10/30/receiving-noa1-biometrics-letter/amp/. There’s also a separate blog post on what happens at the biometrics appointment! Good luck 😊
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Hiya Yaz, thanks for putting together this blog to help with the AOS process 🙂 it looks great!
I’ve got a question regarding the combo card expiry; what happens after 1 year? Do we renew it even if we get the greencard on time?
Thanks in advance 🙂
– Debs
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Hey Debs 😊 no problem, thanks for getting in touch!
You need to renew your combo card 180 days prior to the expiry date. I have a separate post about that in the AOS section of my blog. If you get the greencard prior to that, you don’t need to renew. I sent my renewal application and then about 2 weeks later, my AOS interview got scheduled so I didn’t need to continue with the renewal process. Hope this helps 😊
Yaz
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This is great! Thanks for clarifying that 😉
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