TSC : EAD Processing for I-140/I-485s Slower
Posted Apr 11, 2003

The Texas Service Center Processing Times compiled March 31, 2003 and posted on MurthyDotCom on April 02, 2003, show that the processing time for EADs applied for in conjunction with employment-based green card cases varies according to whether the applicant is filing the I-485 concurrently with the I-140 or after the I-140 approval. The EAD processing date for concurrently-filed applications, at the time of this writing, is November 4, 2002. However, for non-concurrent cases, the processing date at the Texas Service Center (TSC) for EADs is currently December 9, 2002.

This delay of approximately one month is likely caused by the Service Center's policy of performing a cursory review of the I-140 petition before issuing the EAD and Advance Parole. The purpose of the review is to ensure the concurrently filed I-140 is not a frivolous filing to obtain an EAD without a proper basis.

Before MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers allow the more-than-one-month delay to deter them from filing concurrently, it is important to put this fact in perspective: the TSC is not reporting that it has adjudicated any I-140s filed before September 13, 2002 and their reports do not show that they have made any progress in processing I-140 petitions filed within the last month. Therefore, under current processing times, an applicant filing concurrently will still obtain an EAD at least two to six months earlier than an applicant who waits for the approval of his/her I-140 petition before filing the I-485 application and accompanying EAD application.

While there may be other reasons in particular cases not to take advantage of concurrent filing, the delays in EAD processing should not be a factor. It is just a matter of which one should be aware and discuss with an attorney, if appropriate, when determining timing and establishing the proper strategy in a case, so as to maintain the ability to continue to work legally without any interruption.