Lessons Learned From Experience...
I have web stats enabled for this blog, and I know we get a lot (and I meant A LOT) of hits from people searching Google for advice on I-765 and I-485 applications. To all those people, based on my experience, it is definitely best to send in these two applications together.
If you've entered America on a K-1 Fiance(e) Visa, definitely do not attempt to gain an EAD based on that Visa. The wording on the I-765 application form is very vague:
A. K-1 Nonimmigrant Fiance(e) of U.S. Citizen or K-2 Dependent--(a)(6). File your EAD application if you are filing within 90 days from the date of entry. This EAD cannot be renewed. Any EAD application other than for a replacement must be based on your pending application for adjustment under (c)(9).
This may make you think that you can submit your EAD application at any stage during the 90 day period that your K-1 Visa is valid, but this is not true. In fact, any EAD issued under the K-1 Visa only lasts for the 90 day period, which is next to useless. If you need employment urgently, then the only thing to do is to get married almost immediately upon entering the US (Christine and I waited almost two months), and send off your I-485 and I-765 forms together as soon as humanly possible after the wedding. Then just sit back and wait for the slow wheels of bureacracy to grind on and spit your application out the other side. If possible, avoid submitting your applications in July, as this seems to be the peak period of demand for USCIS services.
Thanks for visiting, and I'll be sure to give you all a full account of our I-485 interview when it happens.
Posted in: chaosboy, immigration, united states on December 15, 2007 at at 3:39:00 PM