All about EAD card; EAD address change, late delivery

When USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) receives your OPT application, you will receive the Form I-797C Notice of Action. This form has the receipt number which you can enter to the Case Status Online to look up your OPT status. On the other hand, If USCIS finds any issues with your OPT application, you will be given the Request for evidence. In this case, you should follow the instruction to solve the issue and re-send the application to USCIS. What if you need to change the address for EAD delivery, correct typos, EAD delivery fail, or late delivery issues?

In this blog post, how to solve EAD related issues based on the official guidance from USCIS will be outlined. At the end of the blog, you will have a better understanding of what steps you need to take and you will be given each link to solve the issue.

Contents

• How long does it take to receive the EAD card?
• How to check my OPT application status?
• How to solve EAD-related issues like EAD address change?

How long does it take to receive the EAD card?

First, you can check the I-765 (EAD) processing time from Check Case Processing Times webpage by USCIS. From the webpage, you can select the I-765 Application for Employment Authorization and the Field Office or Service Center that you sent the application to. As of late September 2020, the webpage says the estimated time range for Form I-765 request by a qualified F-1 academic student [(c)(3)] is 1.5 Months to 5 Months.

How to check my OPT application status?

When USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) well receives your OPT application, Form I-797C will be mailed to you. On the form, you can find the receipt number which can be used to look up your OPT application status from Case Status Online. This is why OPT applicants whose OPT start date is near, get to refresh this page regularly. If the page says the EAD card is shipped, you can expect to receive the EAD card within a week.

SEVIS SAVVY tip: Once you receive the card, it is good practice to do things. First, double-check your personal information on the card. Second, make a copy of the front and back of the EAD card and keep it with you along with other important documents. By doing so, you have a backup in case you lost the card.

Related blog post: 7 Require documents for OPT Application

How to solve EAD-related issues like EAD address change?

If you encounter the following EAD- related issues, click each link and submit the required form.

• EAD address change form
• Typographic Error
  • To learn more about how to correct the typos on your EAD card, click this post: What to do when your EAD card says the wrong OPT start date
  • To learn from the real case scenario, click the OPT forum topic titled “Took 8 months to correct USCIS typo on EAD.”
• Non-Delivery of Document
  • To learn from the real case scenario where the student did not receive the EAD card and had to re-order it, click the OPT forum topic titled “EAD got lost in transit- how to receive the new EAD card“
• Outside Normal Processing Time: If you haven’t received the EAD beyond the processing time that you can check from the Check Case Processing Times web page, you can seek for assistance by clicking the link.

If you don’t hear back from USCIS, there’s another way to solve the issue which is reaching out to the Ombudsman office. Details about the Ombudsman office and steps to take are well listed in the Related blog post1 below.

Additionally, if the OPT end date is near while you are waiting for the updated EAD card that reflects STEM OPT dates, the second Related blog post will be helpful.

Related blog post 1: I haven’t received my EAD; OPT EAD processing time
Related blog post 2: My STEM OPT is in pending and my EAD end date is near

In this blog, how to check OPT status online to estimate your EAD delivery time, and how to solve various EAD related issues are discussed. Hope this article helps you to take appropriate steps.