USCIS has stopped printing green cards and work authorization cards. There's been quite
a few reports about this in past videos, but in this video, I want to give you the most
recent update and what you can do about it if you are waiting for your green card, and
it's not coming in the mail. Watch this video, and I'll tell you more. In this video, we'll
talk about USCIS’ failure to print green cards and work permits, also known as EADs,
during this very sensitive time where people actually need to be able to work, travel,
and be able to prove that they are legally allowed to live in this country and be able
to work. So, before we dive into this, this is the most recent update that I have about
this situation. And also, we'll talk in this video, what you can do now if you haven't
received your green card or your EAD with respect to employment, and your ability to
travel in and out of the country if needed. But before we dive into the video, make sure
to subscribe to this channel. Click this bell to be notified because we release videos every
single week and you don't want to miss that. Give us a big like on the video so this way,
YouTube will be able to show this video to more people that need that information just
like you do. So, let's talk about the crisis with USCIS not being able to print green cards
and EADs. So, when it comes to green cards, it started with… this was announced in an
article a few weeks ago, where the reporter mentioned that people are getting approved
for their Adjustment of Status, 45. The website, the USCIS website indicates that their card
is in production. So, typically, when you finish an interview for your 45, those that
have interviews, because as you know, some interviews will wait, so those people that
still have interviews and they went through their interview, after the interview, typically,
if all goes well, you should be receiving your card within a few days. In the past,
we’re receiving the card, the green card within 48 hours, maximum of a week. Well,
those people that went through those interviews and they were approved, they would see on
the website the case status that says that the card is being produced. But the reality
is that a week went by, two weeks went by, three weeks, the card never arrived. And in
fact, what that article revealed is that USCIS essentially stopped the production of EADs,
which is the work permits, as well as the green cards. Now, the reason this happened,
they have two main centers, Kentucky and Missouri, where they print those cards, and they were
using an outside service, like a contractor for years to be able to print those cards,
make sure they're done correctly with all the security codes in them or whatever they
have to do. And then those cards were shipped to the applicants under contract. Well, USCIS
decided to terminate their contract and bring that operation in-house. And were already
backlogged, and originally, when the delay started happening and people were not getting
their EADs and the green cards, I assume, like many other attorneys, that this is happening
because of COVID-19, because of the delays, because the USCIS, they were closed for a
while for the public, they're also working on a limited capacity. We thought that that's
the reason why those cards were not received. But the reality is because they decided to
bring their operation in-house with some idea to save money or make it more efficient, who
knows why? Well, since it was brought in-house, they were not able to handle the processing.
And essentially, production was brought to a stop without announcing anything, without
telling the applicants that this is what happened and their website continued to showcase status.
That cards are continued to be produced. Only recently, if you go and check on some of these
cases, there's no case status anymore that says the cards have been produced. Either
there's no status, or it says that the case is just finished interview, that's the last
status of an interview. So currently, the website doesn’t say that the cards are in
production, finally, but for a while, it was just so confusing. So now we know that they
have this. And the reports say that more than 75,000 people are impacted with EADS, and
more than 50,000 people are impacted with green cards not being received. And so, the
recent update that I have to report to you is that there's been a major lawsuit filed
by a law firm in Ohio, and that law firm basically took a class action case, they made it a class
action. I think there's almost more than 50,000 people that are part of this class action.
And that class action is based on the case of Ms. Subramanian and essentially what happened
in her case, which is very similar to all the people in the class, where she filed her
extension in April, and she was waiting and waiting, and then her employer, in this particular
case, required her to provide her EAD, they're not willing for her to continue working without
her EAD. And as a result in June, she was terminated. And so she had a very good cause
because she suffered a loss, she was probably one of the main providers for the family,
and things like that. And so, her case is kind of leading this class action, this thousands
and thousands of people that have joined, and there's going to be a hearing on Wednesday.
So, this is being recorded on Saturday. So, this coming Wednesday, there's going to be
a hearing this and hopefully, we'll know what's going on. And of course, I'll keep you posted.
So, this lawsuit essentially is… it's a sort of a mandamus. It's going to force the
government to act, in this case, force the government to produce the EADs and the cards
within seven days because their actions are capricious, unreasonable, they are essentially
causing harm to the applicants for no reason. They gave them a benefit. And now, they are
not allowing them to take advantage of their benefit. They approved them for the green
card, but they're not actually able to use it. So, this class action mandamus, the goal
of this action is to force the government to act and issue those cards within seven
days. So, we'll see what happens. And of course, we're going to keep you posted. So, what can
you do actually know that this is happening? Green card holders are required by law to
carry their actual green cards so they can prove to potential employers that they're
authorized to work, but also in case they need to change jobs, some new employers may
also need proof that they have a green card. It's also important for the I-9, verification
of employment, to have that card available. So, those that are not able to produce those
cards are severely harmed by these delays. And therefore it's really important for this
to be resolved as soon as possible. At the same time people that have EADs, work authorizations,
it’s very important for them to always have those work authorizations current. Most of
the time, they're valid for up to two years. And while they're renewing, sometimes when
there's a gap, it can create problems for people to either keep their employment or
seek new employment in case they get terminated. Certain foreign nationals such as refugees,
people that are pending adjustment of status, and STEM OPT are able to continue working
for up to 180 days with an expired EAD as long as they filed the extension before the
EAD expired. So, we're looking at a grace period of 180 days, but with these delays
in production, these things may take even more than six months. And so, the concern
is that a lot of people, thousands of people may be severely impacted if their cards are
not going to be issued on time for them to continue to work, or if they do leave the
country, as well as to travel. The inability of the government to do its job can create
extreme hardship for all of the employees that need to switch jobs or continue to prove
to their current employers they that are able to work. And also, for green card holders,
if they need to get some benefits, finance homes, get mortgages, they need to show the
green card. So, it's definitely very, very serious. So, what can you do? So, if you're
a green card holder and you filed for an extension and your green card is expiring, you can make
an emergency appointment at the USCIS and get a stamp. It's called an I-551 stamp in
your passport. And that stamp typically will be given to you for six months to a year for
you to be able to stay in the country, or if you need to leave the country, you'll be
able to leave with that stamp. It’s like a green card, just like a green card. So,
those of you that are pending on your green card applications and you're trying to prove
that you are green card holders, you should be able to make an emergency Infopass and
be able to get a stamp. If you have an EAD pending and you're not able to prove employment,
if it's beyond 180 days, it's really important to speak with the employer and negotiate and
explain to them, keep them informed of what's going on. So, quite a few months before the
expiration of the card or your grace period so your employees are aware of what's going
on and work with them together to go through this crisis because again, it's not your fault
that this happened. It’s the government's fault that cards are not being printed. So,
hopefully, with this pending litigation, next week, we're going to know more and hopefully,
if this mandamus is successful, the government will be forced to issue those cards within
seven days or so and then see what happens. But in the meantime, it's really important
to stay creative, to be informed just like watching this video, and make sure that you
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Thanks for watching, and we'll see you in our next video.