Normally, Senators and Congress people help with immigration inquiries and they do not ask who you voted for. I think they hope you will vote for them if they help you, and anyway, it is their job to help all their constituents. So I would say, give it a try. Take care, Jason

I went to bed, but I am thinking of collecting my clients’ recipes for Cocker Spaniel. I’ll keep you posted…

That is impressive! It goes to show that persistence can sometimes pay off. Thank you for letting us know. Take care, Jason

My update: I went to the courthouse yesterday to file my mandamus. Before I filed the clerk told me that perhaps if I talked to the US attorney office and told them I’m filing this lawsuit, they maybe able to do something. Luckily, the US attorney’s office was close. Met with the civil litigation attorney in the office, he took my A-number & receipt number, and told me he will get back to me within 48h. Today he called me this morning and mentioned that my case will be adjudicated within days. Just got approved 30 mins ago! 👍

That’s great (except for the initial annoying lady). Thank you for sharing and it is good to acknowledge when USCIS does something right. Take care, Jason

Technically, you do not need a work permit to work lawfully as an asylee. See: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/70-evidence-of-employment-authorization-for-certain-categories/73-refugees-and-asylees. However, it is easier to have the EAD and they should have given you the first one for free. I am not sure what went wrong, but USCIS error is certainly a possibility. You could try again to file the I-765, and in the application, explain that this is your first EAD card and that USCIS denied a previous request for the card due to an error (they thought you needed to pay a fee when you do not). Hopefully, that will work. You can probably also apply for your green card now (I wrote about this on February 8, 2023) and so you may want to do that, as having the GC will make life easier. Take care, Jason

Thank you for this, Jason

I think you meant that you cannot predict your waiting time, though you can try to expedite or file a mandamus lawsuit. Take care, Jason