I-485 delayed, need GC urgently. Would it help to move to another field office

[MA031993]

Hello everyone,

Here's my situation in brief: Applied for I-485 (based on marriage to US citizen) in December 2019 from Bay Area, California, approved for interview May 2020, and haven't received any updates since. My STEM OPT EAD is expiring in four months*, and I need to have the GC in hand urgently to maintain employment without a gap**

A friend of mine in South Carolina filed the same app much later than me and got his green card within a few months. Seems like his field office has much smaller workload. I am wondering if I can move there (and work from home for my Cali employer) and get a much faster interview based on the fact that I applied much earlier than the people being interviewed at his field office right now. Is this viable? Has anyone successfully done this in the past?

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* In case you're wondering why I'm on STEM OPT, I did receive my EAD+AP card soon after I filed my AOS app, but I was advised to not use it and stay on my STEM OPT EAD since it had a later expiration date. Turned out to work in my favor since I couldn't renew it before it expired (long story). I did file for expedited AOS EAD+AP renewal a month ago, but I'm not sure if I will receive it in time.

**Financially I would be fine if there's a gap, but I will lose a lot of equity in my startup that has appreciated significantly since I joined

[Enub4]

I don't think moving will help you get the GC before your STEM OPT EAD expires, USCIS will need to process your move and send your documents to another office, those things take time. I don't understand why you let your AOS EAD expire it is a C9 with an automatic 180 extension if the renewal is filed before the expiration. You can even start the renewal process 180 days before expiration.

I hope you get your GC or AOS EAD soon. Good luck.