L2 EAD and travel outside USA

[skumar1981]

Hi, My husband is on L2 and applied waiting for EAD since 4 months. He needs to travel to India in December for a short visit. Will his travel affect his EAD processing? Can someone please share information on whether the processing can be further delayed due to this?

warm regards

[maavi]

The official guideline doesn't require the L-2 EAD (I-765) petitioner to stay in the US while waiting for approval.
This is from what I managed to find in the web and of course from my attorney.

But - from my personal experience, my wife just got an RFE because we left the US for a week.
She's been waiting for more than 5 months for the approval, we left to Mexico and returned a week later, and a few days afterwards she got an RFE stating that:

USCIS records indicate you departed the United States on ---------, and have not returned to the United States.
Submit legible photocopies of the form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record(s), for you and your spouse documenting your most recent arrival into the United States

Again, from what I managed to find, this is unprecedented! Besides the fact that we were already back in the US a few days before the RFE was written (and the I-94 was available and valid), there was no reason to get a RFE for not being physically in the US.

So, I can't really say if this is some kind of new trend or an unspoken instruction that they get to reject a certain amount of EADs, or maybe just really bad luck. Beware.
I'd love to hear if anybody else experienced this.

[UKspouse]

I checked with our lawyers and was told I was ok to travel as I have a valid L2 visa. It is only my EAD I’m waiting on being renewed.