Hi sajhaites, what does it mean when you receive the EAD card while the -I-485 is still pending? My close fren (green card holder) had petitioned for his wife  who  has F1status. The wife reeived her EAD card but I-485 is still in the Initial Review phase. Any idea whether she still has to maintain her F-1 status? Would appreciate your response!

Hi,

@Cablecar - it is strongly advised to maintain a valid status even when you're issued EAD while you're I-485 is pending. Issuance of EAD is surely a very positive move towards getting the GC approved (in the near future for family petition), but you can never be 100% certain unless you get a notification stating that your I+485 has been approved. 

I strongly recommend to stay in status. When I went for the interview the officer did ask me, Are you maintaining your F1 status till today's date?. I dropped the classes after I received EAD and that cost me a lot. I had to re-enrolled to University and issued new I-20 explaining reason for dropping classes etc. I think it depends on immigration Officer too. 

Thanks guys! I really appreciated all your advice! By the way, my fren's wife got the interview date. Any idea how long it's gonna take to get her green card after the interview?