Originally Posted by Dreamer91

My expiration date was 10/15 and I have 20 days to get approved...less because I have to count the EAD production and delivery time.

Today I called the USCIS number and got a really good rep. I had read that some people had a lot of trouble getting any info or help from them but I was actually able to get a lot of answers from my call. He was able to tell me that there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with my case aside from the fact that it's taking much longer to process (which put me at ease because I heard about a renewal RFE from someone). He asked for the service center and I said Texas and he checked their progress and apparently they're running behind. I asked him if they differentiated between approving I-821D initials and renewals and he said NO, which is probably why a lot of us are having trouble getting renewed because they are processing both initials and renewals simultaneously.

I then asked him if he could expedite my case, and he actually sent in an expedite request on my behalf and gave me a reference number, took my information, and told me that they'd be in touch in 5 days. Here's hoping I either get approved before then or they call back and say that they're going to put my case on the fast lane. Just thought I'd post a status update in case anyone else was wondering whether the number was a good option or not.