Another update - I received my EAD today - I was approved on 10/30. Turn around seems to be getting faster.

I was about to expire this Sunday - and work was going to lay me off. With EAD in hand I will send to HR tomorrow and leave everything else in God's hands.

One more thing I will do - this forum had nothing to do with my application process - but it was absolutely essential to me in order to keep my sanity. Having a place where we can share our stories and our situations is invaluable. I don't know who upkeeps this site, but I will happily donate to it, so that we can continue to benefit from it. At least for our sanity sake.