Automatic Employment Authorization Extension
On November 12, 2021, USCIS announced that automatic employment authorization extends to certain nonimmigrant dependent spouses, including H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses, which would be a huge relief for those dependents who had to wait for almost a year to renew their employment authorization documents (EAD).
1. What is Automatic Employment Authorization Document Extension?
The employment authorization document, also known as the EAD card, has a validity period. Once the documents expire, the applicants can no longer work legally in the United States. In order to continue their employment, they need to file a renewal of their employment authorization. However, due to the long processing time of those applications, many applicants may not be able to obtain their EAD cards in time and have to stop working until they receive the new cards. In order to solve this problem, USCIS grants automatic extension to certain categories of employment authorization documents for up to 180 days.
2. How to be Eligible for the Automatic Extension?
Currently, only 18 types of employment authorization documents may be eligible for the automatic extension, including the newly added H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses. The full list is available at https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/information-for-employers-and-employees/automatic-employment-authorization-document-ead-extension.
Please note that applicants of the eligible categories may qualify for the automatic extension only if they properly filed Form I-765 for a renewal of their employment authorization before their current EAD cards expire. In another word, they are not entitled to the automatic extension benefit if they file the renewal after the current EAD’s expiration date.
Furthermore, for the newly added H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses, there is one additional condition which is having an unexpired Form I-94.
***STEM OPT is not in the above mentioned list, but applicants are also eligible for the 180-day automatic extension if they file their STEM OPT extension application in a timely manner.
3. Other Automatic Employment Authorization Extension
Automatic employment authorization extension is not limited to EAD cards. Certain nonimmigrant workers may also receive extensions of stay and employment for up to 240 days if their employers file Form I-129 extension petitions timely. The eligible categories include: H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, J-1, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3, R-1, TN, A3, E-1, E-2, E-3, G-5, and I. Nevertheless, the 240-day extension rule only applies to continuous employment with the same employer, and different rules may apply if the nonimmigrant worker is seeking for an employment transfer.
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