Immigrants & Immigration

Work authorization is a person's ability to legally work in the US. This can be known as “employment eligibility” or “permission to work.” US employers must check that all employees have work authorization by completing a Form I-9. Employers must check if someone is allowed to work within a few days of hire. An employer cannot legally hire someone as an employee if that person does not have work authorization.

US citizens are always allowed to work in the United States. Non-citizens might be allowed to work in the US depending on their immigration status.

There are many types of work authorization in the US. Non-citizens may be eligible to work in the US if they:

• Are a lawful permanent resident (LPR), also known as a green card holder,
• Have an employer-sponsored work visa, such as an E-2, E-3, H-1B, L-1, O-1, or TN,
• Are in a dependent visa status that provides work authorization, such as E-2S, E-3S, or L-2S, or
• Hold a valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD) as a part of their immigration status.

An EAD is a document issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to certain categories of non-citizens. An EAD lets a non-citizen temporarily work lawfully. It is usually valid for a period of one to five years. How long it's valid depends on the person's immigration status.

An EAD is issued as a plastic card, similar to a driver’s license. It has basic information such as the holder's photo, name, date of birth, USCIS number, EAD card number, eligibility category, validity dates, and any restrictions.

Many people call an EAD a “work permit.”

Non-citizens qualify for an EAD depending on their immigration status. These may include:

• Asylees or refugees with a pending or approved asylum application,
• People with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status,
• People with pending adjustment of status (green card) applications,
• People paroled into the US for urgent humanitarian reasons or reasons of significant public benefit,
• Citizens of a country designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), who have applied or been approved for TPS, and
• Non-citizen victims of violence or certain crimes.

This is not a complete list of who can qualify for an EAD. The USCIS website has a complete list of the EAD eligibility categories.

They must file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with USCIS. They must also submit:

• A copy of their Form I-94, Arrival and Departure Record,
• A copy of their last EAD, if applicable,
• A copy of a government-issued identity document, such as a passport, state ID, or driver’s license, and
• Two identical US passport-style photos.

There are more documents they must submit depending on their EAD eligibility category. The application can be filed online or by paper. To file the EAD online, they need to create a USCIS account.

The cost to file depends on a person’s eligibility category. Generally, the filing fee for an online application is $470. For a paper application, it is $520. If an applicant cannot afford the application fee, they can request a fee waiver. If they need to file a fee waiver, they must file their Form I-765 by paper. They cannot file online if they need a fee waiver. Certain people may not be required to pay the fee or qualify for a reduced fee. 

Find the specific fee for the type of Form I-765 on the USCIS website. It’s important to submit the right fee for the EAD category. If no fee is submitted, the application won’t be accepted. If the wrong fee is submitted, the application will be rejected and it’s possible the applicant won’t get their money back.

If an applicant is filing their EAD application with other immigration applications, they must fill out separate credit card debit forms for each application. USCIS will reject their entire package if they submit a single, combined payment for multiple applications.

For paper applications, filing addresses are listed on the USCIS website. The mailing address for their paperwork depends on their EAD eligibility category.

Yes. USCIS encourages people to apply for a SSN in their EAD application if they do not have one. Their Social Security card will be mailed separately from their EAD card. It should be received within seven business days after they receive their EAD card.

If the applicant does not have an SSN or did not request one on their EAD application, they must go to a Social Security Administration office after they receive their EAD card to apply for an SSN.

The applicant should receive a receipt notice from USCIS confirming that they have received their EAD application. Use the receipt number indicated on the receipt notice to check the status of their EAD online.

After their EAD is approved, USCIS typically takes one to two weeks to create and mail the EAD card. If an EAD card does not arrive within 30 days of approval, use the USCIS Self Service Tools to submit an inquiry.

Form I-765 is used to request a new EAD. Most EAD categories allow a person to renew up to six months before the EAD expiration date on the card. The person applying must still be eligible for work authorization, and pay the required fees, if any. USCIS recommends filing a renewal request 180 days before the date of expiration.

Renewal applications filed before October 30, 2025 and are still pending are eligible for an automatic extension. These applicants will have their EAD validity automatically extended up to 540 days from the date of expiration. This automatic extension no longer exists for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.

Note: if a new EAD card is not issued before a person’s existing one expires, they may have a gap in work authorization. Working without permission, even if it’s for only a short time, may impact their immigration status in the future.

To replace a lost, stolen, or damaged EAD card, file a new Form I-765 with USCIS. A new fee may be required. Find the specific fee for the type of Form I-765 on the USCIS website.

If their EAD card has wrong information, like the incorrect spelling of their name, you can also file Form I-765 with USCIS to request a new card with the correct information. This generally does not require a fee, since it was USCIS’s error.

If a person’s EAD card expires, they no longer have work authorization. An automatic extension may extend the card's validity past the expiration date. This is very rare. Automatic extensions are generally only available for renewal applications filed before October 30, 2025, and certain TPS holders.

A person loses work authorization if the underlying immigration status that gave them work authorization ends. For example, LPRs do not need to have an EAD to work. If they abandon their LPR status, or it gets taken away from them in immigration court, then they no longer have work authorization.

This is true even if someone has an EAD card that has not yet expired, but their underlying status is gone. For example, people with TPS status must have a valid EAD to work. When a country’s designation ends, work authorization for their citizens with TPS is no longer valid. It expires on the same day the designation ends. Even if their EAD expires in the future, their work authorization is still gone. There is a small exception for some former Venezuelan TPS holders. Venezuelans no longer have TPS, a very small number may still have work authorization until October 2, 2026. Read about Venezuelan TPS.

Some people can get an EAD while their immigration application is pending. If that application is denied, their work authorization expires. For example, generally, a person with a pending asylum case in immigration court may apply for an EAD after 150 after starting their case. If they get an EAD, their work authorization is only valid for as long as the card is valid, or while the case is pending. If their asylum case is denied, and they do not appeal, their work authorization ends 30 days after the judge’s denial. This is true even if their EAD card has not yet expired.

Read more about what can happen when someone loses their work authorization.

People must have work authorization to work lawfully. Whether someone continues to work without permission is a personal decision. There may be immigration or criminal consequences if a person works without authorization.

Businesses are prohibited by law from hiring anyone they know does not have work authorization. This includes hiring both employees and independent contractors. A business cannot hire an independent contractor if they know the person does not have work authorization.

Yes. Even if a person does not have permission to work, they must still pay income taxes. If they make over a certain amount of money in a year, they must file income tax returns. A person who fails to pay income taxes is likely to be seen as someone who does not have “good moral character.” This means the government thinks they are not a moral person and don’t deserve to get an immigration benefits. People need to prove they have good moral character when applying for protection under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), naturalization, and certain forms of relief in immigration court. Learn more about good moral character.

A person who works without authorization might not be able to get lawful status, or relief from deportation, in the future. For example, certain people who worked without permission might not be able to get a green card from inside the US.  This is true even if they have a family member file a petition for them. This means that if they’re eligible for a green card, they may have to leave the US to get it. Leaving the US can be very risky, because a person may end up not being able to come back at all.

Even if someone can get a green card from within the US, USCIS might still deny their application because they worked without permission. This is called a discretionary decision. Even if someone meets all the legal requirements for the immigration benefit, they may still get denied because the government thinks they don’t deserve it. USCIS officers have denied people green cards only because they worked without authorization. They say working without permission shows a disregard for the law.

If a person presents false documents to an employer to show they have work authorization, then they may be committing a crime. For example, if a person signs a Form I-9 document, and provides fake documents to show they can work, they may be committing a crime. The Form I-9 requires a person to sign under penalty of perjury that the information provided is correct. Perjury is a crime. A person suspected of perjury may be criminally prosecuted. It is also a crime to use fake immigration documents that were made up, or use another person’s name.