Due to Covid, applicants for adjustment of status should expect cases to take considerably longer than originally anticipated. Cases that would ordinarily take one year to process might experience additional delays of six months of more, given that USCIS was...
Work Permits
USCIS Using Old Fingerprints | Work Permits Issued Before Biometrics
We have recently noticed that USCIS has begun using old fingerprints that were previously captured for a number of applications, particularly I-90s. This is welcome news given the interminable delays permanent residents are already experiencing waiting for their...
Asylum Work Permits Denied for DWI and arrests
If applicants for asylum have not suffered enough legal setbacks within the past year, we have recently heard of work permits for asylum applicants who have had brushes with the law. The instructions for the I-765 Application For Work Authorization indicate that for...
Criminal Arrest Can Also Affect Work Permits | OPT and STEM
Unlike previous versions, the current version of the I-765 application for work authorization specifically asks about arrests. Under question number 23, which pertains to those who are applying under eligibility categories (c)(35) or (c)(36), the form asks: "have you...
Expect Processing Delays for Work Permits and Advance Parole
A November AILA practice alert has confirmed what many practitioners and clients have experiencing lately, namely an appreciable delay in the processing of work permit and advance parole applications. Nationally, people are reporting four to seven months to receive...
Automatic Extension of Work Permits | What If EAD Expires While Renewal Pending?
For foreign nationals navigating our immigration system, one of the greatest sources of anxiety is the expiration of work authorization in light of USCIS's interminable processing delays, which have only increased during the present administration. Due to the sheer...
How to Speed Up or Expedite My Work Permit Application
One of the most frustrating aspects of immigration practice is dealing with government delay-something which, more often than not, is a given these days. Family adjustment of status cases used to relatively quick, but we have noticed a significant lag in processing...
How Soon Can I Get My Immigration Work Permit Based On Marriage?
One of the most pressing questions that prospective permanent residents here in the US often ask is, "When Can I Start Working?" Within the context of family-based adjustment of status cases--which is what this is discussion is limited to--this topic is rife with...
New Rule Coming for H-4 Work Permits
In February of 2015, USCIS announced that it would finally be implementing a rule that extends employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses. The expansion of work permission is part of President Obama's 2014 Executive Action on Immigration. While the...
H-4 Spouses May Soon Be Allowed to Apply For Work Permits
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a proposal to allow certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1Bs to work with legal authorization. Under current regulations, H-4 dependents are not eligible for an Employment Authorization Documents (EAD). Given...
