Work Permit Attorney (EAD)

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are work-authorized as a matter of status. Everyone else needs either a visa that includes work authorization built in, or an Employment Authorization Document — Form I-765 — issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The I-765 is filed under one of dozens of eligibility categories, each tied to a specific underlying status or pending application. The category you file under controls how long the EAD is valid, whether it can be renewed, whether it can be combined with travel authorization, and how quickly USCIS will process it.

Most denials we see in our office trace back to the wrong category being chosen, missing supporting evidence, or a renewal filed too late. None of those failures are necessary. The right approach starts with identifying every category you might qualify under, choosing the strongest one, and preparing the application to anticipate the questions an officer is likely to ask.

Many EAD categories now allow automatic extension of work authorization for up to 540 days when a renewal application is timely filed before the current card expires. That extension is invaluable — it lets you keep working, keep your driver's license, and keep your I-9 verification current while USCIS adjudicates the renewal. But it only applies if the renewal was filed in time, in the same eligibility category, and where the underlying eligibility has not lapsed.

We calendar renewals as soon as we open a file. We file renewals at the earliest moment USCIS will accept them — typically 180 days before expiration — so that the auto-extension provision protects you fully. We respond to Requests for Evidence quickly, with the documentation USCIS expects rather than the documentation a client might guess at.

An EAD is more than a permission to work — for many noncitizens it is the primary identity document accepted by employers under the Form I-9 process, by state DMVs for driver's licenses, and by Social Security to issue an SSN. We help clients understand which documents to present at I-9, how to use the auto-extension notice if a renewal is pending, and how to respond when an employer's HR department is unfamiliar with the rules.

For categories that allow advance parole, we coordinate the EAD with travel authorization so that international travel can be undertaken without forfeiting the underlying immigration case. That coordination, again, depends on the category — and on doing things in the right order, the first time.