USCIS has extended the validity of Employment authorisation Documents (EAD) for certain non-citizens asking for employment authorisation to five years. The goal is to reduce processing times and backlogs.
The US will offer job authorization cards to several non-immigrant categories for five years, benefiting thousands of Indians living there.
They can receive employment cards while waiting for green cards.
USCIS said it was expanding the maximum validity duration of original and renewal Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for some non-citizens who must apply for employment authorization to five years.
The federal agency listed asylum seekers, withholding of removal applicants, INA 245 applicants, and deportation suspension or cancellation applicants.
It said, “Increasing the maximum EAD validity period to five years is intended to extensively reduce the number of new Forms I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, it receives for renewal EADs over the next several years, contributing to its efforts to reduce associated processing times and backlogs.”
US Citizenship and Immigration Services says a non-citizen’s employment authorization depends on their status, circumstances, and EAD filing type.
The federal agency said that if an individual receives an EAD under the category based on a pending adjustment of status application for the maximum validity period of five years and the adjustment application is denied, their ancillary employment authorisation may be terminated before the EAD expires.
A new study indicated that over 10.5 lakh Indians are waiting for an employment-based Green Card, and 4 lakh may die before receiving the much-desired legal certificate of permanent residency in the US.
Green cards—what are they?
A green card is a Permanent Resident Card issued to immigrants to the US to prove permanent residency. Green cards for specific nations are limited by numbers.
David J. Bier of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank, found 1.8 million employment-based green card cases this year, a record.
India has 1.1 million of the 1.8 million backlog cases (63%). Nearly 250,000 are Chinese (14%), it claimed.
Conclusion
For asylum seekers, INA 245 adjustment of status applicants, and deportation suspensions, USCIS has extended Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) to five years. USCIS wants fewer Forms I-765 for renewal EADs. EAD validity varies on status, circumstances, and filing category. An EAD based on a pending adjustment of status application may cancel ancillary employment authorisation before it expires. The survey found that over 10.5 lakh Indians are waiting for an employment-based Green Card, with 4 lakh potentially dying before receiving the legal document of permanent residency in the US.
