Non-immigrant workers who have an approved Employment Authorization Document (EAD), can use their approval notice issued between Dec. 1, 2019 and Aug 20, 2020 in lieu of the printed EAD card. The EAD card (Form I-765) is required as proof of employment eligibility before joining work with an employer in the US.
USCIS made this adjustment to the rule of needing a list C document for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification compliance until Feb. 1, 2021. This is until USCIS can catch up with the delays in printing of approved EAD cards that got delayed due to Coronavirus pandemic.
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For the past few months, several non-immigrant workers, including spouses of H-1B workers on H4 visas were unable to seek employment or continue in existing ones due to delays in getting printed work permits, even after getting approval. Going forward, and until Feb. 1, 2021 USCIS announced that they can use the approval notice (Form I-797) for the Employment Authorization Document (Form I-765) as proof of employment eligibility.
What You Should Know About The Form I-9 Employment Verification
- The Form I-797 Notice of Action as proof of employment authorization under List C is also applicable to current employees who require re-verification.
- All H4 EAD employees who presented the Form I-797 Notice of Action as a List C document, will have to submit new evidence of employment authorization from either List A or List C.
- By Feb. 1, 2021, employers must re-verify these employees and seek a copy of the EAD card once the employee receives it.
- USCIS has now released a new, updated Form I-765 dated 8/25/2020.
- For EAD applications postmarked after Aug 25, 2020, USCIS will only accept the new addition of Aug 25,2020. This includes I-767 WS.
- USCIS continues to accept the previous version of 12/26/19 if submitted before Aug 25, 2020
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Updated Document List For H4 EAD Employment Verification
While the Department of Homeland Security will now accept the EAD approval notice as evidence of employment authorization for Form I-9 compliance, the following list of documents also have to be submitted when an H4 EAD visa holder is seeking employment:
List A: Document establishing both Evidence of Identity &Employment Authorization
- US Passport
- Permanent resident card
- EAD Card
- Form I-797, Approval Notice for EAD
- Foreign passport with Form I-94 or Form I-94A with Arrival-Departure Record
List B: Document establishing identity for Form I-9 employment verification
- Federal or state issued ID card
- Valid driver’s license
- For minors, & those without the above – School and/or doctor’s documentation
List C: Documents establishing employment authorization (also attach a document from List B)
- Valid SSN card
- Birth Certificate
- US Citizen or Resident ID card
Others:
- Approved Form I-140 Immigration Petition for Alien Worker
- Marriage certificate or another secondary evidence of marriage to the primary beneficiary
- Copy of Form I-94 reflecting non-immigrant status
- Updated Form I-765, Application for EAD
- Secondary List of Support Documents
Applied For EAD?
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