The USCIS has announced that they are increasing the maximum validity period of initial and renewal EADs in a new fact sheet released by the DHS in order to accelerate the processing of work authorizations. Among other announcements in the fact sheet were the announcement of increasing border enforcement and the decision to redesignate and extend Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela.
The validity period of initial and renewal EADs will increase to 5 years for certain noncitizens in the U.S., including those who:
- Were admitted into the United States as a refugee or were granted asylum
- Are recipients of withholding of removal
- Applicants for asylum
- Applicants for adjustment of status
- Applicants of cancellation or removal
This increase in validity time of the Employment Authorization Document will decrease how often a noncitizen has to renew this work authorization, reducing the amount of applications that need to be processed by USCIS. This will decrease the USCIS caseload and make processing faster overall for renewals.
Beginning on October 1, USCIS, the processing for Employment Authorization Documents, or EADs, will be accelerated for applications that are filed by parolees who have scheduled an appointment with CBP One. Parolees are able to apply for work authorization immediately. More employees at USCIS will also be allocated to work on processing these applications to reduce the processing time from 90 days to 30 days. This also applies for applications associated with Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees.
The Biden Administration is also planning on sending emails and SMS notifications to certain parolees letting them know that they are eligible to apply for employment authorization due to a suspicion that many of those who are parolees that are eligible to work in the U.S. immediately may not be privy to this information. Those who are paroled in the U.S. after making an appointment through the CBP One mobile app and those who have applied for Temporary Protected Status are eligible for work authorization immediately.
The actions of the USCIS to improve employment authorization processes are being made in hopes that processing times will improve and workloads will be reduced so that the USCIS can refocus its efforts on first EAD applications rather than renewals. The new validity period will take into effect on October 1, 2023.
For more information on applying for an Employment Authorization Document, see our complete EAD Application Guide.
