I-765 Application for Employment Authorization

If you are a non-immigrant living in California temporarily, you can apply for an employment permit to earn a living during your stay. However, you must meet the required qualifications and file Form 1-765 with the USCIS to obtain employment authorization. If USCIS approves your application, you will be issued a work permit. You must pay an application fee of up to $410 when filing the employment application. Though the immigration department does not waive that fee, it is not mandatory for all applicants. The USCIS could also require you to provide your biometrics for the application for a small fee.

The process can be complex and intimidating. However, you can do better with the guidance and support of an experienced immigration attorney. Your attorney will obtain the application for you and ensure it is filled out and filed on time. They will also help you through all the processes to improve your chances of obtaining employment authorization.

The People Who Can File Form 1-765

People come to the United States for various reasons. If you are in California temporarily and would like to engage in gainful work, you could qualify for a work permit. Here are the different categories of people that can apply for employment authorization:

Refugees and Asylees

If you moved to California as a refugee or asylee and the United States has granted you asylum, you can obtain an employment authorization document to earn a living. Your children and spouse can also do the same. However, you must wait until you have 150 days or more after filing for asylum to fill out and file the application form with the USCIS. Your employment authorization application must prove your asylum or refugee status. If you have not been granted asylum, you must provide evidence of your pending application.

People Of Particular Statuses or Nationalities

The categories of other people who can file Form 1-765 to obtain employment authorization include the following:

• Citizens of Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands
• People with temporary protected status
• Those whose voluntary departure has been extended or enforced departure delayed
• Applicants of a particular NACARA Section
• Those who depend on TECRO E-1 non-immigrants, including unmarried children and spouses

Foreign Students

You could qualify for employment authorization if you came to the United States to study. However, you must meet the required criteria to qualify. Your chances of filing a successful Form 1-765 application are high if you belong to any of these categories:

• You are an F-1 student looking for work experience in a job related to your studies. If you seek pre-completion practical training, you will fill out the form under category (c)(3)(A). If you seek post-completion practical training, you must fill out the application under category (c)(3)(B). If you seek STEM extension practical training for 24 months, your application will fall under category (c)(3)(C).
• If you are a student and an employer has offered you an off-campus job that an eligible international organization is sponsoring,
• If you are a student looking for an off-campus job to cater to your necessities because of difficult economic hardships,
• If your parent or spouse is an exchange student,
• If you are an M-1 student looking for practical training at the end of your studies,

Qualifying Dependents of Diplomatic Workers

You could qualify for employment authorization if you are in the United States and dependent on someone who works for a diplomatic mission, NATO, or an international organization. Examples of those who qualify under this category include the following:

• Dependents of foreign government officers, under category (c)(1)
• Dependents of G(1-4) non-immigrants, under category (c)(4)
• Dependents of NATO 1-6, under category (c)(7)

Employment-Related Non-Immigrants

If you come to the United States temporarily for work, you or your spouse can obtain employment authorization through Form 1-765. You could qualify if you are in any of these categories:

• You are a B-1 non-immigrant seeking to work as a domestic or personal servant for a non-immigrant employer
• You are a B-1 non-immigrant domestic worker seeking a permit to work for a citizen of the United States
• You are a B-1 non-immigrant employee of a foreign airline
• You are married to a treaty investor with an E-1 or E-2 visa or trader (spouses of specific Australian E-3 specialty of career professionals can also apply)
• Your spouse is an L-1 intra-company transferee
• Your spouse is a CNMI investor with an E-2 visa
• Your spouse is an H-1B non-immigrant
• You are a primary beneficiary of a particular approved employment immigrant petition undergoing compelling circumstances.
• You are an unmarried child or spouse of a primary beneficiary of a particular approved employment immigrant petition.

Family-Related Non-Immigrants

You could qualify for employment authorization if you are a family member of a United States citizen or belong to a family-related program in the U.S. Examples of people who are eligible under this category include the following:

• K-1 non-immigrant fiancees of United States citizens or K-2 dependents
• K-3 non-immigrant spouses of United States citizens or K-4 dependents
• Members of family unity programs
• Members of Life Act Amendments (LAA) family unity
• V1-3 non-immigrant

Applicants Seeking Status Adjustment

If you are a non-immigrant and have already submitted an application to adjust your status, you can apply for employment authorization through Form 1-765. Here are some of the people who can apply to this category while their green card application is pending:

• Those who have already applied for status adjustment
• Those seeking to adjust their status after continuously living in the United States since 1971
• Physicians who already enjoy a waiver due to national interest and are seeking to renew their employment authority

Other Qualifying Applicants

These people can also file Form 1-765 for employment authorization:

• N-8-9 non-immigrants
• People whose removal or deportation the court has withheld
• Those who have applied to suspend their removal or deportation
• Those granted parole as a matter of public interest
• Those facing deferred action
• Applicants who demonstrate economic need under DACA
• Those who can demonstrate economic need after the issuance of the last order of deportation
• Those who have applied for LIFE legalization
• T-1 to T-4 non-immigrants
• U-1 to U-5 nonimmigrants
• Petitioners for Violence Against Women Act

People Who Cannot Obtain Employment Authorization Through Form 1-765

Remember that only some non-immigrants can use Form 1-765 to obtain employment authorization. You cannot use this form if you belong to any of these categories:

• If you are a lawful permanent resident or a green card holder
• If you are a conditional resident
• If you are a non-immigrant and have authorization to serve a particular individual, company, or organization under 8 CFR 274(a).12b

Other Requirements to Obtain Employment Authorization Through Form 1-765

If you are sending your Form 1-765 by mail, you must also include the following documents in your application:

• A copy of any employment authorization you have, if applicable
• Include copies of your identifying documents bearing your picture, legal name, and DOB. For example, copies of your passport, birth certificate bearing your photo, a visa from a foreign embassy, or national identification documents with your picture or fingerprint.

You will also be required to submit two color photographs. These should be taken at least thirty days before the application date. The pictures must be identical, have a white backdrop, be printed on light paper, and have a shiny finish. Do not mount or retouch the images so the USCIS can accept them. The pictures must also bear the entire race, be colored, and have a frontal view. When taking the photo, ensure your head is bare, except if you wear a headscarf as a religious requirement.

Print your name and A-number on each picture’s back using a felt pen or pencil. Your experienced immigration attorney should be able to guide you through the application process to avoid making a mistake that could result in a denied application.

Other Requirements for Asylums and E-2 Foreign Investors’ Dependents

Some additional requirements apply for asylums and spouses or dependents of E-2 foreign investors. The USCIS could require additional documents if you belong to any of these categories:

• If you are an asylum applicant, your asylum application is pending, your first application for asylum was before 1995, and you are facing deportation or exclusion
• If you are from Guatemala or Salvador and sought asylum through an ABC Settlement Agreement
• If your spouse is an E-2 foreign investor,

The Cost of Applying for Employment Authorization

You must pay an application fee when filing Form 1-765 to obtain employment authorization. Typically, applicants pay $410, although some do not pay when applying for the first time. The following applicants are exempt from the application fee when filing their first application:

• Asylees
• Refugees
• Those paroled as refugees
• Those who have sought asylum, except ABC applicants (these will pay the full application fee),
• Non-immigrants under N-8 and N-9 categories
• Citizens of Palau, Marshall Islands, and Micronesia
• Those whose deportation the court has withheld
• Victims of grave human trafficking
• U-1 non-immigrants
• Self-petitions of Violence Against Women Act
• Dependents of international organizations, foreign governments, and NATO personnel

USCIS will also require you to pay for biometrics during your employment authorization application. If you are requested to attend an interview in a USCIS office, an officer could collect your biometrics, including a picture, fingerprints, and signature. These will be processed in an applicant's support center. For example, DACA applicants should submit their biometrics after filing their Form 1-765 application.

If the USCIS requires your biometrics to process your employment authorization application, it will send you notice before the date you are required to submit the biometrics. The notification will contain your appointment date with the application support center, the time of your arrival, the application center you should report to, and the documents you must bring to that appointment. The USCIS can deny your application for employment authorization if you fail to submit your biometrics if it is a requirement for your application.

If you receive an interview invitation from the application support center, you will need to pay a fee of up to $85. The government cannot waive that fee.

The Cost of Renewing An EAD

If you are applying to renew an expired employment authorization, you will not pay any fee if you belong to any of these categories:

• You are a citizen of Palau, Marshall Islands or Micronesia
• A court has granted you withholding of removal
• You are dependent on personnel of NATO, specific international companies, or foreign government
• You applied to adjust your status after July 2007, which means you did not pay any filing fee or biometric service fee

The Cost of Replacing an EAD

You can apply to replace a lost, mutilated, or stolen EAD. USCIS also replaced EADs with incorrect information, like a misspelled address or name. But you must first demonstrate that you had the EAD in the first place. Most applicants, except those in these categories, must pay an application fee to replace an EAD:

• Specific dependents of NATO, international companies, or foreign government personnel
• If you are replacing your EAD due to incorrect information due to a USCIS error,

Suppose your authorization contains incorrect information due to a mistake you or someone else made, not USCIS. In that case, the department will require you to file another application form and pay the necessary fee. However, applicants seeking employment authorization based on a grant or application for a particular short-term protected status can qualify for the fee waiver.

What Happens After Applying for Employment Authorization?

A successful employment authorization application allows you to seek employment or accept a job offer while still being a nonimmigrant. It is an opportunity for immigrants who wish to earn a living for a particular reason, such as hard economic times. However, applications like these go through a rigorous process before you can receive a response from USCIS. The department only grants employment authorization to deserving applicants. Thus, you could be granted or denied employment authorization.

If USCIS approves your application, it will notify you of the approval immediately. Your EAD will be ready for pickup. The department can mail it to you or require you to pick it up from the nearest USCIS office in your locality.

Sadly, not all applicants receive a positive response after preparing and filing their applications. If USCIS denies your application, you will be notified about this through written notice. The notice will detail the reasons for the denial and the action you can take if you are not satisfied with the result of your application. Fortunately, you can bring a motion in court compelling USCIS to reconsider or reopen your application. If you want to fight for employment authorization, a skilled immigration attorney can help you file a successful motion in court. If the judge grants your motion, your case will be heard, and the case outcome can be in your favor.

What an Immigration Attorney Can Do For You

Immigration laws are complex and, hence, difficult to navigate alone, especially as a non-immigrant. You must go through rigorous processes to obtain permits to do something more than you are currently doing during your period of stay. Fortunately, you can earn a living if you are facing hard economic times, even if you are living temporarily in California. If you are unfamiliar with the processes to obtain a legal work permit, a skilled immigration attorney can help you.

An experienced attorney knows where and how to obtain the required documents to file a successful employment authorization application. They also know the information that the USCIS needs to grant your application. Thus, they can help you with the application and obtain the required support documents.

Your attorney will be ready to help if USCIS requires additional documents to process your application. They will guide you on what to do if you need to attend an interview with the applicants' support center. You will always know what is going on and what to expect with every process you go through.

Obtaining employment authorization is not an easy thing for a nonimmigrant. It will come with a lot of stress, mainly because of the many requirements and qualifying criteria you must meet. However, your attorney will guide and support you in navigating all the processes with minimal issues.

Find a Competent Immigration Attorney Near Me

If you or someone you know is a nonimmigrant in California, you can benefit from employment authorization to find a job or accept a job offer. Having that authorization ensures that you work legally during your temporary stay in the United States. However, employment authorization is a challenging document to obtain. You must meet the qualifying criteria and file the required documents for USCIS to grant it.

A skilled immigration attorney can help you understand the legal processes you must go through to obtain employment authorization. They will also discuss your options and work alongside you until USCIS approves your application. At California Immigration Attorney, we understand how taxing these legal processes can be, especially if you are unfamiliar with USCIS requirements. That is why we offer our support, guidance, and assistance to ensure your success. Call us at 424-789-8809 to learn more about Form 1-765 applications and our services.