Some EAD’s Extended to Two Years

Some EAD’s Extended to Two Years
by Ken C. Gauvey

The Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is the card foreign nationals may use to gain employment in the U.S. On the Form I-9, the EAD is a List A document, meaning that the card itself is enough to demonstrate employment eligibility in the U.S. These cards can be legitimately obtained by foreign nationals in several different ways. They are given to people lawfully in the U.S. as an asylee or refugee, those who have filed an application to adjust status (I-485) to become what is called a “green card holder,” and they are given to foreign nationals who are in the U.S. under a visa that allows them to obtain employment in the U.S. However, these cards expire.

When EAD’s expire, employers are required to complete the reverification section of the Form I-9 to show that the employee has a new EAD that is valid. Unfortunately, EAD’s can take more than four months to renew, so some employees may not have a new EAD when the old one expires. This creates havoc with the employer who is then forced to terminate the employee who could be granted a new EAD any day. On June 12, 2008, USCIS announced that they would start issuing two-year EAD’s for those who have applied to adjust status but who are being held up because of visa availability limitations. This change is to take effect on June 30, 2008, and will be applied at the discretion of USCIS on a case by case basis. This should go a long way in alleviating some of the unnecessary strain on employer’s resources in reverifying EADs.

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Some EAD’s Extended to Two Yearsby Ken C. Gauvey

Some EAD’s Extended to Two Years
by Ken C. Gauvey