Work Authorization

Work authorization allows non-citizens to be employed in the U.S. This is essential for maintaining a robust and diverse economy because it enables workers with various backgrounds and skills to contribute to the economy. We advocate on behalf of those who seek employment authorization here and work to shape policy that makes the process easier to navigate.

U.S. Workers Sue USCIS for Unlawful Delays in Renewal of Employment Authorizations

U.S. Workers Sue USCIS for Unlawful Delays in Renewal of Employment Authorizations

Five workers in the United States filed a nationwide class action lawsuit today challenging unlawful log-jam and extreme delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that have resulted in the government’s failure to process the work authorization renewals for asylum seekers. Read More

Challenging USCIS for Delays in Renewal of Employment Authorizations

Challenging USCIS for Delays in Renewal of Employment Authorizations

The Council and partners filed a nationwide class action lawsuit to ensure timely renewal of work authorizations documents for asylum seekers. Read More

Biden Begins to Restore Temporary Protected Status. Which Countries Could Get TPS Next?

Biden Begins to Restore Temporary Protected Status. Which Countries Could Get TPS Next?

By the end of the Trump presidency, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was all but destroyed. The former administration had attempted to end crucial protections for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people who benefited from the status. Now, just a short time into the Biden administration, those protections are being… Read More

Why Immigrants With Strong Ties to the US Should Be Allowed to Stay

Why Immigrants With Strong Ties to the US Should Be Allowed to Stay

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The Biden administration will soon lead a vibrant nation of immigrants—a nation that includes millions of noncitizens with deep ties to the United States… Read More

Brief Comments Regarding DHS Proposed Rule on Employment Authorization for Certain Classes of Aliens With Final Orders of Removal, 85 Fed. Reg. 74,196 (November 19, 2020)

Brief Comments Regarding DHS Proposed Rule on Employment Authorization for Certain Classes of Aliens With Final Orders of Removal, 85 Fed. Reg. 74,196 (November 19, 2020)

The American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Immigrant Legal Defense submitted these comments relating to the Department of Homeland Security's proposed rule to restrict or prohibit work authorization for individuals with final orders of removal. Read More

Hundreds of Cubans Who Cannot Be Deported Face Prolonged Detention

Hundreds of Cubans Who Cannot Be Deported Face Prolonged Detention

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage inside ICE detention centers, hundreds of Cubans who cannot be deported, continue to be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They have exhausted their options in their legal cases but remain detained months after a judge issued a final order of… Read More

Foreign Student Admission Restrictions Hurt America’s Leadership in Innovation

Foreign Student Admission Restrictions Hurt America’s Leadership in Innovation

The proposal would negatively impact American colleges and universities and foreign students seeking a higher education degree in the United States and have long-term effects for the legal immigration system. Read More

Summary of Proposed Changes to Student and Exchange Visitor Admissions Process by DHS

Summary of Proposed Changes to Student and Exchange Visitor Admissions Process by DHS

This document provides a summary of the Department of Homeland Security’s September 25, 2020, Proposed Rule, “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media.” The summary explains the changes DHS is proposing… Read More

Letter Requesting 60-Day Comment Period on Proposed Rule Expanding Collection of Biometrics

Letter Requesting 60-Day Comment Period on Proposed Rule Expanding Collection of Biometrics

This new rule will increase the total number of people who are required to submit biometric data from 3.9 million currently to 6.07 million—an increase of more than 60%. Read More

Statement for the House Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Hearing on

Statement for the House Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Hearing on “Oversight of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services”

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the House Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship for a July 29, 2020 hearing on “Oversight of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.” The statement shares the Council’s analysis of the true causes of USCIS’s $1.2 billion budget shortfall, including… Read More

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